Amed Rosario will be the man for many years at shortstop for the New York Mets – no one is questioning that – but the middle infield role has recently been more a revolving door than a stabilizing influence.
A rotation of guys like Matt Reynolds, Ty Kelly, Gavin Cecchini and others has proved to be quite disappointing and both Wilmer Flores, who lacks a major league glove, and Asdrubal Cabrera, whose defense has been disappearing steadily, leave something to be desired. Eventually, the pitching-focused Mickey Calloway and Mets will need more assurance behind their aces.
Enter 23-year old Luis Guillorme.
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Scouting Report:
Bats: Left | Throws: Right | 5’10” | 195 lbs.
Hit: The Venezuelan has incredibly quick hands, enabling him to guide his bat through the zone at an impressive rate. Unsurprisingly, Guillorme doesn’t strike out much. He has a very good eye, as proven by his career .361 OBP through the minors, and is incredibly effective when getting ahead in the count (.338 average last year).
Though he will most likely be a singles hitter in the majors, he has shown an ability to spray balls into the gap. Now home in Las Vegas, a hitters’ park, expect Guillorme to expand upon his gap power. In eight at-bats with the 51s, he already has three doubles, a trend I expect to continue.
While his stats in the minors have been impressive from a pure contact perspective, anticipate his extreme lack of power to limit his hitting ability once he faces major league pitching.
Power: As touched upon, there is almost zero home run potential when it comes to Guillorme. With two career home runs in 1,782 minor league at-bats, the shortstop does not seem like the Ozzie Albies or Manuel Margot type to find a power stroke in the majors after being pure contact hitters in the minors.
Run: Short and somewhat stocky, don’t expect anything but slightly below-average to average speed. Guillorme has only stolen 38 career bases in 476 career games in the minors.
Field: If (a big if) given the chance to play a full season in the majors in the next three or four years, Guillorme could be a Gold Glove shortstop. His fluid motion and soft and outrageously quick hands make him a plus shortstop and if needed an elite second baseman.
His one downfall is a questionable arms that at times produces some unwanted arc on his throws. His range could also use a bit of work, and while his career 4.26 range factor is somewhat high, the fundamentals the young infielder possesses are his strong suit with the glove.
As time goes on, Guillorme will likely develop better range. As proven in previous years – the more reps, the more it seems the shortstop improves the different aspects of his defensive game.
*I’d be remiss not to mention his quick reflexes when catching Adeiny Hechavarria’s bat in spring training last year, but tellingly, that perfectly represents his smoothness.
Potential Overall (20-80 scale): 50. While Guillorme has shown a knack to get on base, his tools at the dish will not fully carry over against major league pitching. While this may seem like a long shot, Guillorme has the ability to turn into a slightly above average overall player solely due to his fielding.
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2018 Projection:
All signs point to Guillorme making an appearance in the majors this year. He has moved steadily through the system in the last three years, and with his progression at the plate and a very solid spring, look for Guillorme to be backing up both shortstop and second base for the Mets at some point in the 2018 season.
Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas – USA Today Sports
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