19 days till FSU baseball: Elijah Cabell has one of the most powerful bats in the country

Florida State baseball’s outfield has the chance to be special in 2021. Much of their potential comes from the pure raw talent of Elijah Cabell. The Winter Garden native was starting to put it together in 2020, before the season was shut down. Cabell was 8th in the nation in home runs (7) and 4th in runs batted in (28). He also posted a mammoth OPS of 1.137. In just 17 games, the sophomore had two grand slams, often coming up with the big hit for the ‘Noles.

Cabell has as much power as anyone else in college baseball. On a 20-80 scouting scale, it could be true 80-grade raw power. The power is only going to increase this year, as the outfielder has added around 25 pounds, which Mike Martin Jr. mentioned was mostly all muscle. Cabell has been a bit dinged up this fall and coming into spring, but he’s still been putting on a show in batting practices.

On Friday, Junior said, “The problem is he’s losing too many baseballs. If he hits it out pull side, he has to go get it. If he hits it out opposite field, I’ll go get it.”

The outfielder did have a breakout season last year, but the strikeout numbers were still sky high. Cabell had a 56% K-rate last season, up from 54% his freshman season. FSU will trade the K’s for homers, but as the cleanup hitter and in his third year in college, the slugger needs to know when to pick his spots. Cabell’s strikeout numbers actually come from early in the count and not swinging at pitches he should be attacking.

The power numbers are going to be there. There’s true 20-homer potential in his bat with a full season. A big development for the outfielder last year was using the opposite field and letting the baseball travel. If he can combine that with selective aggression at the plate, he’ll have a big year and put himself in good position for the 2021 MLB draft.