Per Baseball America:
"Burgess entered the year as one of the top high school position prospects in the draft, but clubs debated his worth because of his inconsistent performance in the spring--not to mention the legacy of his alma mater at Tampa 's Hillsborough High, which produced talented yet troubled big leaguers Elijah Dukes, Carl Everett, Dwight Gooden and Gary Sheffield and Carl Everett. But Burgess, put it all together in his pro debut, leading the GCL in on-base percentage (.442) and slugging (.617).
Burgess' bat speed, strength and leverage produce huge raw power, and he has enough maturity to keep his hands back to square up quality breaking balls. Burgess shows advanced plate discipline and pitch recognition, and his long arms allow him to cover any part of the strike zone.
Though he didn't look as athletic as he did as an amateur, Burgess still displayed plus arm strength in right field. He's a slightly below-average runner and projects as a right fielder with classic tools.
"He doesn't run real well, but when you hit it as far as he does it doesn't matter," said one scout from a National League club. "He was very aggressive in all phases of the game. He had something to prove. Pitchers really went after him and challenged him, and he just ate that up." "
Per Svrluga:
Burgess was promoted to short-season Class A Vermont at the end of the year. The Nationals got him with the 49th pick, but GM Jim Bowden believes he was a top 15 talent. There's no way he would have slipped that far if he had produced a solid senior season. His misfortune may very well have been the Nationals' fortune.
