Sam Travis | 1B

Background
Travis is from Orland Park, a few miles outside Chicago, and he wound up at Indiana after turning down the Reds as their 40th round pick in 2011. He hit .317/.407/.527 with 19 homers and a 68/68 K/BB in 125 games as a freshman and sophomore. Travis has hit .346/.411/.582 with 12 homers and a 26/23 K/BB in 57 games this spring. He played through a broken hamate bone in 2013 and won a bunch of hardware with the Hoosiers, including Conference Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Tournament MVP.

Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-0 and 210 lbs., Travis looks very much like a power-hitting first baseman. He’s short and quick to the ball from the right side, doing the most damage when he pulls the ball for power. Travis stands out for his excellent approach and plate discipline. He recognizes breaking balls, knows the strike zone, and is aggressive when he gets a pitch he can drive. He showed he can hit for power with wood bats in the pitcher-friendly Cape Cod League last summer (four homers and 12 doubles in 44 games). Travis started his college career at third base but has since moved to first, where he is okay around the bag but otherwise unspectacular. He’s definitely a bat first prospect.

Miscellany
Baseball America, Keith Law (subs. req’d), and MLB.com ranked Travis as the 56th, 57th, and 62nd best prospect in the draft class, respectively. Law said he the Yankees have expressed interest in Travis as well, presumably for their top selection (55th overall). Right-handed hitting first basemen are usually not the most popular demographic, but power is getting harder to find and this draft is light on bats. The second round is exactly where someone like Travis fits these days.