Ethan O'Donnell-Northwestern-CF

Date Seen: 4/1 - 4/3/2022

Age at Draft (2023): 21.3

O'Donnell went undrafted in 2020, but looks to be one of the better college hitting prospects in the Midwest for the 2023 draft. After a freshman season that went fine but unremarkable (.248/.343/.444, 5 HR, 11/39 BB/K in 134 PA), he has turned it on this season, where (as of this writing) he is hitting .352/.442/.732 with 5 HR and a much improved 12/15 BB/K ratio.

In my viewing, O'Donnell lead off and feasted off of a poor IU pitching staff. There were a couple strikeouts, but he made up for it with multiple extra base hits and a home run. He has fringe average raw power presently, and since has some physical maturity left, projects to add a half grade of raw power at peak. His swing has loft and is geared for power, and is able to tap into all of his raw power because of his feel for contact. The swing does leave me a bit concerned he will have trouble with pitches up in the zone, but I did not see that issue this weekend. This is a good bat regardless of position, and in an era where centerfielders actually do have to hit and hit for power, he has starter potential.

Defensively, O'Donnell runs well and has solid reads of the bat, making him a comfortable fit in center field. His arm is a bad combination of weird mechanics and poor arm strength, which does hurt his defensive value. If the arm necessitates it, he can play left field above average, but I am projecting him as a center fielder due to the range and the athleticism.

Overall, O'Donnell has the athleticism to stay in center with rare raw power for the position. A below average arm hurts him and may force a shift to left, where he would be an above average fielder, but would put extra pressure on the bat. There are not really any bad hitting centerfielders that are starters anymore, and while O'Donnell is a solid fielder, his calling card is his bat, and it makes for an interesting player because of that. He should be in the conversation as a Top 100 player next year.

Comp: Brandon Nimmo

Round: 2-3

Tool Breakdown:

Tool	Present	Future
Hit	30	55
Power	30	50
-Raw Power	45	50
Run	50	50
Throw	40	45
Defense	40	50