Top International signee Aaron Bracho had a broken arm and missed all of 2018. What did 2019 bring?
- Born: April 24, 2001
- B/T: S/R
- 5’11”, 175-lbs
- Signed by the Cleveland Indians in 2017 out of Venezuela
The Numbers
His raw numbers are listed above courtesy of baseball-reference.com. Let’s aggregate, not by year since we only have the one year, but by level, and then focus on the important numbers for minor leaguers:
Bracho started 2019 off with a bang by tearing up Rookie league pitchers. If he had a few more stolen bases that would be a rare solid green row, but even as it is this is quite an impressive display of bat control, on-base ability, and extreme power.
So off he went to short season A ball, and while his numbers regressed with the promotion, it is still a good result. He got on base, still had prodigious power, and while the strikeouts were now only Fair, his fantastic walk rate continued.
And think about it: would you accept a 25% strikeout rate if you got a .259 ISO with it?
The switch-hitting Bracho put up good numbers against both righties and lefties, though he stepped down against righties in the higher level.
A balanced chart, as one would expect from a switch hitter. Heh, some of those HRs went faaaar.
All we can take from this abbreviated chart is that Bracho lives in the rarefied air of a 1.000 OPS neighborhood.
The Scouts
- Rotowire: #147 on their Top 400.
- BaseballHQ: Not on their Top 100.
- Fangraphs: Not on their Top 120.
- Fantasy Six Pack: Not on their dynasty list.
- Prospects365: #125 on Ray Butler’s Top 200.
- Imaginary Brick Wall: #39 on the Top 487.
- Fantrax: #103 on the Top 250.
Warnings
We have only one year to evaluate him, thanks to his 2018 injury, and he hasn’t even reached full season professional ball yet, let alone AA. Of course, he’s still a teenager.
Will his strikeout rate continue to climb as he moves to higher levels? A 25% strikeout rate can work with a slugger who draws walks, but a 30% strikeout rate would be problematic.
Conclusion
Bat control with moonshot power? Yes, please, may I have another?
This is exactly the kind of player a dynasty owner should be grabbing.