Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | SD | SS/2B/OF | 22 | 40 |
Grades Update: Mar 2021
| OFP | Role | Hit | Power | Field | Arm | Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 40 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 80 |
Mar 2021 Report
Evaluator: Jake Kerns
Age: 26 yr
Height: 6-0
Weight: 182 lbs
Hits/Throws: R/R
Acquired: 2012 IFA (NYY)
RuleV: On 40-Man Roster
Physical Description: Average height and build. Thick, strong lower half; noticeably filled out over the last few seasons. Athletic player who plays with obvious love for the game and aggressiveness. Fun to watch.
Hit: Stands open and crouched with his hands high and back. Minimal pre-pitch movement with the bat. Slight repositioning of his left foot for timing purposes that sometimes manifests as a small leg kick. Upward swing that gets the ball in the air and generates a lot of line-drive contact to the medium parts of the outfield. Repeatable swing that he's opened up slightly since moving on from the Yankees; at its best it is short and gets through the zone quickly. Above-average bat speed that produced an average EV of 93.5 and max EV of 108.8 in limited plate appearances during the 2020 season. Shows a fringe-average eye, but he has an aggressive, free-swinging approach and will struggle with strikeouts at the MLB level. Displays a lot of pull-side contact, but has started shooting balls to centerfield more frequently. He's a below-average contact hitter, largely due to his free-swinging nature, but the tool plays up due to his 80-grade speed. Added patience and pitch recognition would go a long way to improving the tool, but he's 25 and yet to make those adjustments. Grade: 40
Power: Above-average raw power, primarily to the pull side, that began showing up more regularly during games in 2019. Swings on an upward plane and his approach is designed to put balls in the air; he's consistently recorded more fly outs than ground outs since entering pro ball and had an average launch angle of 28.5 degrees in limited at-bats in 2020. His EV would be in the upper quartile if he had enough at-bats to qualify. His aggressive approach hinders his power output, and most of his batted balls are still to the shallow and medium parts of the grass, but his speed will allow him to be a high doubles and triples hitter with regular at-bats. He could hit a dozen or more HR. Grade: 45
Field: Fluid athlete in the field that has familiarity with 2B, SS, and OF. Best asset is his speed, which allows him to cover a lot of ground; has plus range in both the infield and outfield. In the infield, he moves well laterally and looks comfortable at both 2B and SS. Plays with bounce and shows a willingness to charge the ball and lay out in either direction. He's still green in the outfield, and needs to work specifically on his routes and reads; both are currently below to fringe-average. As with every other facet of his game, he's aggressive and can make some difficult plays. He's probably an average fielder wherever he ends up, but has some additional upside due to his footspeed and overall athleticism. Grade: 50
Arm: Above-average arm strength; strong enough to make jump throws from deep in the hole, but they were on a bounce - albeit on target - in looks. He routinely hit his cutoff in limited looks in the outfield. Arm may fit best at 2B and LF. Grade: 55
Run: Timed 3.98 down the line from the right side, which is off the charts. Consistently between 4.01 and 4.05. Legitimate stolen base threat with a track record to prove it. Sprint speed measured at 29.0 ft/s, which placed him in the 95th percentile among MLB players in 2020. Shows strong jumps on the basepaths, but can be overly-aggressive and gets caught too often for someone with his speed. Grade: 80
Overall: Mateo has seemingly been around forever and finally cracked the big leagues in 2020. He offers some of the best speed in the game, which will be enough to keep him around for a long time, but the rest of the profile lags behind. He's a free-swinger who will struggle to consistently make contact, and his power also comes at the expense of his hit tool. He figures to offer some utility/defensive replacement value given his familiarity with multiple positions, but the majority of his value lies with his legs, where he can be an asset as a pinch runner. He was once a prized prospect, and he'll always offer those glimpses of something more.
OFP: 40
Role: 40 - Below Average Player - Bench/Utility
Risk: Low
