San Diego Padres scouting report on IF Luis Urias
After making his major league debut in 2018, Luis Urias is ready to lead a rush of talented San Diego Padres infielders to the majors over 2019 and 2020.
With each of our top 10 prospect lists this offseason, we will have a scouting report on one player from that organization’s top 10 list. With our recent review of the San Diego Padres, we will take a look at infielder Luis Urias, the Padres #4 prospect.
Player Profile
The San Diego Padres scored a signing coup with Luis Urias, signing him in December of 2013 out of Mexico. Urias had somehow slipped through much of the international market without getting signed until the Padres inked him in December.
He immediately showed his immense skills with a bat, hitting .297/.381/.339 with the Dominican Summer League and Arizona Rookie League teams for the Padres, with a combined 5 doubles, 1 triple, 10 stolen bases, and a 19/14 BB/K over 190 plate appearances.
The San Diego Padres chose to have Urias open with Tri-City in the Northwest League in 2015, but he quickly moved up to low-A Fort Wayne and never slowed down. Overall, he hit .299/.388/.335 on the season with 6 doubles, a triple, 8 steals, and a 21/19 BB/K over 268 combined plate appearances.
Urias had his breakout campaign on a national sphere in 2016. He spent most of the season at high-A, but received a late promotion to AAA for El Paso’s playoff run and didn’t look out of place at all at 19 years old. Overall, he hit .333/.404/.446 with 26 doubles, 5 triples, 6 home runs, 8 steals, and a 45/37 BB/K over 545 plate appearances.
He followed that up with a big 2017 season in AA, hitting .296/.398/.380 with 20 doubles, 4 triples, 3 home runs, 7 steals, and a 68/65 BB/K ratio. He was selected by the Padres to participate in the Arizona Fall League, and while he was overshadowed by some of his Peoria teammates, he had an impressive AFL, hitting .315/.443/.481 with 5 doubles, 2 triples, and a 14/5 BB/K over 70 plate appearances.
His impressive 2017 earned him top 100 rankings across the board in offseason lists. Baseball America had him #32, MLB Pipeline had him #36, and Baseball Prospectus had him #74.
Urias continued his impressive hitting in AAA this season, going .296/.398/.447 with 30 doubles, 7 triples, 8 home runs, 2 stolen bases, and a 67/109 BB/K ratio over 533 plate appearances. He was promoted to the majors in September where he hit .208/.264/.354 with a double, 2 home runs, a stolen base, and a 3/10 BB/K ratio in 53 plate appearances.
Scouting Report
Size/Build
Urias is listed at 5’9″ tall and 185 pounds. Both of those look about right, with an athletic build on his frame overall.
Hitting
Contact (60) – Few in the minior leagues have a more adept ability to put the meat of the bat on the ball in their swing. Urias seems to barrel everything he swings at, though his lack of strength in his frame does keep him from generating the same type of contact off the bat in that situation as someone like Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.
Power (40) – Urias is built narrow in the shoulders and hips, and his long frame could lead you to believe he’s taller than he truly is, but he does use his legs and especially his arms in leverage in his swing, but there’s just only so much he can access there. He should pound gaps, but I would imagine double-digit home runs would be stretch.
Eye (65) – One of the most remarkable things about Urias from the moment he came into pro ball has been how advanced his eye is. He has the ability to recognize spin and tremendous zone recognition. His contact-oriented approach means he won’t likely ever put up 100 walks in a year, but it’s unlikely he’ll ever have big strikeout numbers either.
Base Running/Fielding
Speed (55) – At top speed, Urias is certainly a plus runner, but he does take a couple steps to get to that top speed. While in the field, his instincts cover up that initial quickness issue, on the bases, he’s not instinctual on when to take off on a stolen base. He is certainly an asset on the bases once the ball is hit, however, reading the ball well and knowing when to take an extra base.
Defense (60) – Urias has tremendous instincts, and his range would work at either short or second. As a pure second baseman, Urias is probably a notch up on this grade, while as a shortstop, he’s probably a notch down, so putting him at a straight “plus” grade is probably the best way to put it. On top of having excellent reads on either side of the keystone, he also has good instincts at third base. No matter where he plays around the infield, he scoops up everything hit his way that he gets to with very sure hands.
Arm (55) – While he’s likely a second baseman long-term due to his arm, it’s not because his arm is weak by any means. It’s just not a big league shortstop arm over a long range. He does well setting up for his throws, however, and that allows him to handle third base as well.
MLB Player Comp
While perhaps not a very well-known player now, around the turn of the decade 30 years ago, the Boston Red Sox had an infielder that reminds me tremendously of Urias, especially on the defensive side of things.
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Jody Reed was drafted four times before finally signing with the Boston Red Sox (back when the draft had a January and June selection). He was a college bat, but he still took 3 seasons to get to the big leagues. Once there, however, Reed put up a stat line that is very similar to what could be expected from Urias.
Before injuries slowed him down after the 1991 season, Reed had put up a .288/.368/.386 line, averaging 44 doubles per 162 games and with more walks than strikeouts, playing primarily second base, but also able to handle short when needed.
Future Role
Urias should slot in the middle of the infield on Opening Day 2019 and near the top of the lineup. He has a prototype #2 hitter profile in “old school” baseball, with good on-base skills and gap power.
Whether he’ll play short or second in 2019 depends on what the San Diego Padres bring in, most likely. He could handle either position well defensively, so it does give the team some flexibility. He should move over to second once top prospect Fernando Tatis, Jr. comes up to the big leagues, though.
Next. Padres top 10 prospects for 2019. dark
While Urias may have the profile of many “hustle” players, he has much more raw talent than that, and he should have a long career for the San Diego Padres.