Ever since his days at the University of North Carolina, Bolt has tantalized with his tools without ever really putting it all together. The A’s fourth-round pick in the 2015 Draft was very inconsistent during his first two full seasons before seeing things click a bit more in 2018, a year that culminated with a spot on the 40-man roster in the offseason. He kept performing well enough in Triple-A in 2019 to earn his first callup to the big leagues, making a couple of trips up to fill in when outfielders went down.
Bolt is a switch-hitter who has always been better from the left side, especially in terms of him getting to his raw power. He has decent plate discipline with his ability to draw walks somewhat offsetting his strikeout rates and enabling him to hit for a decent average. He’s not a burner, but he uses his above-average speed well on both sides of the ball. A lean-bodied athletic player, he’s not been able to put an entire season together as he’s struggled to stay physical throughout a long year.
Bolt has played more center field than anywhere else in his career and has the ability to play above-average defense there. He’s seen time at all three spots and his future is probably as a fourth outfielder who keeps doing that at the big league level.
Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 55 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 45
If adversity on the field is a great teacher, Bolt might have a master's degree by now. After a huge freshman season at North Carolina, the outfielder struggled as a sophomore and junior, but the A's rolled the dice on his raw tools and took him in the fourth round of the 2015 Draft. He struggled to hit for much of his first two-plus years as a pro and really scuffled with a move to Double-A to start the 2018 season. Bolt went back down to the California League, righted himself, then played his way on to the 40-man roster with a huge finish to the year, back in Double-A and a stint in the Arizona Fall League.
The A's always felt Bolt had the ability to succeed, but just hadn't been able to find the level of consistency to tap into his tools. He can hit for average and power from both sides of the plate, though the power really shows up left-handed (17 of his 19 homers in 2018 came from that side). He has enough speed to steal a base, and he finished just one home run and one steal shy of a 20-20 campaign last year.
Bolt has the speed and instincts to play center field and the strong arm to play right. He has the acumen to play all three outfield positions and he's likely to be a fourth outfielder in the big leagues. Now that he's starting to put it together on a daily basis, though, don't rule out Bolt finding a regular spot in the lineup.
Scouting grades: Hit: 40 | Power: 50 | Run: 55 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 45
After turning down the Nationals as a 26th-rounder in 2012, Bolt honored his commitment to North Carolina and appeared destined to become an early-round pick in 2015. But after hitting .392/.509/.648 during his first two months as a freshman, Bolt suffered a broken bone in his foot and never approached that level of production again, hitting just .258 between his sophomore and junior campaigns. The A's were still plenty intrigued by Bolt's tools, though, and gave him an over-slot $650,000 bonus in the fourth round in 2015. He's made progress in each pro season, highlighted by a breakout 2018 campaign, much of which he spent in Double-A.
A switch-hitter, Bolt is considerably better from the left side of the plate, where he exhibits more impactful swing and hit 17 of his career-high 19 homers in 2018. Some evaluators believe he'd be better off batting solely from that side. He has some raw power from both sides and is a relatively disciplined hitter, but his pitch recognition leaves much to be desired and hinders the quality of his contact.
One of the better college athletes in his Draft class, Bolt has spent the majority of his pro career center field, where he gets excellent jumps and is an overall rangy defender. That ability to play up the middle as well as Bolt's above-average arm strength give him inherent value as a future fourth outfielder, especially if he can learn to make more contact.
Scouting grades: Hit: 40 | Power: 45 | Run: 55 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 45
A 26th-round pick by the Nationals in 2012, Bolt chose to honor his commitment to North Carolina rather than turn pro. He hit a robust .392/.509/.648 in his first two months as a freshman and seemed destined to become an early-round pick in 2015, but he broke a bone in his right foot that April and never approached that level of production again, hitting just .258 across his sophomore and junior campaigns. The A's were still plenty intrigued by tools, though, and gave him an over-slot $650,000 bonus in the fourth round last June. So far, however, Bolt's tools have yet to translate to production in the professional ranks.
The switch-hitting Bolt is considerably better from the left side of the plate, where he exhibits better bat speed and a more efficient swing that leads some evaluators to believe he'd be better off batting solely from that side. He has below-average home-run power but solid pop to the gaps, with above-average speed that fuels his extra-base hit totals. Though a relatively disciplined hitter, Bolt's pitch recognition leaves much to be desired and limits the utility of his bat.
One of the better college athletes in his Draft class, Bolt is a solid defender with enough range to potentially stick in center field. If he can't, he has the necessary arm strength to slide over to a corner spot.
The Nationals drafted Bolt in the 26th round in 2012, but he chose to honor his commitment to North Carolina rather than turn pro. He hit a robust .392/.509/.648 in his first two months as a freshman and seemed destined to become an early-round pick in 2015, but he broke a bone in his foot that April and never approached that level of production again, hitting just .258 between his sophomore and junior campaigns. The A's were still plenty intrigued by tools, though, and gave him an over-slot $650,000 bonus in the fourth round last June.
A switch-hitter, Bolt is considerably better from the left side of the plate, where he exhibits more bat speed and a more impactful swing. Some evaluators believe he'd be better off batting solely from that side. He has some raw power from both sides and is a relatively disciplined hitter, but his pitch recognition leaves much to be desired and hinders the quality of his contact.
One of the better college athletes in his Draft class, Bolt has a chance to stick in center field, where he gets excellent jumps and is an overall rangy defender. If he can't, he has the necessary arm strength to slide over to a corner spot.
Bolt looked like a lock to go early in the 2015 Draft when he batted .392/.509/.648 in his first two months as a North Carolina freshman in 2013. But after he broke a bone in his foot that April, he never approached that level of production again. His tools were still enticing, so the Athletics selected him in the fourth round in June and gave him an over-slot $650,000 bonus.
A switch-hitter, Bolt exhibits more bat speed and a more authoritative swing as a lefty, leading some scouts to wonder if he'd be better off batting solely from that side of the plate. Maybe that would help him do a better job of handling quality fastballs and recognizing pitches, two of his weaknesses.
If Bolt could recapture the magic from early in his freshman year, he could be a star. One of the better college athletes in the 2015 Draft class, he has solid raw power, speed and arm strength. He does a nice job of covering center field from gap to gap.
