Hometown slugger lights up Combine with record exit velos: 'That dude is yoked'

PHOENIX – Brandon Compton had sat in the seats at Chase Field many times. Growing up in Buckeye, Ariz., less than an hour west of the D-backs’ home ballpark, the 21-year-old came to countless games, cheering on his hometown squad. But he had never stepped into the batter’s box and taken hacks with the pool right beyond the right-center-field fence -- until Tuesday.

“It’s kind of crazy,” Compton said of getting to play on the same field as his head coach at Arizona State, Willie Bloomquist, who spent three seasons with the D-backs from 2011-13. “[He] used to play here when I was a little kid. I used to see him in the lineup and stuff -- it’s a crazy outcome, full circle.”

If you looked up at the Statcast data displayed on the giant center-field videoboard during Compton’s batting practice round during the MLB Draft Combine, odds are you either immediately mouthed ‘Wow,’ raised your eyebrows in a shocked fashion or did a double take. Maybe even all three at once.

116.9 mph. 116.6. 116.4.

Rocket after rocket after rocket. The No. 46 Draft prospect demolished 12 balls over 112 mph by the time all was said and done. He was responsible for the top three -- and five of the top seven -- exit velocities ever recorded at the Combine since its inception in 2021.

These weren’t merely one-hoppers on the infield dirt, either. Compton, a well-put-together 225 pounds from the left-handed batter’s box, was launching balls, with four going over 400 feet, including a 441-foot wallop that went well into the right-field seats of the D-backs’ home ballpark, a spot where he once sat and dreamed of a future on the other side.

“That dude is yoked,” said fellow 2025 draftee Anthony Pack, who was a part of Compton’s hitting group at the Combine, referring to the left-handed-hitting outfielder’s muscled up physique. “A lot of these guys are out here trying to improve their Draft stock and he certainly did that.”

Yes, it’s one batting practice session. But players have used these performances to catapult themselves into advantageous Draft spots before. George Wolkow, now the holder of the fourth-highest exit velocity (116 mph) in Combine history, was a seventh-round pick of the White Sox in 2023 who got a sizable over-slot bonus to sign. He walloped five consecutive 400-plus foot homers. Brandon Winokur went in the third round that same year, inking a well-over-slot $1.5 million deal (the equivalent of mid-second-round money), following a session in which he hit two homers 437 and 432 feet and five balls at 110+ mph off the bat.

Regarded as an offensive-minded member of the 2025 Draft class, it wasn’t too long ago that Compton -- who said he doesn’t think he’s ever hit the ball as hard as he did at the Combine -- was starring as a two-way player for Buckeye (Ariz.) Union High School. But Tommy John surgery put a crimp in those two-way plans, and when he stepped foot on campus at Arizona State, he picked up the bat full-time.

And he certainly swung it, going on to win Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors while hitting .354 with a 1.089 OPS. His sophomore campaign wasn’t as eye-popping (.271 average, .865 OPS), but he did add a successful spin in the Cape Cod League (.331 average in 38 games) to his Draft profile. His performance Tuesday was the veritable cherry on top.