NorCal ProCase Spotlight: SS Colby Lunsford

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LINCOLN, CA. - Lunsford has been unranked by us up to this point and that falls on me. I'd seen him at an Area Code tryout in 2019 but not seen much else of him, until I saw him in a few games in the week or so prior to the ProCase. There I really liked what I saw. Energy, hitterish, run tool, solid D, strong arm, old school ballplayer getting after it. I fell for him and thus invited him to the ProCase, where he performed exactly as I'd seen him in those travel ball games.

THE REPORT:

Body: 5-foot-10, 170-pounds. Lean and strong, his listed size actually seems smaller than his physical presence when seeing him in person. Well-proportioned athletic body.

Hit: RH - Generally a flat swing in comparison to many players with aggressive attack angles, his average attack angle was 16 degrees and his hot zone chart showed him good in the lower 2/3 of the zone. Has feel for the barrel and can split the gaps. His 68 score in the Blast connection category (scored 20-80) was one of the highest. Maintaining good connection is an indicator of dynamic swing adjustability. The line drive single to RCF in the competitive AB portion was a good example of his swing adjustability (as well as his rotational acceleration.. more on that in the next section).

Power: 98 mph EV was his top in the BP round (courtesy of Trackman) using a wood bat. The power potential he has could take some years to come out, first seen as doubles and triples in the gaps, with an occasionally back spun homer. His rotational acceleration average of 17.5 (g) rates very well in relation to pro avg of 16.8 (g), according to Blast. Those in tune with the Blast metrics understand that rotational acceleration shows how quickly a player can accelerate the bat into the swing plane. In simple terms... hitters who can do that at a high rate can wait longer (see the ball longer).

Field: Quick feet, showed versatility and comfort on both sides of 2nd base. Gets rid of the ball very quickly at SS, little wasted motion. There were a couple of slight bobbles on a couple of exchanges, maybe moving a little too quickly. Pivot and feeds to SS covering while at 2B were impressive. Footspeed and quickness both project above average range.

Arm: SS mph - 86 - The raw arm strength plays on the left side, maybe not as a plus but certainly above average. Incorporate the quick release along with that raw arm and he's definitely above average. Showed enough arm angle versatility to suggest that he can make throws from different angles.

Run: 6.73 - Clearly a good runner, clean form, good body control, plays into his ability to gather extra base hits.

Summary: The overall breakdown of Lunsford, like the stats/metrics used in his pic/slide in this post are simple and of the old school variety. He can run, he can throw, he's got bat speed and strength. The tools are all present to be a well above average college SS and looking ahead to the 2024 draft, given two-three years of strong performance and improvement in necessary areas, he's got a shot to be one of the better MIFs on the West Coast in that draft. His style of play and what he does well all project very favorably.