19. Aeverson Arteaga SS. DOB: 3/16/2003. B-R, T-R. 6'1", 170 lbs. Rule 5 Eligible
2023(A+): .235/.299/.410, 17 HR, 8 SB, 7.3 BB%, 24.2 K%, 546 PA.
Much like Grant McCray, Arteaga's first half numbers dragged down his overall line but he got stronger as the season progressed which for a young prospect is way better than the other way around. Arteaga batted just .208 over the first 3 months of the season, but then hit .265 over the last 3 including a line of .278/.330/.556 in July and .273/.296/.436 in August. He hit 9 of his 17 HR's in July and August. He should get a promotion to AA for his age 21 season and finds himself in a similar situation as Luis Matos who struggled in A+ after a great season in SJ but then recovered after starting the next season in AA and made it all the way to the majors by the end of the season. I'm still bullish on Arteaga see him as a potential Giants SS of the future.
Another stat that speaks well of Arteaga is he was an iron man playing in 126 of 132 games at Eugene and 122 of 132 games at San Jose. He's also shown a little pop in his bat with 17 hrs in Eugene and 14 in San Jose. Should be fun to follow his season at Richmond. On another topic I'm wondering what their plan is for Luciano to be the starting shortstop with the big club. It seems like they should make Luciano earn the job in spring training but they haven't brought in anyone to compete against him either?
ReplyDeleteI agree accumulating the PA's is a big positive for Arteaga which should prep him for success at higher levels. Re. Luciano, who would he be competing with? Unless they want to try to coax a comeback season out of Tim Anderson I just don't see any SS's out there who you would want to delay Luciano's graduation from prospect status. I say put him out there and stick with him. He should be at least as good as any available alternative this season and the ceiling is sky high.
DeleteI like your take on Luciano. It was reported that Kapler thought Luciano was ready for the big leagues ironically a few days before he was let go . Luciano had a 93 average exit velocity on his batted balls he hit, which would rank 14th in MLB, if he had for abs to qualify. Like you said the potential is there. I would be concerned with his injury history so I hope FZ has a plan for that.
DeleteTyler Fitzgerald and Casey Schmitt could be reasonable back up plans but I am sure FZ will be scouring the waiver wire as spring training winds down to find a backup MI with options.
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