TRACK RECORD: By the time he left California, Vaughn had established himself as one of the nation’s most decorated college baseball players. He was a part of USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team as both a freshman and a sophomore, where he teamed with future White Sox prospects Nick Madrigal and Steele Walker (since traded). He won the Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s top college player his sophomore year, then followed by hitting .374/.539/.704 as a junior for the Golden Bears. The White Sox used the third overall pick on Vaughn in 2019 and signed him for $7,221,200. He spent most of his professional debut at low Class A Kannapolis and high Class A WinstonSalem, where evaluators were impressed by the amount of hard contact he made despite numbers that might not jump off the page. He spent the 2020 season at Chicago’s alternate training site in Schaumburg, Ill.
SCOUTING REPORT: When Vaughn joined the White Sox, the team wanted to install a concrete, day-to-day routine that would help him manage the grind of professional baseball. He settled on one that featured a front-flip drill designed to keep his legs underneath him during his swing, and evaluators inside the organization say it has helped him become a better hitter. Vaughn does an excellent job keeping his upper and lower halves synced throughout the course of his swing. He gets the barrel to the zone quickly and keeps it there. Vaughn knows when he can do the most damage and works each at-bat to get himself into those situations. The combination of his swing and approach allows him to make consistent loud contact and drive balls from line to line. He projects to hit for a high average and for plus power, with his physical frame and natural strength yielding high-velocity rockets off the bat that carry out to left and left-center field. Vaughn has shown a minor weakness against changeups from righthanders, but that may be a sample size issue that will work itself out once he gets regular at-bats in game settings. Defensively, Vaughn continues to hone in his footwork around the first base bag. He played some third base at the alternate site, but he’s a well below-average runner with limited range and remains a first baseman long-term. He projects to be an average defender in time with an average arm.
THE FUTURE: Vaughn is ready for his first taste of the upper levels and could get a shot at the majors late in 2021. No matter when he arrives, Vaughn has the look of a classic masher ready to take the reins from Jose Abreu.
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