Reymond Fuentes Scouting Report (2010)
Former Boston Red Sox first round pick Reymond Fuentes recently found a new home with the San Diego Padres Organization as a key piece in the Adrian Gonzalez trade. In posting a .270/.328/.377 line in with Greenville of the South Atlantic League, he displayed a line drive stroke and speed to burn from the bottom half of the batting order. Having played the 2010 season as a 19-year old, Fuentes is still years away from San Diego. However, it's never to early to discuss his strengths and weaknesses and how he may fit into the Padres future plans.
Physical Projection: Listed at 6', 160 lbs., Fuentes has some muscle definition, but is very thin through the calves and forearms making it difficult to predict future growth. As he matures, any size he is able to add should be distributed evenly as his core is well-proportioned in comparison to the rest of his body. This also bodes well for his maintaining athleticism as other high school draftees who were expected to be "speedsters" (See Tim Beckham), saw disproportionate growth through their bottom halves sap a portion of their athletic ability. I fully expect Fuentes to keep his speed. However, I consider reports of his Fuentes' ability to add future power somewhat questionable at this point.
Offense: In the half dozen games I watch Fuentes play, I saw a few "big league" swings which left me envisioning a slasher with moderate gap-to-gap power at the big league level. In one at bat, he laced a 2-strike pitch into the left-center field gap for a double which was truly a thing of beauty. On the flip side, I also saw a Fuentes whose swing became very long at times struggled with fringe breaking pitches. On occasion, he showed a little "leakage" and drifted onto his front foot.
Additionally, he laid off very few close pitches and displayed more "swing-and'miss" than one wants to see from a potential leadoff hitter. It was definitely a mixed bag, but enough to rank him as one of the 6-8 best position prospects I had the chance to scout. I would be remiss not to mention that I had at least one scouting contact who was higher on Fuentes than myself and felt comfortable projecting increased power production as he matured.
Defense: In terms of range and the ability to cover from gap-to-gap, I have no qualms about Fuentes' ability to remain in center field over the long haul. However, his arm strength appeared to be below average leaving me to wonder just how much of a liability it would be at the major league level. Of course a shift to left field facilitated by a lack of arm strength would be a huge hit to his prospect value as his skill set is that of an up-the-middle player.
Speed: After a season in which he went 42/47 in stolen base attempts, I was one of the few to actually see him thrown out at third base. I pulled multiple home-to-first times in the 4.1ish range making him a plus runner. In addition to his speed, Fuentes is also a strong baserunner who read pitchers well and was extremely efficient on the bases. It was the most polished part of his all-around game.
After seeing Fuentes a number of times, I was a little surprised to see him involved in a deal for a superstar like Adrian Gonzalez. Going forward, he should advance one level at a time with an expected ETA of 2013-2014. While I don't see him as a table setting leadoff hitter at the big league level, I can see him as an 8-9 guy with enough offensive skills to turn the lineup over nicely. I know Carlos Beltran comps are floating around out there due to their being relatives, but I just can't envision a scenario where Fuentes' power blossoms the way Beltran's did in the following years based on his physical attributes and flat swing plane.
Physical Projection: Listed at 6', 160 lbs., Fuentes has some muscle definition, but is very thin through the calves and forearms making it difficult to predict future growth. As he matures, any size he is able to add should be distributed evenly as his core is well-proportioned in comparison to the rest of his body. This also bodes well for his maintaining athleticism as other high school draftees who were expected to be "speedsters" (See Tim Beckham), saw disproportionate growth through their bottom halves sap a portion of their athletic ability. I fully expect Fuentes to keep his speed. However, I consider reports of his Fuentes' ability to add future power somewhat questionable at this point.
Offense: In the half dozen games I watch Fuentes play, I saw a few "big league" swings which left me envisioning a slasher with moderate gap-to-gap power at the big league level. In one at bat, he laced a 2-strike pitch into the left-center field gap for a double which was truly a thing of beauty. On the flip side, I also saw a Fuentes whose swing became very long at times struggled with fringe breaking pitches. On occasion, he showed a little "leakage" and drifted onto his front foot.
Additionally, he laid off very few close pitches and displayed more "swing-and'miss" than one wants to see from a potential leadoff hitter. It was definitely a mixed bag, but enough to rank him as one of the 6-8 best position prospects I had the chance to scout. I would be remiss not to mention that I had at least one scouting contact who was higher on Fuentes than myself and felt comfortable projecting increased power production as he matured.
Defense: In terms of range and the ability to cover from gap-to-gap, I have no qualms about Fuentes' ability to remain in center field over the long haul. However, his arm strength appeared to be below average leaving me to wonder just how much of a liability it would be at the major league level. Of course a shift to left field facilitated by a lack of arm strength would be a huge hit to his prospect value as his skill set is that of an up-the-middle player.
Speed: After a season in which he went 42/47 in stolen base attempts, I was one of the few to actually see him thrown out at third base. I pulled multiple home-to-first times in the 4.1ish range making him a plus runner. In addition to his speed, Fuentes is also a strong baserunner who read pitchers well and was extremely efficient on the bases. It was the most polished part of his all-around game.
After seeing Fuentes a number of times, I was a little surprised to see him involved in a deal for a superstar like Adrian Gonzalez. Going forward, he should advance one level at a time with an expected ETA of 2013-2014. While I don't see him as a table setting leadoff hitter at the big league level, I can see him as an 8-9 guy with enough offensive skills to turn the lineup over nicely. I know Carlos Beltran comps are floating around out there due to their being relatives, but I just can't envision a scenario where Fuentes' power blossoms the way Beltran's did in the following years based on his physical attributes and flat swing plane.
