2020 Draft Preview: Heston Kjerstad (RF)

NAME: Heston Kjerstad
SCHOOL: Arkansas
POSITION: RF
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’3″, 205 lbs
B/T: L/R
D.O.B.: February 12, 1999
PREVIOUSLY DRAFTED: Seattle Mariners, 2017 – 36th round (1,083 overall)

SCOUTING REPORT

Heston Kjerstad attended Randall High School in Amarillo, Texas, which is a part of the Canyon Independent School District. While playing for the Raiders, the slugging outfielder was ranked #369 in the nation by Perfect Game and #26 in the state. He was named District 3-5A MVP and First Team 5A All-State player in 2016. The Seattle Mariners drafted Kjerstad out of high school in the 2017 draft, but the right fielder instead opted to honor his commitment to Arkansas, joining the Razorbacks for their 2018 season.

In his freshman season in Fayetteville, Kjerstad became the third ever Razorback to be named SEC Freshman of the Year — succeeding Andrew Benintendi (2015) and Nick Schmidt (2006) — after hitting .332 with a .972 OPS and 30 extra base hits (16 doubles, 14 home runs) in 69 games. Nice. He became the only freshman in the SEC to have a .330 batting average or higher and a .550 slugging percentage or higher.

Kjerstad followed up a successful freshman campaign with an almost identical sophomore season, batting .329 with a .978 OPS in 63 games. He traded in three doubles for two extra home runs, while seeing his strikeout rate increase slightly (21%). He finished the year with 24 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI games and made the All-SEC Second Team.

Going into his junior season, Kjerstad was rated the top outfielder in the country in D1 Baseball’s Preseason Position Power Rankings. He also made the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. In a pandemic-shortened season, Kjerstad popped off, hitting 6 home runs and OPS’ing 1.304 in a mere 67 at-bats.

SCOUTING GRADES

These scouting grades are from mlbpipeline.com. Kjerstad’s grades probably fluctuate across publications.

HIT: 45
POWER: 60
RUN: 45
ARM: 55
FIELD: 50
OVERALL: 55

PROSPECT OVERVIEW AND FUTURE OUTLOOK

Heston Kjerstad offers the best left-handed college bat in the 2020 Draft and is in line for a mid-first-round selection. After extremely consistent campaigns in college and an outstanding performance with the (wooden bat) Collegiate National Team in the summer of 2019, his draft stock is probably the most pandemic-proof of all potential top 20 selections.

It helps the 21-year-old that pretty much all of his overall skills as a player even out as above average or better. He is an advanced hitter, who uses his open stance and quick hands to barrel up pitches in the strike zone regularly. In the field, he profiles as a decent enough outfielder. Despite not being the fastest runner (6.56 in the 60), he can cover some ground in the outfield, mostly due to decent positioning and reads. He also possesses a highly accurate throwing arm. Kjerstad is by no means a spectacular fielder, but he should be able to hold his own in right field. If all else fails, he could be moved to first base on a team with better options in the outfield.

There are a few minor issues with Kjerstad’s swing, most notably a ‘hitch’. Baseball America describes it as “a two-piece action and a pause with a big leg kick that interrupts his timing”. The complexity of the swing is also noticed by MLBPipeline, which describes it as featuring “a big hand circle in his load, [meaning] he has to be precise with his timing to make it work”. It has worked for him so far, both in aluminum and wooden bat leagues. Still, the team that drafts him may look at simplifying the overall motion a tad.

MOCK DRAFT OUTCOMES

Heston Kjerstad is being mocked aggressively to the Cincinnati Reds, who pick one spot behind the White Sox at 12, and the Philadelphia Phillies (15th overall). Baseball America connects the outfielder to the San Francisco Giants at 13, though friend-of-the-podcast Carlos Collazo put this little snippet in the White Sox section of BA’s Mock Draft 3.0: “This seems to be the range where Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad’s market could really open up”.

Multiple outlets, including the combined Prospect Live efforts at The Athletic and CBS Sports, have the White Sox foregoing a chance to land the hard-hitting outfielder in favor of a variety of other players. MLB.com’s most recent mock draft by Jonathan Mayo does have Kjerstad ending up with the White Sox. Mayo states that the Sox have gone the college route in every draft since 2013. He also mentions that Kjerstad’s bat-skills (“as much raw power as any college bat not named Torkelson”) could entice the Sox to pull the trigger.

POTENTIAL FIT WITH THE WHITE SOX

The White Sox organization currently features a plethora of talented outfielders in the minor leagues, most notably Micker Adolfo, Blake Rutherford, Luis Alexander Basabe, Luis Gonzalez, Bryce Bush, Benyamin Bailey and James Beard. Still, Kjerstad would probably instantly top that list just on hitting skills and polish alone. With no real outright back-up to Nomar Mazara available in the organization, Kjerstad could jump to the top of that list before long.

Photo credit: YouTube video still

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