The Next Andrus? Meet Jurickson Profar
Jurickson Profar is ranked as the number three prospect in the Rangers organization according to Jamey Newberg with mlb.com. The Texas Rangers farm system should keep a steady stream of solid players heading to Texas for the next several years.
Profar is the youngest player in the Rangers organization, but his play would not show it. Profar is just 17 years old, and he played 63 games in 2010 in low A ball. In 2010, he posted a .250 average with 62 hits in 252 at-bats. JP also drove in 23 runs off of 4 homers. He also stole 8 bases.
As one of the youngest players in all of baseball, many thought that placing Profar in low A ball was too high of an assignment. Players at the age of 17 rarely rise above rookie ball, but comparisons are already being made between Profar and Elvis Andrus who appeared in the major leagues at the age of 19. At the age of 16, Andrus played in rookie ball, but by the age of 17, Andrus, like Profar, was playing in A ball. Andrus never rose above AA before he was called up to the big leagues.
Jamey Newberg wrote the following for MLB.com:
"3. Jurickson Profar, SS, short-season Class A Spokane: The youngest player in the Northwest League – by seven months – wasn’t overmatched by the aggressive assignment and will go into 2011 as one of baseball’s top shortstop prospects. Just 17 years old, the former Little League World Series star from Curacao hit .250 as the Indians’ everyday shortstop, with only 46 strikeouts in 252 at-bats, and 23 extra-base hits (third most on the team), against a league full of pitchers five years older."
Profar has more power in his game than Elvis Andrus but does not have the plate discipline that made Andrus one of the best prospects in baseball. Andrus posted a .265 average with a .324 on-base percentage in A ball, and Profar’s on-base percentage was nearly identical. Finally, Profar is not able to hit off speed pitches with enough regularity to begin his climb up the organizational latter.
According to fangraphs, JP’s batting average will most likely rise in 2011 because of his low BABIP (batting average on balls in play). His BABIP was .289, and BABIP’s below .300 suggest that the player was victim to some bad luck which will allow Profar’s batting average to rise.
Profar also struggled late in September where he tallied only 2 hits in 22 at-bats. Before september, Profar’s average hovered around .270.
JP reminds us a lot of Starlin Castro of the Chicago Cubs. Castro hit .300 for the Cubs in his first big league season at the age of 20. He boasts similar tools. Neither player has outstanding power or speed, but Profar, like Castro, projects to hit between 6-10 home runs at the major league level with 10-15 stolen bases. Scouts are impressed with Profar’s 9.7% walk rate which shows he was not over anxious at the plate in 2010. However, he will need to continue to work on not swinging wildly at breaking balls.
Profar’s manager, Tim Hulett, said that JP is the best shortstop he has ever coached with his ability to track down a range of balls and judge difficult bounces. What allows Profar to be ranked as the Rangers third best prospect is the fact that the youngster from Curacao has still not developed completely physically.
Hulett went on to say that Profar will improve on the baseball paths as he continues to develop physically. Even though I predict 6-10 homers and 10-15 stolen bases, Profar has the ability to exceed those numbers if he gets stronger as his body develops physically.
Profar is a switch hitter who is more developed as a left handed hitter than a righty. He has a better approach at the plate while batting left handed, but as a righty, he is more prone to chase pitches.
JP’s arm strength is remarkable for a 17 year old according to his low A ball manager, and he excels at not only tracking down balls in the hole, but also throwing out runners.
Profar is obviously blocked at shortstop by Elvis Andrus in Texas, so the Rangers plan on rotating Profar between other positions in the infield and SS.
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