In baseball, a 5-tool player is the rare kind of player who has all the skills to play all the positions in the game. This means that he can hit for power and has an impressive batting average; he can run fast from base to base; he can throw hard and effectively and has sharp fielding ability. He has all five “tools” that enable him to be a potential superstar on the field because he can maximize all his abilities to score for his team.
The Five Tools
The five tools a baseball player should have are arm strength, speed, fielding ability, the ability for batting average, and power. The five-tool player has all five tools and uses them all equally effectively; this makes him above average.Why is it rare for a player to have all 5 tools? Simple – different players have different body builds and different sets of skills. Among these skills, some will rank higher or be stronger in any given player. It is not every player who has all these skills or can use them effectively on the field. For instance, players who can make heavy or powerful hits are, in most cases, too big to run quickly. On the other hand, players who can run fast do not have the arm power to make strong hits that will lead to home runs.
Finding the 5-tool Player
When evaluating baseball players, there are three criteria applied to measure their capabilities and how effectively they can wield the five tools. These criteria are the Identification (whether they are meant for the big league); projection (their highest potential that can be reached and realized); and probability (referring to the percentage of the highest level of realizable potential). A five-tool player ranks very high in all of the categories and will be considered a potentially valuable player.The Future Potential
Different baseball organizations may apply differing standards, but in Major League Baseball (MLB), teams traditionally apply a 20-80 rating scale when they evaluate talent or recruit players and assign them to positions. This point system has a ranking from 2 (the lowest, or poor) and reaches up to 8 (the highest, or outstanding). Every tool or skill is examined and evaluated closely.The points are then added, multiplied by two, and the result is the OFP or the Overall Future Potential. A player who reaches a score above 65 can be a potential star; someone who gets a 50 score is considered a regular or average player.