The scouts are mixed, 2018 was concerning, 2019 looked better. Will the real Ryan Vilade please stand up?
- Born: February 18, 1999
- B/T: Right/Right
- 6’2″, 194lb
- Drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 2nd round of the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Stillwater HS (Stillwater, OK)
The Numbers
His raw numbers are listed above courtesy of baseball-reference.com. Let’s aggregate by year then focus on the important numbers for minor leaguers:
What happened in 2018 to give us that ugly red square? Was he hurt? Was Asheville sucked into a massive low pressure system that year? Whatever. He showed doubles power before that year and after that year, so we will give him the mulligan.
The speed is steady. The strikeout rate is improving every year, while the walk rate holds in a good place.
And that OBP is gold.
The Hard% agrees on doubles power for now.
Nice. Hardly any split at all. He did great no matter who he faced.
Look at those doubles to the corners! The home runs and triples are scattered all over he park. He peppers the ball everywhere.
2018 was a case of falling off the cliff in April, then doggedly climbing that OPS back into contention by August. Rather than view 2018 as bad, view it as a kid who does not quit. I like that.
I like even more his 2019 where come August 1st it was off to the races.
The Scouts
- Rotowire: #239 on their Top 400.
- BaseballHQ: Not on their Top 100.
- Fangraphs: Not on their Top 120.
- Fantasy Six Pack: #685 on their dynasty list.
- Prospects365: Not on Ray Butler’s Top 200.
- Imaginary Brick Wall: #196 on the Top 487.
- Fantrax: Not on their Top 250.
Warnings
How much power will he have at maturity?
Does he handle AA with the same aplomb as he handled High-A?
He doesn’t have any truly plus tools.
Plus as @Smada_bb on Twitter reminded me, the one split he does show is a strong home/away split:
Will that carry to the majors? Will he be another of those Rockies hitters you start at home and sit on the road?
Conclusion
He’s playing 3B now, but he played SS a lot, so this is a versatile infield glove who can help the team in multiple ways. He doesn’t have plus speed, but he gets his bases. He doesn’t have plus power, but he sprays those doubles around and gets a few home runs. His OBP is terrific.
Seems like a starting 3B whenever the team allows that to happen, maybe a leadoff type to get on base. At his level-per-season pace, he could be showing up late in 2021, with 2022 being more likely.