RJ Austin entered the 2025 season as the featured player on a Vanderbilt Baseball team expected to compete for a trip to Omaha. While high expectations were nothing new for the junior, the reality of this season — in all likelihood — being his final year on West End certainly raised the stakes. Not only was he tasked with living up to the reputation that earned him recognition on the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, but he had to do so while also elevating his draft stock to ensure that he would hear his name called in the first few rounds of the MLB Draft this coming summer.
To the surprise of no one who has watched the Atlanta native over the past few years, Austin has had no trouble living up to the hype. Through the first 37 games of the season, he is slashing .273/.386/.420 while playing stellar defense in center field and stealing 16 bases. This has solidified Austin as a top-100 player in this year’s draft class and helped Vanderbilt remain on track toward clinching its 19th consecutive postseason appearance.
In a day and age when the three true outcomes (a walk, a strikeout or a home run) are becoming increasingly common, Austin has been referred to by head coach Tim Corbin as a “throwback player.” He can hit for both average and power, is an excellent defender at multiple positions and runs the bases with a ferocity that very few players can match. Austin embodies the idea of a five-tool player, and he puts each of those tools – contact hitting, power, speed, glove and arm – on display with regularity. Let’s look at each of the five tools that Austin possesses and how they have enabled him to stand out as one of the top players in the nation.
The bat
Austin’s bat-to-ball skills have been evident since he stepped on campus in 2022. Having been entrusted with a starting role as a first-year, he slashed a respectable .257/.353/.390. He followed that up with an impressive sophomore campaign in which he led the team in both batting average (.322) and hits (75) before regressing slightly this season to 39 hits in 143 at-bats. During an age in which pitching has been the Commodores’ calling card, Austin has been as consistent as they come at the plate, serving as a spark plug for the lineup every time he steps into the batter’s box.
In addition, Austin has escaped the trend of many modern baseball players and kept his strikeout numbers to a minimum. He has posted a sub-18% strikeout rate in all three seasons at the collegiate level and a sub-16% strikeout rate in the last two, exhibiting an ability to battle off tough pitches when behind in the count. This skill ensured that even when the hits weren’t falling, Austin still moved runners over and made productive outs.
Still, the most impressive part of Austin’s approach at the plate is his affinity for hitting line drives on pitches well outside the strike zone. He has made a habit of extending his arms to flick balls well off the outside corner into right field and of scooping pitches in the dirt into the gap in left-center this season, compiling a highlight reel of unconventional base hits. The most notable occasion this occurred was the seventh inning of Vanderbilt’s final game against Texas A&M when Austin swatted a go-ahead two-RBI single off of a slider that seemed destined to land in the left-hand batter’s box.
The slug
The long ball has been noticeably absent from Austin’s game so far this season, but that has not prevented him from showcasing his raw strength and power on numerous occasions. He leads the team in doubles (10) and triples (4) and is second behind Brodie Johnston in extra-base hits (15). Austin’s ability to drive the ball into the gaps has led to a respectable .420 slugging percentage despite clearing the fence just once. A return to the home run numbers he posted the last two seasons — in which he averaged 6 per year — would place the junior firmly among the best sluggers on the team.
The analytics behind Austin’s lone home run this season highlight why scouts still believe in his power profile. The ball left his bat at 111.8 miles per hour — more than 11 miles per hour higher than any ball he hit in a statcast-tracked game last season — and traveled 434 feet to straight-away center field. The key number behind it, however, was a 25-degree launch angle that, if replicated, could turn a number of his doubles and triples into round-trippers.
The key for Austin moving forward will be converting some of his ground balls and line drives into fly balls. His 13 career home runs are unlikely to turn any heads, but his ability to drive the ball with authority suggests his upside is significantly higher. While MLB Pipeline grades his power as the lowest of any of his tools, there is reason to believe it could improve significantly as he progresses through the professional ranks.
The wheels
Arguably the strongest of his tools, Austin’s speed is among the highest grades in this year’s draft class. He displayed it at USA Baseball and MLB development camps last summer, running a 3.60-second 30-yard sprint. The time was described by Manny Portugal, USA Baseball’s Assistant Director of Systems and Analytics, as being “incredibly fast.” That said, as fast as Austin is off the field, he’s even faster on it.
Thanks to his quick burst, he can track down balls in the gap that few others get to. He simultaneously has the speed to beat out infield singles that look to be automatic outs off the bat. He has stretched singles into doubles and doubles into triples on multiple occasions, including in the seventh inning of a one-run game against Air Force, and has created a number of scoring opportunities for the Commodores as a result.
Austin flashes his speed most on the basepath, though. His 27 stolen bases last season were the highest by any Vanderbilt player not named Enrique Bradfield Jr. since 2016, and his 16-for-18 stolen base record this season shows that even when pitchers are aware of his speed, there’s little they can do to stop it. From swiping bags with ease to scoring from second base on balls that don’t leave the infield, Austin puts pressure on opposing pitchers and defenses every time he reaches base.
The leather
Austin brings as much to the field as he does at the plate. Having taken sole responsibility of center field this season, he has provided stability and athleticism for the Commodores at one of baseball’s most difficult positions. He makes every routine play and has simultaneously compiled a highlight reel of acrobatic catches to rob opposing hitters of extra bases. There has been no better example of Austin’s defensive impact than Vanderbilt’s series against Arkansas, during which he made a pair of awe-inspiring plays.
Austin’s versatility is also critical to what makes his glove so valuable. He arrived on campus as a shortstop prospect but has since played every position except catcher and right field, displaying comfort across the diamond. Despite being moved from position to position regularly, he has managed to show steady improvement with his glove during his time at Vanderbilt. As a testament to his hours of work fielding ground balls and tracking fly balls, his fielding percentage has increased from .943 during his freshman year to .989 in each of the past two seasons.
The cannon
Austin’s arm supplements his glove, further augmenting his impact in the field. His five outfield assists are not only the most on the team but also more than the rest of the roster combined. Among the most notable of those assists were his game-ending throw to second base against Texas A&M and his rocket to home plate to maintain a one-run lead against Air Force, showcasing how much of a difference-maker he can be.
Considering that Austin only recently transitioned from the infield to the outfield, the fact that he has gunned down several base runners without making errant throws is remarkable. His combination of arm strength and accuracy is rare and will make him an above-average defender at whatever position he plays moving forward.
While all of these five tools are impressive on their own, Austin’s ability to bring them together makes him stand out. By combining contact and power at the plate, great glove work, a strong arm in the field and speed in all aspects of the game, Austin has become the player and leader that Vanderbilt has needed him to be.
