A plus athlete overall, Fowler has little pre-pitch movement at the plate, with a simple load and quick hands giving him a short path to the ball and above-average bat speed. The swing plane is level, keeping the barrel in the zone and helping him put up high contact rates. He sees the ball well, but brings an ultra-aggressive approach to his at-bats, causing him to expand the zone with regularity, which resulted in just 22 walks in 574 plate appearances last year.

Fowler unlocked some power in 2016 thanks, in part, to incorporating his lower half more, getting some increased hip rotation, and adding some finish to the swing. He was already a threat to drive the ball to both gaps, but the gap pop developed into over-the-fence juice on the pull side last summer, netting him a career-high 12 home runs at Double-A Trenton – all to right and right-center field.

A burner on the bases, his double-plus speed (3.98-to-4.06 second home-to-first times) is even more evident when underway than it is out of the box. He’s aggressive in looking to swipe a bag (25-for-36 last year, 30-for-43 the year prior), he’ll score from first on a double, and he won’t hesitate to test outfield arms and grab the extra base, as his extra-base hit totals (30 doubles, five triples in 2016) suggest. He’s a plus defender who should have no trouble sticking in center field. He gets quick reads off the bat and can play a few steps in thanks to his speed and jumps. He’s got average arm strength with good accuracy.

There’s a lot to like about Fowler, and at this point his development at the plate will determine how quickly he advances through the system. He’ll need show some patience to work deeper into counts and bring up the on-base percentage for him to have value near the top of a lineup. That’s where he would be able to make best use of his speed, and where he could reach his ceiling as an above-average regular. If the hit tool settles in and the power falls short, his floor is still that of a solid down-order bat that will contribute on both sides of the ball at a premium position. He’ll get his first Triple-A at-bats at Scranton/Wilkers-Barre to start the year.