Baseball Prospectus | | Eyewitness Scouting Report


	Reynaldo Rivera Born: 06/14/1997 (Age: 21)
	Bats: Left	Throws: Right
	Height: 6' 6"	Weight: 250
	Primary Position: 1B
	Secondary Position: RF

He looks every bit of his listed 6-foot-6/250 lbs and then some. Thick neck; broad shoulders and chest; enormous hips and buttocks and thighs that resemble those of a water buffalo. All muscle.

Evaluator	Jay Markle
Report Date	07/26/2018
Dates Seen	~10 times June/July 2018
Affiliate	West Michigan Whitecaps (Low A, Tigers)

MLB ETA	Risk Factor	OFP	Video
2022	High	50	Yes

Tool	Future Grade	Report
Hit	45	20 at present; susceptible to sliders and pitches below the zone; struggles with front-foot hitting and often attacks pitches too early; vulnerabilities become worse with two strikes; his future hinges on whether he can overcome his aggression.
Power	60	Every ball in play is impressive; even flyouts and popups are towering; muscle over bat speed power; 25-30 HR hitter if he can get consistent at-bats and the hit tool comes together.
Baserunning/Speed	30	40-grade times for now; projects to get slower as he gets older but not as much as most; makes more than his fair share of miscues on the bases and sometimes loses track of coaches/where the ball is; not a complete liability on the bases but he's almost there.
Glove	50	This grade assumes the transition to first is permanent, he's a circus in the outfield; has plenty of wingspan to scoop throws in the dirt or snag errant pickoff throws; reaction times improving with reps; he'll make all the plays he has to but won't impress.
Arm	50	Unlike the glove, his arm works better in the outfield than at first. He has plenty of strength but is relatively new to regular play in the infield and is uncomfortable finding an angle at which to execute throws to second.

I've rarely heard higher praise for a player than Lance Parrish's comment on Rivera: "He's superman strong." That encapsulates where his value lies quite nicely. Outside of his power, Rivera offers very little. He isn't a liability on defense as long as Detroit keeps him at first base, but everything boils down to what he can do in the batters' box That's why the hit tool scares me so much. He could stall out as low as High-A if he doesn't fix his timing and load issues. He could just as easily stall out when faced with good pitching thanks to his extraordinarily aggressive approach, particularly against pitches below the zone, which he has a very hard time letting go.