Billy Cook

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #326 prospect in 2021 draft
  Cook drew significant draft interest last season but went unpicked in the shortened five-round draft. He got off to a slow start in 2021 and missed five weeks after he suffered an oblique injury and Pepperdine paused its season due to Covid-19 protocols, but he went on a tear after he returned and led the West Coast Conference with 17 home runs. He hit .450 with 12 home runs in the final month of the season. Cook is tremendously strong in his 6-foot-1, 200-pound frame and shows above-average power that has a chance to be plus. He muscles up on every swing and makes extremely hard contact when he connects. Cook’s swing can get long and he will tinker with different stances and approaches. He has flashed the ability to hit good pitching, but his swing creates questions about how much contact he will consistently make at higher levels. Cook is a good athlete who is an above-average runner with an average arm in the outfield. He primarily played center field at Pepperdine and has a chance to stick there if he can improve his routes and reads with experience. Cook’s power and athleticism have teams interested in taking a chance on him at the end of the draft’s second day or early on the third day.
• Ranked #212 prospect in 2020 draft
  Cook helped key Pepperdine’s resurgence this spring. Batting primarily in the No. 2 spot, Cook hit .344 and led the Waves in OPS (1.124), home runs (four) and stolen bases (five) before the season shut down, doing enough against good pitching to generate excitement among area scouts. Cook is a strong, athletic center fielder whose calling card is his power. He makes loud contact when he connects and shows above-average power, with the potential for plus, that he can access in games. Cook has a long swing and is vulnerable to high-end velocity, but he makes enough damage on contact to project as a positive offensive contributor. Cook is a good runner for his size and played both center field and second base at Pepperdine. He projects as a left fielder in pro ball and has the above-average arm strength to play right as well. Cook comes from a long line of athletes—his father, Chuck, played baseball at Air Force before becoming an F-16 fighter pilot. His mother, Julie, played volleyball and basketball at Air Force. His grandfather, Dan Adair, played baseball at Wyoming and was teammates with longtime big league manager Art Howe.