Brian Goodwin, BA’s #7 Eastern League Prospect

As noted last Friday, Baseball America has done the proverbial double dip, naming centerfielder Brian Goodwin to its 2012 Eastern League Top 20 Prospects List.

Goodwin comes in at #7, a little less than a week after being named the #8 prospect in the Sally League, and he’s immediately compared to Boston Red Sox farmhand Jack Bradley Jr. Here are the highlights from the scouting report (to their credit, it is different than Sally League notes):

A wiry yet strong athlete, he has surprising over-the-fence power, while his speed means he’ll leg out plenty of extra-base hits. His compact lefty stroke gives him a chance to hit for average, especially when combined with his discerning batting eye and willingness to use all fields. Scouts expect Goodwin will become a successful and intuitive basestealer with experience. Plus range and a solid arm suggest that he’ll be able to hold down center field for a while.

I missed the chance to see Goodwin play in June when I stopped in Charleston, finishing up a week-long trip through Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia; He’d been suspended for a home plate argument two nights prior. I did, however, get the chance to see Jackie Bradley Jr. play for Salem against Potomac on several occasions, and if the comp is legitimate (and they concede that Bradley is more refined currently but believe Goodwin has a “tick more raw tools”), then Nats fans have good reason to be excited because JBJ was one of the most exciting players to watch in the Carolina League last season.

BA points to the Washington Nationals CF “instability” as the reason for the two-level jump, referring to the more recent franchise history and not Bryce Harper per se, and noting that his triple slash was .252/.312/.400 after an 8-for-51 start in his first 14 games at AA. Overall, Goodwin hit .223/.306/.373 with 5HR and 14RBI in 42 games for Harrisburg, where he’ll most likely open the 2013 campaign.