Inside The Rangers' Prospect Watch: No. 8 Bayron Lora

Inside The Rangers on SI continues our Prospect Watch preseason rankings with our #8 prospect Bayron Lora.

8. Bayron Lora | OF

Born: September 29. 2002
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6'5" Weight: 230
Drafted: Signed in 2019, Dominican Republic
Team: N/A
Other Team Rankings: Baseball America (9), MLB Pipeline (15)

Career Statistics

Bayron Lora has not made his professional debut yet.

Player Bio

Lora was signed out of the Dominican Republic in August 2019 for $3.9 million, marking the third-highest price in the international signing market in all of baseball. His power grades out as a 70 on a scale of 20-80 and projects as a future 40-homer corner OF.

Strengths

Lora is just 17 years old, but he might have some of the best power in the entire Rangers' farm system. With 70-grade power, Lora absolutely crushes the ball.

For his size, Lora has a swing that requires minimal effort, and he generates a ton of power through his hips and his wrists, flicking the bat at the ball and watching it fly. That torque generated through center mass has led to some wicked batted ball speeds, with one hit clocking at 112 mph already at just 17 years old.

There's clear room for growth there as he matures into his frame. That's a scary notion for opposing pitchers who will have a tough time trying to figure out a way to keep the ball in the park against Lora.

Defensively, Lora moves well in the corner outfield for a kid of his size, and he's already clocked a 6.7 in the 60-yard dash. He possesses a good arm that should allow him to stick in the corners in the majors without being a liability.

Weaknesses

Like most sluggers in today's game, Lora has a huge hole in his swing due to his aggressive, homer-happy nature at the plate. He still hasn't quite figured out an answer for breaking balls, and that will only get worse as he moves up through the ranks.

When not hunting fastballs, breaking balls give him fits, causing him to put some ugly, off-balance swings on tape.

When he does make contact, he's pull-happy and hasn't shown much opposite-field power to this point in his development. His pull-happy mindset has given him some trouble with pitches on the black on the outside, leading to soft contact and easy outs. A tweak to his approach at the plate to start spraying up the middle and to right field could really unleash Lora as a complete hitter.

Defensively, while he moves well for his size, his routes and reads on flyballs are a massive work in progress. Despite being an outfielder most of his life, he looks clunky on film and mostly uncomfortable tracking flyballs. That could lead to a future move to first base, or a slot at DH in the majors.

Future

While Lora has yet to make his professional debut, his power is undeniable. Should he clean up the holes in his swing and develop a more balanced approach at the plate, he could rise through the system quickly; his pop is that special. He could make his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League. 

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