Tristan Pompey
OF Tristan Pompey
Hometown: Mississauga, Ont.
Bats/Throws: S-R
Height/Weight: 6’ 4” 200 lbs
Schoool: University of Kentucky, Wareham Gatemen, Cape Cod
Coach: Nick Mingione, Gary Henderson, Don Sneddon
Past teams: Toronto Mets, Canadian Junior National Team, Oakville Royals, Mississauga Majors
Previous Coaches: Ryan McBride, Rich Leitch, Greg Hamilton, Mike Siena, Mike Swinton.
Twitter Handle: @lavsav_
Drafted: By the Minnesota Twins, 31st round, 2015.
Ranked: Listed 51st on Baseball America’s top 500 combined list (May 21, 2018), down 20 spots ... 64th on Perfect Games’s top 500 (May 11, 2018) up three positions ... Ranked 21st on Baseball America's top 300 combined list, down one spot (April 27, 2018) ... Listed 67th on Perfect Game's top 350 combined list (April 19, 2018), down seven spots ... Ranked 60th on Perfect Game’s top 250 combined list (March 23, 2018), down 23 spots ... Listed 21st on Baseball America's top 200 prospects down one spot (March 5, 2018) ... 20th on Baseball America's top 300, down six spots (March 1, 2018) ... Ranked fifth on Baseball America’s top 20 prospects in the SEC (Jan. 30, 2018) ... Listed sixth on Perfect Game’s top 30 prospects in SEC (Jan. 19) ... 15th on Perfect Game’s top 100 juniors (Jan. 23, 2018) ... 14th on Baseball America top 100 college prospects (Dec. 12, 2017), down five spots ... 29th on MLB Pipeline top 50 (Dec. 6, 2017) combined list ... 37th on Perfect Game’s (Nov. 28, 2017) ... 9th on Baseball America’s top 50 college prospects (Sept. 28, 2017) ... 34th on Perfect Game top 150 combined list of high schoolers and collegians (Sept. 26, 2017) ... SEC’s No. 21 2018 draft prospect by D1Baseball.com ... Listed fifth best Canadian prospect by Baseball America entering 2015 draft.
Scouting report
MLB Pipeline
Tristan Pompey | Rank: 40
School: Kentucky Year: Junior Position: OF Age: 21 DOB: 03/23/1997 Bats: S Throws: R Height: 6’4” Weight: 200 lb. Previously drafted: 2015, 31st (920) - MIN
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 55 | Arm: 45 | Field: 45 | Overall: 50
The younger brother of Blue Jays outfielder Dalton Pompey, Tristan is more advanced and more physical than his sibling at the same stage of their careers. A 31st-round pick out of a Canadian high school by the Twins in 2015, he has the tools to go in the first round three years later. To join Chad Green (1996) and Evan White (2017) as the only Kentucky position players ever to go that high, he’ll have to shake off a down summer in the Cape Cod League that left scouts questioning his ability to hit with wood bats as well as his effort.
A switch-hitter, Pompey shows aptitude and power from both sides of the plate. He has the ability to hit for a high average with 15 or more homers per year, though his Cape struggles were a surprise after he batted .361/.464/.541 during a breakout sophomore season with the Wildcats. He has logged similar numbers as a junior, displaying a quick bat, good strength and a patient approach.
Though Pompey has solid-to-plus speed, he’s not always that fast out of the batter’s box and is still learning to get the most out of his quickness on the bases and in the outfield. He played mostly right field in his first two years at Kentucky before seeing more action in left field this spring, and he needs to improve his reads and routes. His arm is fringy at best, making him better suited for left field than right.
2018 season, junior at Kentucky: Batting .335 with 20 doubles, seven homers and 39 RBIs ... Had an 1.005 OPS in 50 games (third UK player to have an OPS over 1.000) while going 10-for-13 stealing bases ... In SEC play he hit .328 with 11 doubles, three home runs, 22 RBIs and a team-high five stolen bases ... Had a 44-game reached base safely streak dating to last season, including 18 multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI games ... Double and an RBI against Vanderbilt ... Double against Vandy ... Single against Vandy ... Was 4-for-5, with two doubles, a homer and four RBIs in win over Murray State ... A pair of hits against Mississippi State ... Plus a single facing Mississippi State .... Two doubles, four RBIs, plus three walks against Mississippi State ... A pair of hits, including a slo homer facing Indiana ... Two hits against Tennessee in back-to-back games, including one double ... Four hits, one RBI in three-game Missouri series ... Double against Florida ... Three hits with a double, homer and two RBIs against South Carolina ... Three hits, including a double against South Carolina ... Single, three RBIs against Louisville ... Solo homer against Alabama ... Two hits, plus RBI vs. Miami of Ohio ... Double, homer, five RBIs against Auburn ... Single facing Auburn ... Single against Xavier ... Facing Arkansas 2-for-3 with an RBI, Two hits and two RBIs ... Against Texas A&M: RBI double run-scoring single ... Three-run homer against Northern Kentucky ... Missed nine starts, pinch hitting in four of those games due to sprained ankle, ending a streak on 85 consecutive starts ... Homered and had hits from both side of the plate in opener against Wofford.
Honours _ Golden Spikes Award mid-season list ... Earned SEC POW honors with 10 RBIs .... All-Southeastern Conference Preseason First Team ... National Collegiate Baseball Writers preseason All-America squad First Team ... Perfect Game Pre-Season All-America ... Preseason All-Conference Team ... Baseball America 2018 conference player of the year ... 2017 _ Earned All-America honors as a sophomore after hitting .361/.464/.541 with 10 home runs and nine stolen bases ... 2016 honours _ Earned First-Team All-SEC and All-America honors from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, and Perfect Game/Rawlings ... Recognized as South All-Region First-Team by the ABCA ... Earned SEC co-Freshman of the Week honors for Week 1 ... SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll ... 2014 honours _ All-star honors at the second annual Tournament 12 Showcase held at Rogers Centre, hitting .363 with five stolen bases and five runs in four games.
Perfect Game Scouting Report (April 25, 2018)
Prospect Spotlight: Tristan Pompey, OF
Once he returned from a minor early season injury Tristan Pompey has helped set the tone for Kentucky, hitting out of the leadoff slot and having a good offensive season. As of this writing, he’s slashing .331/.431/.554, leading the team in doubles and showing solid pull-side home run power.
Pompey is a lithely built athlete who is easy to dream on, physically. He’s strong now but could hold more strength on his frame, and with that physical projection comes significant power projection as well. Pompey’s calling card is his offensive profile, a switch-hitter with power from both sides. He has plenty of bat speed and when he gets the ball into the air he does a very good job of driving it. There’s looseness to the hands and he shows a solid approach as well, though there is some swing-and-miss to his game. If you believe in the projection, it’s well within reason to see Pompey with plus raw power from both sides of the plate to go along with enough hit-ability to get to that power in game scenarios.
Pompey is a solid athlete who is likely best suited for left field at the professional level, which is where he plays for Kentucky now. He’s a solid athlete in a vacuum but doesn’t seem to always read the ball well off the bat in the outfield, and is a bit slow into his jumps as a result. His arm also makes left field, or potentially even first base, his likely long-term defensive homes.
Pompey slots into the PG draft board in the 2-3 round range right now, though his performance metrics in addition to his TrackMan metrics likely push him up a bit from that. He could hear his name called in the comp round range, though the second round seems more likely at this point.
Summer of 2017: Competed in College Home Run Derby at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Neb. July 1. Had 16 homers in the first round, 11 in the second for 27 in all ... Niko Hulsizer of Morehead State, (52 homers) defeated, Chandler Taylor of Alabama (49) 17-16 ... Former champs include current New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
2017 season as a sophomore: Batted .361 with 18 doubles, 10 homers, 45 RBIs, 1.005 OPS, 9-for-13 stealing bases ... Led the Southeastern Conference with a .410 batting average in league games, while also tallying the most hits and finishing in the top three in runs, on-base percentage, and total bases. He now ranks third on UK’s single-season hits list with 96 this year, third in runs with 70 and fifth in walks with 46 ... Had 28 extra-base hits ... Nine of his 10 home runs came in SEC play and he slugged .541 on the season.
Mock draft: Baseball America 1.0 Pompey gets mentioned earlier and slotted in seven spots later.
12. Blue Jays This all could line up well for the Jays to take a Canadian in the first round, which has never happened in club history. Tristan Pompey of Kentucky, whose older brother Dalton has played in the majors with Toronto, wouldn’t be a big reach here at 12. But other college bats, at this juncture, make more sense, particularly those who performed better with wood in the Cape Cod League this summer. That list starts with Wichita State’s emerging Greyson Jenista.
PICK: Greyson Jenista, OF/1B, Wichita State |
19. Cardinals
St. Louis gets back into the first round with a college bat.
PICK: Tristan Pompey, OF, Kentucky
What they are saying: “He might be another Dexter Fowler,” said one veteran scout in the fall of 2017.
“Showed willingness and aptitude for two-strike adjustments at the plate in the fall, impressing coaches … Considered a very smart player … Very good defender who makes it look easy..."
“Shows more tools than Dalton did at the same age. A long way from reaching his ceiling, but has an intriguing skill set. An imposing 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame, with broad shoulders and wide hips. Has plus speed and has the potential to stick in centre. Pompey shows above-average bat speed and some feel for the barrel.”.
"The Wildcats have to replace some key pieces, including leading hitter Evan White, but Pompey is ready to take on a larger role. Pompey is one of the toolsiest players in the conference and his play will be critical as the Wildcats look to make their first ever CWS appearance."
The most influential person in my baseball life -- besides my father (Ken Pompey): is my brother Dalton
The Good Genes: Brother Dalton was a 16th rounder selected by Toronto Blue Jays scout Jamie Lehman in 2010 ... Dalton made his debut in 2014, was supposed to be the every day centre fielder in 2015, was a September call up in 2016 and this season would have had a lot to say about who played left field. However, he suffered a concussion sliding into second in Miami during the WBC ... Has played 59 games hitting .222 with three homers and 10 RBIs.
What Baseball America has to say: 6. Tristan Pompey, of, Wareham, Kentucky (Jr.)
Pompey, the younger brother of Blue Jays outfielder Dalton Pompey, was a third-team All-American this spring at Kentucky, establishing himself as a player to watch in the 2018 draft class. He did not match his statistical success on the Cape but did stand out as one of the toolsiest players in the league.
Listed at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, Pompey is bigger than his older brother and hits for more power. The switch-hitter produces pop from both sides of the plate but has more as a right-handed batter. He has a patient approach at the plate, which also comes with some swing and miss. Pompey played right field for Wareham, as he has done at Kentucky. He is a solid defender and a plus runner who could move to center field in the future.
What Perfect Game has to say Class: Sophomore
School: University of Kentucky
Draft Eligible Year: 2018
The younger brother of Toronto Blue Jays prospect Dalton Pompey, Tristan is a quality prospect in his own right and currently resides in the leadoff spot for the Kentucky Wildcats. Pompey is one of the top hitters in terms of batting average on the Kentucky roster and he boasts some interesting potential.
The frame is very skinny and athletic. Pompey is listed at 6-foot-4, 200-pounds and has loads of quick twitch athleticism throughout the frame. There are some durability concerns with the size of the frame but he has plenty of room to fill out, primarily in the lower half.
Pompey will hit from both sides of the plate but shows a bit better fluidity from the left side of the plate. The stance is very basic with a wide base and high hand set and high back elbow. There is a hitch in the back of the swing but that appears to be mostly for timing, though it can cause some length issues and will lead to swing and miss. Those issues lead to a concern about strikeouts as he has already racked up 51 strikeouts on the season.
The length of the swing will also add an element of power to his game as Pompey has nine home runs on the season. He gets his strength and weight into the swing and the balls he hits generate good carry out specifically to the pull side of the field.
Pompey plays right field for the Wildcats where the position allows his arm strength to be an asset to help control the running game. Pompey certainly has a strong collection of tools that MLB teams are interested in, as evidenced by his 31st round selection by the Twins in the 2015 draft, but he will need some continued refinery of those tools. Regardless, Pompey warrants future looks as someone who is an interesting name for the 2018 draft class.
2016 season: “(Kentucky) coaches believe he may be the most physically gifted athlete on the team ... teammates voted him the second-best player on the roster behind All-American Evan White, who went in the first round to the Seattle Mariners in 2017, with some giving him first-place votes.
2016 season as a freshman: Batted .233 in 150 at bats with eight doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 29 RBIs, .768 OPS and two stolen bases, while scoring 25 runs, appeared in 49 games with 43 starts ... Walked 20 times and struck out 48 ... Had seven multi-hit games, knocking in at least two runs eight times, including three game-winning RBI ... Started season hitting three home runs on opening weekend, two against Dayton as he went 4-for-5 with four RBIs, two home runs, a double and a triple, falling a single short of hitting for the cycle ... Started 19 of the Wildcats’ final 20 games ... Put together a six-game hitting streak ... Also homered in win over South Carolina, homered twice and tripled in three-game series at Ole Miss ... Batted .239 with seven extra base hits and a .423 slugging percentage in 23 SEC games appearing in each of the outfield positions, starting 22 in left field, 15 in centre and five in right field ... Made one error on the season and owned a .988 fielding percentage.
Number: Wears No. 6 as a tribute to the nickname for his hometown of Toronto, ‘The 6’ not to be confused with The 6 as in 6-1-3 (Kingston, Canada’s first capital).
The brothers Pompey: Tristan, left and Dalton, right