Eyewitness Accounts

Having fun; knows when to be serious; displayed an overall professional attitude during the series.

Chavis displayed his power during this series, using his deep load and leg kick to hit the ball with force to the gaps. Timing issues are currently present, but the swing does not have any serious flaws.

Chavis does not have the athleticism to work defensively up the middle, and he played third base during my viewing. The glove is inconsistent currently, but he has enough raw ability to potentially work average at third. The risk is high, as Chavis is still raw in many phases of the game, but the inherent ability shined during this series.

Round Drafted: First round (26th overall), 2014
Why; Plus raw power up the middle; raw tools are visible, could play at SS, 3B, 2B.

Signed for $280,000 as an International Free Agent in 2011. Munoz has an intriguing collection of physical tools. He has the barrel control and bat speed to be a solid-average hitter, but his approach and leveraged swing will prevent him from actualizing the hit tool to it’s full potential. It’ll be a drag on the power tool as well. The body looks like it will get thicker at maturity so he won’t be long for short. He has the arm for third base.

Rosario shows some promise with the bat, but doesn't make consistently hard contact and doesn't drive the ball. At his peak, he should offer some doubles power, but will never be a big over-the-fence contributor. His aggressiveness at the plate can be improved upon with age, but is also a part of his mentality as a player and thus likely doesn't have a ton of room for growth. That aggressiveness limits his swing utility and should ultimately cause him to be a down-in-the-order hitter, unless he proves to have better contact skills than he's presently showing.

Rosario is a fantastic shortstop, which will be enough to carry him to the big leagues. He has a chance to be a plus defender at a premium position, and will be able to remain at the position for the majority of his career. That lowers the bar on his bat, which should be good enough to be an everyday player, but won't be of the impact variety. With his defense, that won't matter.

The common assumption is that he will add weight onto his thin frame as he grows, but his narrow shoulders and slight build don't allow for much room for growth. This isn't a player who is going to fill out significantly and pack on substantial pounds. He'll get stronger, but only incrementally, which will keep his power in the gaps rather than over the fence. It will also keep him from having to move off of shortstop, which is ultimately more important.

There is still a lot of room for growth with Rosario, who is just 19, but unless he significantly improves his contact skills and feel for the barrel, he won't be an impact hitter. His defense is strong enough, however, to be an everyday player and an extremely good shortstop, and with the bar being where it is for shortstops offensively, reaching 45/35 with plus defense could still put him in the top half of shortstops in the league.