After establishing himself as one of the best shortstop prospects in the entire game, will New York Mets prospect Amed Rosario find himself picking it for the big league club in 2017?
Player Profile
The New York Mets fought off the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros to sign German Amed (Valdez) Rosario in July of 2012 to a $1.75M signing bonus out of the Dominican Republic.
Rosario had excellent reviews for his defense, but his offensive profile was the worry that many teams had in signing him.
The Mets opened Rosario aggressively in their advanced rookie Appalachian League in Kingsport. He hit .241/.279/.358 with three home runs and two stolen bases with a 4.87 percent walk rate and 19.03 percent strikeout rate.
Rosario opened the 2014 season with low-A Savannah in the South Atlantic League, but after a week of struggling, he was sent to the Mets’ New York-Penn League affiliate in Brooklyn, where he finished out the season.
Combined in 2014, Rosario hit .274/.320/.374 with two home runs and seven stolen bases, posting a 5.61 percent walk rate and 18.07 percent strikeout rate.
His improved performance and elite defense was noted by major prospect lists, as he was rated the #98 overall prospect by Baseball America and #78 by Baseball Prospectus.
Rosario opened his 2015 season at high-A St. Lucie in the Florida State League. He was promoted for a week of AA as Binghamton pursued the Eastern League playoffs.
Combined in 2015, he hit .253/.302/.329 with no home runs but 13 stolen bases, also posting a 5.39 percent walk rate and a 18.27 percent strikeout rate.
While the numbers weren’t sparkling, performing as he did as a 19-year-old in high-A and AA got Rosario ranked across the board, as he was BA’s #58 prospect, BP’s #96 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s #79 prospect.
Rosario began to receive notice in spring training 2016 for his increased muscle mass and the sound the ball was making off of his bat. He began his season again at high-A with St. Lucie, but after a half season he was promoted to AA Binghamton, where he performed even better with the bat.
Rosario hit .324/.374/.459 on the 2016 season with five home runs and 19 stolen bases. He also added 13 triples along with a 7.59 percent walk rate and a 16.51 percent strikeout rate.
He’s been getting plenty of prospect notice this offseason, as BA ranked him #8 overall, #5 by MLB Pipeline and #8 by BP. I had him #9 in my top 125 for Call to the Pen this January.
Next: Rosario's scouting report