When I heard that the much anticipated debut of Josue De Paula was happening on Tuesday, I knew what I was doing that night. He impressed, along with some other names for the 66ers that I have been wanting to check out. Plenty of other prospects between these teams and I have some takeaways after getting my first look at all of them in person.
Josue De Paula, #14 on the Dodgers T30:
The projection in the body for De Paula jumped out right away. He has so much room to fill out and that combined with his swing explains the hype. At the plate, his production was nothing to write home about. However, the swing is extremely smooth and the bat control he has is impressive. The left hander was facing lefties in every at bat, and he looked real comfortable up there. He was ultra aggressive at the plate and got the bat on the ball with ease, seeing only 6 pitches in 3 PA’s. Linked below is every pitch he saw in this one.
One slider buckled his knee up pretty good, and then on the very next pitch he took a slider in a similar location for a ball. His last plate appearance resulted in his first hard hit that resulted in an out. He looked pretty advanced at the plate for a guy with no professional experience. De Paula looked like a below average mover and is probably a corner outfielder, but the arm did flash as a tool on one throw. If he can get that arm strength to grow as he fills out he may be able to stay in right field. Nevertheless, De Paula’s bat looked legit and has real plus potential as he matures. After one game, I'd say the hype was warranted.
Nelson Rada, #8 on the Angels T30:
Nelson Rada is one of the most intriguing prospects in the Angels system for me. I was skeptical of starting him in Single-A when he still isn’t even 18 years old yet, but he has held his own so far. Not the most impressive night for him at the plate, as he had three strikeouts in six at bats, but he also had two hits. His pitch recognition was there tonight and looked like a real skill, which is super impressive at his age. Even in his three strikeouts, he took some tough pitches and battled rather than looking overmatched. The hit tool looked to be at least average, and I thought the approach was above average. However, perhaps the biggest thing that stood out to me was the lack of size. There is just about no power in the profile right now and he needs to put on weight to have even a below average power grade going forward. This concern about the impact in the bat matters, but at the same time he is still 17 years old and the feel at the plate is there.
In the field, Rada looked like a legit center fielder to me. His routes were there, he moves well to both sides, and the overall athleticism gives him a shot to stick in center field long term. He had one impressive catch where he covered a ton of ground to his left and it took him to the wall before he made the out. The arm strength was pretty poor, but he has so much time to fix that part of his game that I don’t have many concerns about it yet. Rada is an athletic outfielder that could stick in center and how he grows into his body will make a big difference on how much upside he really has.
Denzer Guzman, #9 on the Angels T30:
It was really a mixed bag of results in this one for Guzman. He had two at bats that he struck out on and looked really overmatched. But he also had a single and a nice walk to end his game as well. The swing looked pretty long, which gave him problems on some high heaters that were blown right by him. Swing and miss concerns were a real problem for him, and they might stay that way until he fixes that swing. He did have an at bat where it looked like he really did shorten the swing and adjust, but it ended with a weak flyout to shallow center. Consistency is needed, and right now it looks like an average hit tool with not a lot of power behind it.
He did have nice size for a 19-year-old and should get a chance to fill out and add impact to the swing. He was not really tested in the field too much, but he made the routine plays and flashed some above-average arm strength. I do think he may lack the range to stay at shortstop and will probably be either a 2B or 3B depending on how he fills out. His hands and arm action were smooth enough that I think he could stick in the dirt. Guzman has been a relevant name in the Angels system for a while and it gets easy to forget that he is a relatively fresh 19-year-old, but he still has the raw tools to pop soon. The swing needs a good amount of work, though.
Jorge Ruiz, #18 on the Angels T30:
One name picking up steam due to a successful season in the Angels system has been Jorge Ruiz, and he looked good tonight. He went deep for a home run and had another base knock. Ruiz did a really good job at getting the bat on the ball and his approach was pretty advanced. He showed a flat and smooth swing with quiet hands that were getting contact, and the power flashed on the home run. His plate discipline was also impressive and he worked one walk that really stood out. Ruiz has just a 15.4 K% on the year and a 10.6 BB% to go with it, and he looked comfortable enough at the plate to back up those numbers. The lack of projection in the body is a bit of a concern, but he may make enough contact to make up for it. He was not a very impressive mover and is probably destined for left field, so the pressure on his bat is pretty significant.
Thayron Liranzo, #20 on the Dodgers T30:
Unfortunately, Liranzo left the game with an injury after two innings and one plate appearance. I still want to quickly mention some thoughts due to him having legit helium right now. He looked bigger than his 6 '3 height and his 195 pounds, and the power has been there this year to show for it. His glove looked smooth behind the plate, but I would guess he moves out of the position due to size. This was obviously an extremely small sample size that really deserves no strong takeaways, but the intrigue was easy to see.