2017 Acquisition: Rey Rivera, OF
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 6/14/1997 (20)
2017 teams/levels played for: short-season A-ball Connecticut Tigers
2017 Stats: .187/.261/.280, 207 PA, 2 HR, 3 SB, 18/55 BB/K
Info: After being drafted in the 24th round out of Chipola in 2016 by the Cubs, Rivera returned to school. It was a good choice on his part, as he won a national JuCo championship and moved up all the way to the 2nd round, where the Detroit Tigers snagged him.
The Puerto Rico native is a ginormous human being, standing 6’6″ and 250 pounds. The Tigers did play him in right field for 30 games, but he also played a dozen games at first base.
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In spite of his large size, Rivera is fairly athletic and has a plus arm, so if he can put in the work, he could end up being a quality outfielder, and his plus raw power at the plate should be very impressive as he moves as well.
Rivera didn’t show well in his first pro experience, but he does have a good feel for the barrel, and he’s handled premium velocity well in his previous collegiate experience.
While he did struggle with high whiff rates when he swung for more power and sacrificed contact, he has shown good zone judgement in the past, so if he could cut down on the swing and miss, he could be a guy with three true outcome potential and massive power.
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So that is the Detroit Tigers top 10 prospects for 2018. Who is too high? Too low? Missing entirely from the list? Comment below!!