6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: BA Lists Top 20 GCL Prospects

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Thursday, September 20, 2007

BA Lists Top 20 GCL Prospects

Of interest to the Dodgers (with full scouting reports behind the pay wall):

6. Pedro Baez, 3b, Dodgers
B-T: R-R Ht.: 6-2 Wt.: 200 Age: 19 Signed: Dodgers FA '07

A rehabbing Pedro Martinez met Baez' excellent raw power up close and personal when he served up a two-out, three-run homer to him in August. Baez has a smooth, strong stroke with outstanding leverage that produces plus power to all fields. He also established himself as the top defensive third baseman in the GCL.
Signed for $200,000 out of the Dominican Republic just before his 19th birthday in March, Baez impressed Dodgers brass so much that they immediately brought him over for the last month of spring training. He handles balls on the inner half of the plate well, but he struggles mightily with soft breaking balls away and pulls off badly. He'll need to tighten his strike zone to truly unlock his full potential.
Baez has exceptional tools defensively, where his lateral movement allows him to get to balls on either side and he also charges balls well. He has one of the strongest infield arms in the Los Angeles system.
10. Andrew Lambo, of/1b, Dodgers
B-T: L-L Ht.: 6-3 Wt.: 190 Age: 19 Drafted: Dodgers '07 (4)
Lambo would have gone earlier in the 2007 draft is clubs hadn't worried about his makeup. He got kicked out of his first high school and he turned scouts off with his immaturity in predraft interviews. Los Angeles decided it couldn't pass up his bat in the fourth round, and it continued to speak loudly in his first season as a pro as he finished third in the GCL in batting (.343) and second in on-base percentage (.440).
The Dodgers compare Lambo's hitting style to that of James Loney because he has a sweet lefthanded swing that produces consistent hard contact and should allow him to hit for a high average. As a bonus, Lambo has more power than Loney had at the same stage of his development.
"He plays much older than he is, and you forget how old he is," a scout from an American League club said. "He's confident, and he knows it's only a matter of time before he gets his hits every day."
A natural first baseman with plus defensive tools, Lambo played the majority of the season out of position in right field. He has a fringe-average arm and below-average speed.

Labels: dodgers, minors