Top South and Other Central American Prospects
Monday, March 25th, 2013This list of prospects does not include Venezuela and Dominican Republic, since they will have a list all their own. Brazil and Colombia seemed to be popular destinations of scouts while the number of prospects from Panama and Nicaragua appear to be falling, based on the names appearing on this list.
Julio Teheran (Colombia) again repeats as the top prospect on this list. The way he pitched in winterball and the way he is pitching in the spring, it could be a break out year for him. Randal Delgado (Panama) had a poor major league season and no longer qualifies as a prospect. Erasmo Ramirez (Nicaragua) also graduated to the major leagues, but he had a better year than Delgado. Dimasther Delgado (Panama) had a decent year in his recovery from injury but dropped from the list. You can see the complete list from last year here: http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/?p=500
1. Julio Teheran RHP (Colombia) Atlanta Braves - Myworld has watched him make four spring training starts. In his last two starts he has not given up a hit or a run in eleven innings. He can throw his fastball in the mid-90s, but he has better command of the pitch when he keeps it in the low 90s. Pitching is similar to real estate with everything based on location. Julio was voted with the best change in the Braves system. Expect him to contend for the rookie of the year title in 2013.
2. Jorge Alfaro C (Colombia) Texas Rangers - His signing with the Rangers for $1.3 million in 2010 set a record for a Colombian prospect. With the limit teams have with their international bonuses it will be a record that will be difficult to break. Alfaro does not have a lot of experience behind the plate so the more he plays the better his tools. He has a good arm and has the athleticism to play the position. He has the potential to hit for power but must cut down on his strikeouts if he hopes to hit for average. The Rangers have no one in their system from preventing him from being their catcher of the near future.
3. Christian Betancourt C (Panama) Atlanta Braves - He plays a solid defense. The question with Christian is whether his bat will be good enough to be more than a backup. There was also some concern with his focus. With the injury to Brian McCann, Christian has the opportunity to make the 25 man roster as the back up catcher. Last year he played 71 games in AA and hit .243. He needs to show better patience or major league pitchers will carve him up.
4. Andre Rienzo RHP (Brazil) Chicago White Sox - A good spring may have put him in consideration for a spot in the starting rotation. That has not happened. He also had a little trouble pitching for Brazil in the World Baseball Classic. He lost a lot of time last year with a 50 game suspension for performance enhancing drugs, which delayed the start of his 2012 season. He dominated A ball upon his return (1.08), still pitched well in AA (3.27) and did not give up an earned run in his only start in AAA. He has a low 90s fastball and a nice breaking curveball, but the lack of an effective change could keep him from the starting rotation.
5. Cheslor Cuthbert 3B (Nicaragua) Kansas City Royals - Cheslor signed in 2009 rated as the seventh best international prospect. A shortstop out of Curacao Jurickson Profar was rated number 15 while Miguel Sano was rated the top international prospect. He hasn’t quite reached his hype, his power numbers dropping his last three years from a slugging percentage of .420 to .322. Currently his plus power has only shown in batting practice. If he can find his power Cheslor should have all the tools defensively to play third base.
6. Luiz Gohara LHP (Brazil) Seattle Mariners - Luiz signed in 2013 so there is no history on him. As a 16 year old he throws a fastball in the high 80s to low 90s. At 6′3″ 220 pounds he is a big boy who must pay attention to his conditioning. He also needs to work on his secondary pitches to achieve any kind of success. The Mariners will start him in a short season league.
7. Jabari Blash OF (Virgin Islands) Seattle Mariners - Born in the Virgin Islands he was drafted in the eighth round when he went to Miami Dade Junior College to play baseball. Jabari has the potential to be above average in all five tools, but those tools are raw. Last year he hit 15 homeruns, but he also struck out 134 times in 113 games. He was 13 for 20 in stolen bases and showed enough patience to walk 60 times. Time will tell whether the 6′5″ 225 pounder finds the pitch recognition to hit in the major leagues.
8. Harold Ramirez OF (Colombia) Pitsburgh Pirates - The Pirates inked Harold for over $1 million in 2011. He was considered the 15th best prospect, just behind Cleveland shortstop Dorssys Paulino. He has the speed to play center but his defense is still spotty. Some scouts believe he will develop power, but others doubt it will show. This will be critical if he has to move to left field. He may need a little more time in short season ball before he gets promoted to Low A.
9. Dilson Herrera 2B (Colombia) Pittsburgh Pirates - A modest 2010 signing Dilson has hit .297 with a .481 slugging percentage in his brief two year minor league career. He lacks the arm strength to play short and his power is restricted to the gaps. He has the speed to steal twenty plus bases.
10. Giovanny Urshela 3B (Colombia) Cleveland Indians - The fifth player on this list born in Colombia to appear on this list. Giovanny was signed in 2008, but had a breakout year last year for power, hitting 14 homeruns. He plays good defense so with the development of power he profiles well at third. He needs to work more on his patience, walking only 59 times in his 1400 minor league at bats. He should be ready for AA in 2013 but has Lonny Chisenhall ahead of him.
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