Scouting Video: Yordy Cabrera, INF, Lakeland (FL) Senior HS (2010 Draft)
By John Klima
December 1, 2009
Yordy Cabrera will be the talk of South Florida scouting this spring. Cabrera, who committed to play college baseball at Miami, won the Aflac home run derby this summer in an event we covered here. Have a look at Cabrera trying to extend his arms in this video, and then we’ll tell you more about this prospect.
Cabrera will probably never fall to Miami, because he has two plus tools in his power and in his arm, which isn’t an easy combination to find. Offensively, Cabrera’s raw power already grades out to a 55, and it’s easy to project that his raw power can be estimated to be as high as 70 or 75. Cabrera also makes good use of his arm as a pitcher, though I doubt he’ll ever throw a pitch as a pro. His fastball is 89-92, but sat around 89-91.
That means Cabrera has the making to be an absolutely dominant two-way college player as an every day third baseman and a closer. It also means that he’s talented enough to truly have leverage as a college prospect.
This is an old bait-and-switch tactic a lot of prospects use. A kid will play both ways under the assumption that he can do both in college, when in fact, his secondary option is quite inferior. This dives into college coaches versus scouts versus agents, which is something I don’t really want to get into. But in this case, Cabrera’s arm is enough to warrant bringing this into the discussion.
Cabrera is a player who we will cover in the future. Right now, you can see his extension and power in this video. He has the body to play third base and though he is already well built, he has yet to fill out.
As a pro, Cabrera will need to show us how well his hands work in defending the inner half. That will raise his power frequency grade, which will make his raw power grade more tangible in the form of results. If he can move around enough, he can stay at third. And if he fills out too much, he’ll wind up at first. Either way, he’s going to be an offensive player, and this is what will determine his future path.
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