Self scouting report: O's Adam Hall
After finishing 2018 with a base knock in 21 of his final 24 games -- including a 19-game hit streak in August -- with the Class A Short-Season Aberdeen IronBirds, Adam Hall took his game up a notch in ’19.
In his first full season last year, Baltimore’s No. 13 prospect slashed .298/.385/.395 with five homers, four triples, 22 doubles and 33 stolen bases in 122 games for the Class A Delmarva Shorebirds. The middle infielder was named a midseason, postseason and organizational All-Star, and he was looking forward to seeing what he could do on the field in 2020.
“Hopefully I can continue the season I had last year,” Hall said ahead of baseball’s hiatus to battle the coronavirus pandemic this year. “And improve on a couple things, looking at the power numbers, and hopefully I can steal some more bases.”
In the current climate, that would seem difficult to fathom, and the Bermuda-born Canadian shortstop has had to adjust his mindset in order to be ready for whatever lay ahead.
“It’s pretty difficult [to stay competitive] when there are no dates laid out for anything, and they obviously can’t do that,” Hall said. “That makes it tough to have a preparation goal, because you don’t know when or what you’re preparing for. But you know eventually it’s going to come to an end, so you try and keep that in mind for whatever that happens to be.
“At this point, I’m just looking forward to being able to play, and being able to get back out there.”
Evaluating himself using a Major League Scouting Bureau report and the 20-to-80 scouting scale, basing his grades on the standards set by the Bureau, Hall offered insight into what his future might hold.
Top tools
The 6-foot, 170-pound Canuck gave himself a well-above-average future grade in his run speed, keeping it consistent with the current evaluation.
“I’ve always had a track background since I was younger,” Hall said. “And speed’s kind of a natural thing, but I’ve obviously worked on it. I’ve always made sure it’s a big part of my game, focusing on maintaining it and trying to get faster with whatever I can. … It gives that advantage of being able to take an extra base, steal some bases, helps with fielding and range so I can use it to contribute in a number of ways.”
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Room for improvement
Jumping his hit and power tools each a grade-and-a-half from present to future, Hall offered a below-average evaluation of his current ability to hit and a well-below-average grade on his current power, with potential to become an above-average hitter with fringy-average power as he works his way to the highest level.
“Hitting ability -- it’s mainly exposure to high-level pitching and learning how to adjust to that,” he said. “With power, obviously that comes as well once you’re able to handle pitching better, you can have more power in your game. But I’m also working on building up strength in the weight room all the time and that will help on that side of things as well.”
Scouting the scout
Offering insight into his own game, the middle infielder had some experience in the realms of scouting and grading when he filled out the evaluation.
“I had a decent amount of background,” Hall said. “I can’t say I’m going and looking at everybody’s grades, but I have a pretty good awareness of where guys might be.”
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What the scouts say
“He’s an aggressive, high-energy, high-intensity player who comes to play and plays hard,” one scout said. “He’s athletic but he has presently below-average hand and feet. He’s overly aggressive at the plate, but when he makes contact, he hits the ball like a rocket. He’s only 20 years old, plenty of upside. He hustles on every ball hit, he can steal a base, has bat speed and doesn’t get cheated. He seems determined to be a good player.”
What’s missing
“Work ethic, the work being put in in the offseason, off the field,” Hall said of what the report doesn’t include about him as a player. “That’s helped me quite a bit. Making time for that side of things, even from a young age, has been a big part of it.”