Strong Spring Moves Donnie Dewees Into Top Few Rounds

University of North Florida OF Donnie Dewees was a largely unknown quantity coming out of high school in Crystal River, Florida.  Three years after going undrafted, Dewees has put himself in position to be selected within the first 100 picks, and given the crooked numbers he has put up thus far, he has a chance go significantly higher.

Background

For the (many) uninitiated, let me give some background on Dewees. The left-handed hitting outfielder quickly worked his way into the starting lineup as a true freshman during the 2013 season, finished with a .347/.429/.535 line in 248 plate appearances, and garnered numerous conference and national awards.  He continued to hit in summer ball, posting a .321/.393/.526 triple-slash with 12 HR in the competitive Northwoods League.

Dewees was limited to just 12 games in 2014, however, as he broke his right wrist diving for a ball early in the spring.  He was near full-strength towards the tail end of UNF’s season, but elected to take a medical redshirt.  Dewees was healthy by the time that the summer leagues started, and buoyed by his impressive performance in the Northwoods League, fortunate enough to play for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the prestigious Cape Cod League.  Despite the significant layoff and litany of issues that wrist injuries tend to present to hitters, Dewees excelled against some of the top college arms in the nation, finishing with an impressive .340/.427/.473 slash line in 150 AB.

The solid production on the Cape made Dewees the relatively rare redshirt sophomore elite prospect, and area scouts, regional, and national crosscheckers have been filtering in and out of Jacksonville in order to get some more looks on a player that has managed to hit at an extremely high level everywhere that he has been. I’ve been fortunate enough to see Dewees a handful of times this spring, and while the stat line may stand out for some (.407/.463/.743, 10 HR, 16 BB, 7 K, 17-19 SB in 140 AB), the tools have been very impressive as well.

Hit: 55/60, Raw Power: 50+/50+, Game Power: 40/45+, Run: 65/65, Field: 50/55, Throw: 40/45, FV:  55

Physical Description

Listed at 6-0, 180 (and at least an inch shorter than that), Dewees is far from a physical specimen and isn’t one to strike fear into opponents as he walks off of the bus.  However, he is well-proportioned, with sloped shoulders, strong forearms, a wide, strong back, and definition to the lower half.  With wider hips, he doesn’t appear to fit into the quick-twitch athlete archetype but he has carries his weight well, has good body control, moves ok laterally, and is deceptively quick in getting into his top gear.  There’s little projection remaining in the compact frame, but you can see him adding some muscle mass and a bit more strength as he continues to mature.

At the Plate 

Dewees sets up with a slight crouch and in a slightly open stance with his hands resting by his ear before using a toe-tap mechanism and initiating his load phase where the hands cock and drop back to the letters on his jersey.  He has shown the ability to repeat his mechanics with great frequency, although at times his balance can waver with the front hip leaking open.  Generally speaking, Dewees’ swing path is very compact, and he has been willing and able to hit the ball (with authority) from foul line to foul line.  His hands and feel for the barrel are very good, which, combined with his above-average bat speed, allow him to track the ball longer through the hitting zone.

The approach is very good, and although I’ve seen him swing and miss a fair amount (particularly early in the count while being pitched backwards and against LHP), Dewees has very good command of the strike zone and has shown tremendous aptitude in adjusting within games and even AB’s. While he has put up good power numbers this season (and notably in the Northwoods League in 2013), the swing is still geared more for hard contact and doubles/gap-to-gap power.  The ball carries pretty well at UNF, particularly to a RF, where I’ve seen Dewees hit a couple of his homeruns so far.  He has the strength, bat speed, and ability to loft the ball, but power will most likely never be a big part of his game.

In the Field 

Dewees has played a fair amount of CF this season, but I’ve been particularly unfortunate in my viewings, as he has played RF in all of the five UNF games I’ve attended this spring.  With that being said, Dewees has consistently made good reads off of the bat, taken good routes, and made every play that’s been asked of him.  Given his speed (see next section) and instincts, I think that it’s very possible for him to play CF at a consistently decent level in professional ball, which would obviously greatly enhance his value.  The arm has played below-average during game action this spring, with his throws lacking carry from a 3/4 release point, although some of this can be attributed to rushing his throws and some shoddy, inconsistent footwork.

Out of the Box/On the Bases

While Dewees doesn’t appear to be extremely athletic, he does a very good job at getting out of the box and has the ability to reach his top gear rather quickly.  My times down to first were a bit erratic, ranging from the low 4.0s to the mid 4.3s, but generally, when Dewees busts it out of the box (as he usually does) he has turned between a 4.05-4.15, or 55 to 65 run times for a LHH. He’s a very smart and aggressive baserunner and has been extremely successful in taking the extra base, tagging up, or stealing bases, and these skills should continue to be an asset at the next level.

Summary 

Overall, Dewees has an intriguing skillset that leaves MLB organizations with much to consider.  While the pitching that he faces in the spring pales in comparison to the level in power conferences such as the SEC, Pac-12, ACC, etc., Dewees has proven that he can perform just as well against the top competition in two of the more established Summer Leagues.  If an organization is as confident as I am in his ability to hit and believes that Dewees can play CF professionally it is not crazy to think that the redshirt sophomore could be selected in the first 50-60 picks this June.