Scouting Report on Cincinnati Reds 3B Jonathan India

After two seasons with the University of Florida, Jonathan India wasn’t exactly considered an elite prospect, but an incredible junior year propelled his draft stock forward into the top 10 of the 2018 draft. How has he done this year?

Background

Jonathan Joseph India seemed destined to be on the baseball map from a young age. Born in Plantation, Florida, India ended up at hometown American Heritage high school, which has built itself into one of the top prep programs in the country, with players such as Eric Hosmer, Zack Collins, and Triston Casas also being American Heritage alums that were selected in the first round of the draft.

His first two seasons at Florida, India excelled defensively, but showed just flashes of power and struggled with zone recognition and control, hitting a combined .289 with 31 doubles, 10 home runs, and 26 steals in his first two seasons, sporting a 45/85 BB/K rate. Two solid performances in the Cape Cod League indicated what was to come his junior year when he hit .350/.497/.717 with 12 doubles, 4 triples, 21 home runs, and 15 stolen bases while putting up a cool 60/56 BB/K ratio.

The Cincinnati Reds made India the 5th overall selection in the 2018 draft and sent him immediately to their advanced rookie league teams in both the Pioneer and Appalachian League, where he hit very well (.259/.444/.500, 3 HR, 15/16 BB/K). He finished his year with low-A Dayton, hitting .229/.339/.396 with 3 home runs and 5 steals, posting a 11.6% walk rate and 25% strikeout rate.

India was a consensus top-100 prospect in baseball by most outlets over the offseason. He was ranked #51 by Baseball America, #53 by MLB Pipeline, #35 by Baseball Prospectus, #75 by Fangraphs, #76 by Keith Law, and I had him ranked as the #46 prospect in the game in the offseason.

This season, India was assigned to high-A Daytona, where he’s played 26 games, posting a .242/.330/.414 line in 112 plate appearances, with 3 doubles, a triple, 4 home runs, 2 stolen bases, an 8.9% walk rate, and a 25% strikeout rate.

Scouting Report

Size/Build

India is listed at 6’1″ and 200 pounds, and he looks along those lines. His frame is on the narrow side, so I don’t see him putting 225 on his frame while keeping the defensive flexibility that he’s known for right now.

Contact (55)

India made an adjustment to his swing before his junior season of college that he’s continued through to professional ball, utilizing more of a planed swing that finishes up through the zone. While he had a better batting average in his final year, his raw contact skills were probably a plus with his previous swing, but with his adjusted swing, he does get knocked down a half-grade.

He does get the bat to and through the zone very quickly, which allows him to get to plenty of balls, but his longer overall path has seen him more susceptible to high-quality breaking stuff and top velocity.

Power (50)

While he’s altered the swing in order to generate more power, India’s raw strength and natural swing aren’t that of someone who will someday be a 30-home run hitter. He’s at his best when he’s spraying the ball throughout the field with authority, likely as a guy with heavy doubles totals and average home run totals.

Eye (50)

One aspect that I’ve noted didn’t truly improve from the beginning of college to present is India’s eye at the plate, specifically pitch recognition. He has above-average zone recognition, but his issues with pitch recognition have led to an increased strikeout rate once he got to full-season leagues as well as seeing his walk rate drop below 10%.

Speed (50)

One thing noted with a lot of players is that they are very fast once underway, but their first few steps are not great, often hurting base stealing or outfield jumps. India is the exact opposite. He’s not exactly a burner underway, but he’s got tremendous first-step quickness, which should allow him to swipe a number of bases that one wouldn’t expect.

Defense (60)

That first-step quickness allows India to have the ability to cover a number of infield positions. He could be an average defender at short, above-average at second base, and a plus defender at third with excellent hands as well his quick first step.

Arm (60)

On pure arm strength, India is probably more of a 55, but he’s been very impressive in all of my viewings in his accuracy from a number of angles, which plays up his raw arm strength.

MLB Comp

He broke in up the middle and ended up playing the most games in his career at shortstop, but the player that really struck me at first glance when watching India in college was Michael Young. As I’ve watched India more, I see more and more the profile both on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Major league teams are emphasizing defense much more, so Young wouldn’t have been allowed to stick at short as long as he did in the current game. At the plate, he and India have very similar approaches, and India’s swing could match Young’s high career BABIP (.333) that allowed him to have a high career batting average (.300).

Future Role

India’s glove and solid offensive skills across the board will certainly have value at the big league level, though likely not a star performer. He’ll be a consistent, quality hitter in a lineup while providing at least league average defense or better while giving some defensive flexibility.

One concern to watch is that India really hasn’t made progress in his pitch recognition, and to be able to see that success happen up the ladder will require him to improve in that respect, but once he does, the defense is already there, and he could end up moving quickly up the farm system once he establishes that.

So, while there probably is not a high ceiling here, India has a very high floor as a player who is likely to be at least a quality MLB utility guy and could have a very productive career as a bottom of the first tier sort of regular.

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