Los Angeles Dodgers Scouting Report on RHP Yadier Alvarez
Yadier Alvarez made a big impression on the Los Angeles Dodgers and all of baseball in his first professional season. What does the future hold?
Player Profile
The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Yadier (Ventosa) Alvarez as part of their big July 2015 international free agent spending spree. Alvarez received $16M as a signing bonus, the largest bonus of the 2015 period and second-largest ever given to an international amateur, behind only Yoan Moncada‘s $31.5M bonus.
There were mixed reviews on Alvarez coming out of Cuba. Kiley McDaniel, before he left Fangraphs for the Atlanta Braves, ranked Alvarez as the #1 prospect in that class. However, Ben Badler of Baseball America cited Alvarez’s lack of previous experience as a concern (subscription required at the link).
It really was hard to argue with either. Alvarez had a present 97 MPH fastball that sat in the mid-90s and a wicked slider. However, in the only experience he had in a major Cuban league, he posted a 4.94 ERA and walked more than he struck out in an 18U league, not Serie Nacional.
The Dodgers took the risk, and they opened Alvarez with their Arizona Rookie League team to begin 2016, but within a month he’d shown enough to skip straight to low-A Great Lakes in the Midwest League.
Combined, Alvarez posted a 2.12 ERA and 1.03 WHIP over 14 starts and 59 1/3 innings. He also posted an 8.75 percent walk rate and a 33.75 percent strikeout rate.
Great Lakes made a run into the playoffs, and while Alvarez was nearing his innings limit on the season, he still made three brilliant starts in the playoffs, throwing 12 innings with a 2.25 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and a 4/11 BB/K ratio.
Alvarez’s first season in the minor leagues has not gone unnoticed, either. Baseball Prospectus had him ranked as the #23 prospect in all of baseball, MLB Pipeline had him #49 and Baseball America ranked him #26.
I had him ranked #8 in my top 125 that was put out in early January on Call to the Pen on the strength of personal viewings and scouting reports from sources in the industry that absolutely raved about him.
Next: Alvarez's scouting report