San Diego Padres Top 10 Prospects For 2017
2. Manuel Margot, OF
Birthdate: 9/26/94 (22 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: AAA, MLB
Stats in 2016: .304/.351/.426, 6 HR, 30 SB (minor league stats only)
Margot was traded by the Red Sox in the 2015-2016 offseason to the Padres in their first “tear down” as a big piece to get Craig Kimbrel to Boston. If the deal was just for Margot alone, there are many in the game who believe that the Padres would have had a steal.
Margot is an elite defensive center fielder, a legit plus fielder who can go get the ball with tremendous range and exceptional reads off the bat. He has an average arm, but he makes it play up by making accurate throws and seemingly always placing himself behind his throws in the field.
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Offensively, Margot’s plus contact and plus-plus speed is going to allow him to rack up solid batting averages going forward, but what surprises many is the plate discipline that Margot has, striking out in just around 11% of the time.
While Margot doesn’t walk a ton, he does have good pitch recognition and could quickly spike that rate if he chose to be patient more than attacking pitches for contact. Margot has good strength to his frame and his pitch selection has allowed him to pick the right pitches to unleash his fringe-average power on, and the results have been very positive.
Margot should get the center field job in 2017 in San Diego out of spring training and run with it, literally and figuratively.
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