Austin Shenton

After transferring from Bellevue (Wash.) JC to Florida International prior to the 2018 season, Shenton had a standout year in Conference USA, where he hit .344/.417/.524. After his breakout spring, Shenton went to the Cape Cod League, where he ranked as the No. 35 prospect in the league thanks to his feel for barreling the baseball from the left side. There, he hit .349/.450/.490 with four home runs in 44 games. This spring, however, Shenton changed his swing and got more pull-oriented, which led to increased swing-and-miss concerns as his previous strength was hitting the ball to all fields. Through the first two months of the season, Shenton hit just .230 (23-for-100) with 25 strikeouts and 16 walks. After hitting with wood in batting practice to re-tool his swing, Shenton started to get back on track during the second half of the season. In 25 games from April 3 to May 18, he hit .433 (42-for-97) with 13 strikeouts and 12 walks. Listed at 6 feet, 195-pounds, Shenton could grow into more power in the future, but is currently a hit-over-power lefthanded bat. He’s improved defensively this spring at third base, but scouts question his athleticism and believe that he may ultimately end up at first base. He has average arm strength, but it plays more as fringe-average arm strength in games due to a lack of foot speed and overall agility.'