PUERTO RICO / Virgin Islands

2007 FOLLOW LIST  

OVERVIEW: This has been one of the best years for talent inPuerto Rico in many years, certainly since 2003 and maybe well before that. Three very talented position players, shortstops Neftali Soto and Reynaldo Navarro, and outfielder Angel Morales all look like potential top 2-3 round picks. They are all very different types of prospects, but it is impossible to tell a couple of weeks out from the draft which will be the first Puerto Rican selected.

 

The depth of talent, which is what made the 2003 class special, is also evident, with 6-8 additional players who could go in the top 10 rounds. Juan Garcia and Emmanuel Quiles look to continue the strong tradition of Puerto Rican catchers and there are a number of pitchers who can show scouts 90-plus mph fastballs, although polished secondary pitches are a bit in short supply. A late entry into the draft class is shortstop Fernando Cruz, a home-schooled talent who just turned 17 in March and was recently declared draft eligible.

 

The abolishment of the draft-and-follow rule may significantly impact the number of Puerto Ricans drafted, as teams will no longer have the option of retaining the signing rights of players for another year. This doesn’t mean that fewer Puerto Ricans will be finding spots in mainland U.S. schools, primarily junior colleges, but it does mean that scouts will be paying less attention to the prospects who need more projection. There were 33 Puerto Ricans drafted in 2006, all but six after the 17^th round.

 

There are two sub-categories of Puerto Rican prospects in this year’s draft.

 

One is the players who have gone through the college system—or in the case of one player, a string of U.S. high schools. Shortstop Christian Colon, a Puerto Rican native who has attended high schools in Texas, Utah and now California , projects as the first U.S.-based Puerto Rican to be selected, although Pepperdine outfielder Adrian Ortiz (a fifth-round pick in 2004) could challenge that. Both look to be third- to fifth-rounders. University of Tampa shortstop Roberto Mena and Virginia Commonwealth shortstop Sergio Miranda are also solid first-day drafts.

 

The other category is players from the Virgin Islands, who are also included in the draft and are usually the responsibility of Puerto Rican scouts to evaluate. There are two such prospects who have received draft-type attention from the Virgin Islands this year, a rarity. There was one in 2006, a 50^th-rounder who ended up in junior college in Oklahoma .

 

STRENGTH: Multi-tooled position players.

WEAKNESS: Polished pitchers.

OVERALL RATING (1-to-5 scale): 5.

 

Best Out-of-State Prospect, Puerto Rico Connection: Adrian Ortiz, of, Pepperdine U. (Attended high school in Bayamon ).

Top 2008 Prospect: Antonio Jimenez, c, Dicipulos de Cristo HS, Bayamon .

 

Highest Pick, Draft History: Ramon Castro, c, Rivera HS, Vega Baja (1994, Astros/1^st round, 17^th pick).

Highest Pick, 2006 Draft: Hector Correa, rhp, Lorenzo Coballes Gandia HS, Hatillo (Marlins, 4^th round).

 

TOP 25 PROSPECTS / By David Rawnsley

 

GROUPS (College, Junior College, High School)

      1   High-round draft (Rounds 1-3; projected first-round pick in boldface type)

      2   Mid-round draft (Rounds 4-10)

      3   Late-round draft (Rounds 11-25)

      4   Chance draft / Player to follow

 

GROUP ONE

Rank  Player                                  Pos.       Yr     B-T      HT     WT     High School                     Hometown        Drafted/(Commit)     B’date

     1.   Neftali Soto                            SS      Sr.     R-R     6-3     180     Colegio Maristas            Manati               (Oklahoma State )      2-28-89

SCOUTING REPORT: Soto comes from the tall and rangy school of shortstops, as opposed to the short and quick type of tools that the other top Puerto Rican shortstop, Rey Navarro, possesses. His projection is excellent and he’s got bigger and stronger in the last year. Soto’s bat is a major tool. He has very good bat speed and shows present power and the ability to hit the ball hard to all fields. There hasn’t been much talk of Soto moving off shortstop as he gets stronger, either. He has plus arm strength and smooth, easy actions in the middle of the field. Soto’s stock has been steadily rising throughout the spring and he could be a draft-day surprise. He committed to Oklahoma State during the spring.