Yeyson Yrizarri Scouting Report

Yeyson Yrizarri Scouting Report: Texas Ranger shortstop Yeyson Yrizarri ranked #25 on the LSB Community Prospect Rankings.

In the days leading up to Opening Day, I'm going to offer write-ups on the 30 players who made the Rangers' LSB Community Prospect Rankings Top 32, and who didn't get traded. I've done this the last couple of years, and I don't want to re-invent the wheel, so some of this will be a repeat of what I've written before, particularly regarding draft history or performance pre-2014. Also, this is not based on my personal observations -- I'm not a scout, and haven't seen most of these guys. I'm just aggregating the numbers and what others say about these players.

So, with that out of the way, let's take a look at Yeyson Yrizarri...

Yeyson Yrizarri is an 18 year old righthanded hitting shortstop, listed at 6'0", 175 lbs., and signed as part of the Rangers' big 2013 J-2 class that included Marcos Diplan and Jose Almonte.  Yrizarri was ranked as the #7 prospect in the 2013 J-2 class by Baseball America, and received a $1.35M signing bonus.

Yrizarri made his professional debut in 2014, playing 10 games for the Rangers' #1 DSL team, and then going to the AZL complex league team, where he put up a .237/.275/.332 line in 206 plate appearances, splitting his time between shortstop and second base.  Baseball America ranked Yrizarri as the #20 prospect in the AZL this past year, praising his energy, arm, athleticism and hands.

There's simply not much I can say about Yrizarri at this point, given how limited his track record is.  He has apparently made a solid impression this year in spring training, and Tepid is singing his praises.  It sounds like he's someone who should stick on the left side of the infield, with the arm to play both shortstop and third base, and the quickness to lead you believe he has a good chance at staying at shortstop.  Like so many of these teenage middle infielders from Latin America, its going to come down to how the bat develops.

The Rangers have three teenage infielders generating buzz in Arizona, in Yrizarri, Josh Morgan and Ti'Quan Forbes.  Normally, I'd say Yrizarri is a candidate to start the season at Hickory, but Morgan and Forbes are older and more advanced, and so those two will probably start the year at Hickory, with Yrizarri staying behind at extended spring, and going to Spokane in the short-season A Northwest League in June.

Yrizarri is just 18, so he's a long way away, and gives you a lot to dream on.  He could wash out, or he could be knocking on the door to the majors in 4-5 years, with a potential 10-12 year career on the horizon.  He'll be one of the more interesting players to follow this season.