Bo Way? Yes way! This year’s seventh round draft pick for the Angels looks like he could be something of a diamond in the rough. Even if he isn’t, at least he has a great name.
Bo Way
In 10 words or less: Mark my words, he will be a major leaguer.
Position: OF Born: 11/17/91
Bats: L Throws: L
Height: 6’0″ Weight: 180
Last Year Rank: Unranked
2014 Season Stats
[table id=46 /]
OFFENSE
Contact – A. Way has a quiet and downright beautiful swing. He has quick hands, a sound approach, his bath to the ball is direct. The quick hands allow him to scoot a couple inches closer to the plate than other hitters, which allows him great coverage. He doesn’t come up there trying to do too much, hits the ball where it’s pitched.
Power – C. Way can go yard from time to time (though not the majestic type) but he mostly sprays line drives to all fields. His speed allows him to gather more than his fair share of doubles and triples.
Discipline – B. Bo Way is your consummate leadoff hitter. He isn’t afraid to go up there and draw a walk and wreak havoc on the base paths if the pitcher will give it to him. Though it didn’t occur often, Bo doesn’t seem to have a problem working behind in the count, like many of the more refined collegiate hitters.
Speed – B+. Bo can flat out run. He isn’t a great base stealer yet, but in time he will be. He stretches doubles into triples and has an aggressive Trout-like stride that he hits going around second, as if he reaches another gear.
DEFENSE
Arm – A. Bo Way has the speed to play CF and the arm to play corner outfield as well. The Angels will keep him in CF mostly because he’s a good out there, but if he ever needs to move to LF or RF to advance a level, this won’t be a problem for him at all.
Fielding – B. Way has an above average glove in CF, with no problem leaving his feet. I can’t speak for LF and RF, but I’m guessing it’s more of the same.
Range – B+. Way has far above average range out in CF. He can’t be graded an A because I’ve been spoiled by watching Peter Bourjos and Mike Trout out there. He isn’t as fast as those guys, nor does he cover as much ground. But he covers more than almost everyone else.
OVERALL
Performance – A. Drafted? Check. Dominate the Pioneer League? Check? Earn a promotion? Check. Dominate the Midwest League? Check-Check. There isn’t anything Bo Way could’ve done better this past season in terms of his overall performance. He showed plus athleticism, aggressiveness, refinement. He’s got it all.
Projection – B. Way likely won’t get a ton faster or stronger. But that doesn’t matter much, he already has the strength and speed to fulfill a role at the major league level. It’s his refinement that will ultimately gauge what that role will be. If he continues to post solid OBP and BA and also picks his spots better to run, then he’ll be the Angels leadoff hitter in 2017/2018. If not, he’ll be their 4th OF shortly thereafter.
Grade as a Prospect – C+. At age 23 and heading into the Cal League, Way isn’t exactly ahead of the age curve. It’s crazy to think he’s the same age as Mike Trout. But Way should be able to make it to the majors around age 25 or 26. We’ve seen what Way can do across a hundred or so games, but until we see him across the grind of a full season against better competition, we can’t go overboard on his grade and give him the “B” (above average prospect, likely major leaguer) he probably deserves.
Estimated Time of Arrival – 2018. I have little doubt Way will steadily climb the minor league ladder. Three years is a conservative estimate. If he keeps playing like he did last year, he may be similar to Kole Calhoun in that he may only need two years in the minors.
2014 in Review*
Bo Way was drafted as senior out of college as the Angels looked to pad out their farm system with some more advanced position player talent. They employed a similar strategy with pitching a few years ago, but now the hitting talent needs the same kind of help. Way lacks a high ceiling, but he comes to the Halos as a pretty well polished product. He’s a physically mature athletic outfielder who shows good discipline and contact skills. His power is a bit lacking, but he does just above everything else at an average or better level.
Unsurprisingly, his skillset and experience allowed him to lay waste to the Pioneer League. That’s just what college seniors do there. What was a more pleasant surprise was that Bo continued to dominate as he got bumped up to the Midwest League. In fact, as you adjust for league, his offensive production was even more dominant in Burlington. Couple that with strong defense in center and the Angels look like their “safe” depth pick might actually turn out to be something more.
Of course, we are dealing with a small sample here. Way might’ve just been unusually locked in, or maybe he just got enough sheltered plate appearances. That latter part is kind of true, actually. Of his 279 plate appearances, only 64 came against southpaw pitchers. Way more than handled those lefties, but we are going to need a lot more evidence to show that he is a lefty bat that can’t be neutralized by same-side pitching.
Looking Ahead*
Up next for Bo Way is getting him up to a level of competition that will challenge him more. That means the Inland Empire 66ers and the California League. This is another premium offensive environment, so Way could continue to put up fantastic numbers that otherwise mask what his true ceiling is. What will be important is focusing on how he compiles those numbers. Can he continue to hit lefties? Can he still draw a decent walk rate without seeing his whiff rate spike? Can he steal bases without getting caught too often? In all, we will get to see if Way is really on the fast track to a big league job or just another college senior who dominates the lowest levels of the minors before petering out as the competition ramps up.
*As we do every year, the scouting reports and grades are provided by Scotty Allen while Garrett Wilson provides the 2014 in Review and Looking Ahead sections.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
