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PROFILE:
Hank Blalock lettered four times while attending nationally known Rancho Bernardo (CA) High School, where his uncle Hank coaches, and where the young Hank graduated from in 1999; Hank’s little brother Jake also plays ball at Rancho Bernardo. Hank was named a Second Team High School All-American by Baseball America in 1999. He also earned all-league and all-area honors. After completing high school, Hank was selected by the Texas Rangers with their third round pick of the 1999 draft; he was signed on June 4, 1999. Blalock made quite a splash his first season in professional ball, as he led the rookie-level Gulf Coast League in several offensive categories, including batting average, doubles, and RBIs. Offensively, Blalock has terrific bat control and knowledge of the strike zone to go with a pretty swing. He can handle pitches just as effectively on the inside of the plate as on the outside. At most stops in the minors, he has always walked more than he has struck out. He also has good gap power, which accounts for his high total of doubles. However, as he matures and fills out, this gap power should account for more homeruns. In addition, for such a young player, Hank has shown a great ability to make adjustments at the plate, both from at-bat to at-bat, and even from pitch-to-pitch. The only offensive criticism of Blalock is that he sometimes tries to pull the ball too much, which results in him having a long swing. The Rangers, however, have been working on correcting these problems. Defensively, though Blalock won both the FSL’s best batting and top defensive third baseman awards from Baseball America, he is really only slightly above average defensively at the hot corner. He has above average range, soft hands, and makes all of the routine plays. In addition, though his arm is only average, he possesses a quick release. Hank does have a tendency, however, to allow bad at-bats to affect his play in the field. On the bases, Blalock doesn’t have great speed, but he is an instinctual and aggressive runner. Scouts love his feeling, instincts, smarts, confidence, worth ethic and dedication to the game.
FINAL ASSESSMENT:
Until Blalock struggled at the major league level last season, he tore up every league he had ever played in. In hindsight, it is apparent that the Rangers rushed the youngster to the big leagues. After a terrific Arizona Fall League trial and spring training, he began last season with the major league club, and many were calling him a frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year Award, putting too much pressure for the youngster. However, make no mistake about it, with some more playing time and seasoning, it is only a matter of time before Hank becomes a starting third baseman in the big leagues. Because the Rangers also have one of the most highly touted prospects in all of the minors, in third baseman Mark Teixeira, it is possible that if Blalock remains with the Rangers, his defensive position could change. However, until Teixeira can prove that he can remain healthy, Blalock probably has the inside track on the third base job in Texas. We believe that he has the offensive ability to be a star player in the majors. He should definitely go somewhere in the first round of the upcoming NABL draft.
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