Prospect rankings primer
State of the Farm: “Baby you're a rich man. Baby you're a rich man. Baby you're a rich man too. You keep all your money in a big brown bag inside a zoo. What a thing to do.”
The Top Ten
- OF Yasiel Puig
- RHP Zach Lee
- 3B Corey Seager
- LHP Chris Reed
- OF Joc Pederson
- RHP Matt Magill
- LHP Onelki Garcia
- RHP Chris Withrow
- RHP Garrett Gould
- RHP Zachary Bird
+Additional report on: Hyun-Jin Ryu*
1. Yasiel Puig
Position: OF
DOB: 12/07/1990
Height/Weight: 6’3’’ 215 lbs.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Drafted/Acquired: International free agent, 2012, Cuba
2012 Stats: .400/.500/1.000 at complex level AZL (9 games); .327/.407/.423 at High-A Rancho Cucamonga (14 games)
The Tools: 7 raw; 5+ arm; 5 run
What Happened in 2012: The Dodgers gave the Cuban slugger a seven-year, $42M deal and the world joined hands and said, “Who is this guy and they gave him what?”
Strengths: Major-league strength; good athlete for size; mature build, with thick core and lower half; linebacker-like; power potential is carrying tool; could hit 25-plus HR at peak; arm is strong and will play in right; average run.
Weaknesses: Muscles balls; strength swing; leveraged and lengthy; hit tool projects to average at best; 5 run likely to be below-average at major-league level; limited exposure at professional level.
Overall Future Potential: 6; first-division player
Explanation of Risk: High risk; physically mature, but more unknowns in game than knowns; hit tool has question marks.
Fantasy Future: Prototypical corner profile, with big power potential and enough bat to make it play.
The Year Ahead: Puig is ready for a full season at the Double-A level, which will no doubt pull the curtain back on Puig’s potential. He appears shorten than his listed height, and he’s built more like a football player than a baseball player, but he shows good athleticism and coordination in his movements. His raw strength is lumberjack, and his power is tied to that near-elite strength. His swing mechanics can leave him using more of his upper-body, losing control of the stick in the zone. It remains to be seen if better pitching can trip him up, but sources speculate that the weaknesses of the hit tool could show up at the Double-A level. It’s difficult to rank a player like Puig, who could explode into one of the better power bats in the minors or underwhelm against better competition. At this stage, there are too many unknowns for a clear picture.
Major league ETA: 2014
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