Locklear, whose uncle played six seasons of pro ball, jumped on radars when he smashed 16 homers for Virginia Commonwealth in 2021. He became a more serious Draft prospect when he crushed nine more with a wood bat in the Cape Cod League, and he’s continued to flex his muscles as the best hitter and run producer in the Rams' lineup this spring.
Locklear’s carrying tool, obviously, is his raw power from the right side of the plate, which is better than plus. He’s shown he can use it in his mid-Major conference, and he’s strong enough to hit the ball out with wood in his hands as well. He makes a lot of contact at this level and has walked more than he’s struck out in his college career, though his strikeout rate did climb a little on the Cape. He’s much more strength over bat speed, though, and scouts are worried that his stiff swing will keep him from barreling up the baseball consistently against better pitching.
It's Locklear's bat that will have to carry him to the big leagues, however. While he plays third at VCU and has above-average arm strength, he’s likely going to have to play first at the next level. The right-right profile is tougher there, though analytics fans do like his exit velocities and launch angles quite a bit.
Locklear put his name on the map as a college power bat as a sophomore at Virginia Commonwealth when he hit 16 homers and finished with an OPS just north of 1.200. After tying for the Cape Cod League lead with nine home runs that summer, Locklear turned it up a notch in 2022, hitting .402 with 20 homers to help him land in the second round of the Draft. He swung the bat well enough to earn a promotion to Double-A, though he missed two months with a broken right hand caused by a hit-by-pitch, making up for some of those lost at-bats in the Arizona Fall League.
The right-handed hitter’s carrying tool is still his tremendous raw power, though he’s not a one-trick pony. He can hit the ball out to all fields and does a nice job of managing the strike zone, limiting strikeouts and drawing walks, giving him a chance to be a solid overall hitter. He can struggle with breaking and offspeed stuff and can chase too much at times.
Locklear saw time at both infield corners at VCU and spent most of his pro debut playing third base, where his strong arm plays well. He lacks the range to stay there and played first exclusively in 2023, including the AFL, and is a capable enough defender there. It’s his bat that should get him to the big leagues quickly.
Pete Alonso, anyone? That was the comp that MLB Network analyst Dan O’Dowd shared after Seattle selected the 22-year-old in the second round of the 2022 Draft and made him VCU’s highest pick in 18 years. Locklear possesses the kind of raw, untapped power that organizations covet, and it carried even more credibility after he hit nine homers in the Cape Cod League in 2021. He helped VCU to a pair of Atlantic 10 Conference titles, hitting 36 homers combined in 2021-22, and he added another seven in 29 games after debuting at Single-A Modesto last year. He was showing his bat would play during his first full season in 2023, though he missed more than two months with a broken hand suffered by a hit by pitch.
His calling card, obviously, is raw power from the right side that many tout as better than plus. Because of the more limited college competition he faced in the Atlantic 10 Conference, it’s possible that he experiences some kinks when moving up, especially against tougher pitching. The swing is advanced, but for an aggressive power guy, there can be tendencies to over-hit and expand the zone. That said, because he’s older, there’s a chance he could climb quickly.
Locklear flashed an above-average arm manning third base at VCU, but most scouts suggest that he’ll need to move to first longer term. Above all, it’ll be his bat that carries him to the big leagues.
Locklear, whose uncle played six seasons of pro ball, jumped on radars when he smashed 16 homers for Virginia Commonwealth in 2021. He became a more serious Draft prospect when he crushed nine more with a wood bat in the Cape Cod League, and he continued to flex his muscles as the best hitter and run producer in the Rams lineup this past spring, hitting his way to the Mariners in the second round of the Draft.
Locklear’s carrying tool, obviously, is his raw power from the right side of the plate, which is better than plus. He showed he can use it in his mid-Major conference, and he’s strong enough to hit the ball out with wood in his hands as well. He makes a lot of contact and walked more than he struck out in his college career, though his strikeout rate did climb a little on the Cape. He’s much more strength over bat speed, though, and scouts were worried his stiff swing will keep him from barreling up the baseball consistently against better pitching.
Locklear's bat will have to carry him to the big leagues, however. While he played third at VCU and has above-average arm strength, he’s likely going to have to play first at the next level. The right-right profile is tougher there, though analytics fans do like his exit velocities and launch angles quite a bit.
Note: xHR tells how many of this player's home runs would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
HR
2024
2
1
2
2
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
2
2
1
2
1
1
1
2
2
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
Player
2
1
2
2
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
2
2
1
2
1
1
1
2
2
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
Note: xHR tells how many of this player's home runs would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift: three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about how positioning is defined here