2021 Draft Preview: Izaac Pacheco (SS/3B)

NAME: Izaac Pacheco
SCHOOL: Friendswood HS (TX)
POSITION: SS/3B
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’4″, 225 lbs
B/T: L/R
D.O.B.: November 18, 2002
Committed: Texas A&M

SCOUTING REPORT

When drawing up an ideal draft prospect, a left-handed power hitting shortstop is a skillset that would catch many scouts attention. Enter Izaac Pacheco. The 6’4″ Texan out of Friendswood High School has been on the radar of scouts for quite some time.

Coming into this season, Pacheco was named to Baseball America’s 2021 High School Preseason All-American Third Team. He was also Baseball America’s eighth rated high school prospect coming into the 2021 draft. In June 2020, Pacheco was also named by Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline as one of the top 2021 draft prospects, and going back to 2019, was apart of the USA Baseball 2019 17U National Team Development Program.

Izaac Pacheco game highlights (2021)

Pacheco fits the body type of your prototypical first round draft pick. Standing 6’4″ 225 lbs, the lefty has a large, looming presence in the batters box. That presence is backed by tremendous raw power with fast hands and a smooth swing.

Pacheco has good strength and bat speed, with the potential for plus power in the future. The young Texan is said to have an advanced approach at the plate, but some swing and miss concerns are present.

Pacheco with Perfect Game (2020)

Pacheco possesses good arm strength, dependable hands, and infield actions on the diamond. While he’s currently a shortstop, scouts aren’t convinced that he’ll be able to stick at the position as he fills out and matures. A move to third base could be in his future at the professional level, as he does have the necessary arm strength for the hot corner.

SCOUTING GRADES

These scouting grades are from mlbpipeline.com. Pacheco’s grades may fluctuate across publications.

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

PROSPECT OVERVIEW AND FUTURE OUTLOOK

Pacheco possesses the size, handedness, plate approach, swing loft, and power potential that clubs would love to plug into the middle of their future lineup. Shoring up on some of the swing and miss issues he had during showcases and fine-tuning his contact ability will only help him tap into his full potential at the next level. Considering Pacheco’s profile and possible move to third base in the future, what he’ll be able to do with the bat at the next level is what will inevitably drive his value. However, if Pacheco is able to prove scouts wrong and stick at shortstop, his ceiling exponentially grows.

MOCK DRAFTS

MLB Pipeline recently updated their rankings to include 250 prospects for the 2021 draft and Pacheco is listed at #30. He’s not presently mentioned as a first rounder in any of the prominent mock drafts throughout the industry but it only takes one team to pounce and he should come off the board within the first 50 picks in July. The infielder is ranked as the #34 overall prospect on Baseball America’s top 500. In Keith Law’s most recent mock draft at The Athletic, the veteran writer notes that the White Sox were present at Pacheco’s games late in the season.

POTENTIAL FIT WITH WHITE SOX

Pacheco fits with the White Sox on a few different levels. Firstly, adding the 6’4″ slugger to the system would give the White Sox some much needed power potential from the left side of the plate. Secondly, Pacheco would improve the depth of the system on the infield, whether it’s at shortstop or (eventually) the hot corner. Thirdly, the Texas high school product would improve the quality of (potential) impact players in the lower minors.

The White Sox need to rebuild their prospect depth after several graduations in recent years (when they’re all getting called up and playing at the major league level however, that’s a good thing). The Sox can most certainly use more high impact/upside potential in their system, and a powerful left handed hitting shortstop/third baseman could be a fantastic addition to quell that need. The scouting department is very familiar with Izaac Pacheco and they’ve seen him a number of times this spring.

Photo credit: PerfectGame.org

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