Dominican shortstop Germán Ahmed Rosario has come into his own playing for the advanced rookie league Kingsport Mets this season. While his slash line of .255/.286/.388 might not blow anyone away, it’s important to note that the young infielder is only 17 years of age, has hit three home runs this year and put up significantly better numbers in the second half of the season.
After a rough start to the year in which Rosario hit .200 through July 14, he has truly found his bat and has hit .292/.311/.460 since then. Such improved levels of production out of a 17 year old teenager point to his immense potential and upside if he stays focused.
The Mets signed Rosario in 2012 to a $1.7 million deal, the biggest the team has ever offered to an international free agent. Scouts have been split about Rosario, with some raving about his impressive bat speed, raw power and average speed, often being praised as a true shortstop with power and ability. However, others have commented on his upright stance, wonky leg kick and uppercut stroke which can lead to an excess of strikeouts. He is tall and thin standing 6-2 and 170 pounds with plenty of room to fill out, leading some to speculate that a possible size gain could land him at third base. However, many scouts don’t have faith in his fielding abilities and see him playing corner outfield. Something to keep in mind considering Rosario has committed 14 errors over his 49 games played this season.
With Gavin Cecchini putting up such impressive levels of production for the Brooklyn Cyclones, it appears the Mets have two legitimate prospects at shortstop. And while it’s important to note that Cecchini has had a stellar year, both offensively and defensively, he is two years older than Rosario. If the young Dominican continues to work and improve, as he has this season, his level of production may be even higher once he reaches a more mature age.
Thoughts from Matt M.
Organizational depth at shortstop? What’s that?
It’s been nice to see both Rosario and Cecchini take positive steps in their development this season, especially Cecchini. He was having a tough start to the season with the Cyclones prior to going down with an ankle injury. He was slow out of the gate once he returned from the disabled list, but he’s been on fire for quite some time now.
The most disappointing thing about these two is that neither one is close to being big league ready. Shortstop will be one of the hot topics of discussion this winter, as Omar Quintanilla has been holding on to the starting job in Flushing while Ruben Tejada struggles in Triple-A. Wilfredo Tovar is on the 40-man roster and has shown some progress with his bat, but it’s unlikely he’d be in the conversation for 2014. We’ll see what Sandy Alderson’s plan is for that position soon enough.
However, seeing a glimpse of the potential Rosario and Cecchini have is welcomed. The Mets signed Rosario to a very lucrative international deal and they used a top pick on Cecchini, so the dividends for those decisions are starting to appear. Let’s hope they finish their respective seasons strong, and carry that momentum into the 2014 season.
Thank you very much I asked for an update on Amed in the Flexen thread earlier today and here it is. I have been trying to keep as close an eye as possible on Rosario. I noticed he has really stepped up his offensive production recently but didn’t know the particulars of what different scouts had been saying about him. Again thank you very informative and appreciated.
No problem! Thanks for making the suggestion; we want to know what you guys want to read about!
Tim, I must be missing something, what impressive production is Cecchini putting up?
He is batting .286 with a .318 OBP. 11 RBI and 2 SB. If you call that impressive I would hate to see what you call mediocre.
I would imagine he’s referring to his recent hot streak. Before he caught fire, he was hitting around .250. In the month of August, he’s hitting .356/.385/.411 which also included a 16-game hitting streak (I think). That’s impressive to me.
Where do you guys see Rossario playing next year? Is he going to repeat in Kingsport or are they going to be more aggressive and try him in Brooklyn?
Given his age and the tendency of the Mets to take things slow with their prospects, I would be surprised if he ended up in Brooklyn.
Exactly. I was looking at the fact that he’s still relatively young, he was injured for much of July, and while he wasn’t doing great before his injury, like Matt said he’s really been performing since the start of August. The 16 game hitting streak is a nice touch too.
They’ve been pretty surprising with Amed Rosario, sticking him in Kingsport for the year. It would be pretty awesome to have him in Brooklyn as the youngest player in that league.
The guy has had 1 good month. That characterizes him as “putting up impressive levels of production” ?
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