If you heard me on PitcherList’s March 28th episode of the On the Farm podcast, you know host LaMar Gibson really likes Aeverson Arteaga. So what do I think of him?
- Born: March 16, 2003
- B/T: Right/Right
- 6’1″, 170-lbs
- Signed by the San Francisco Giants out of Venezuela
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:
Arteaga skipped right over the Dominican Summer League and made his pro debut in the team’s Complex League. As you see, other than the strikeouts, he did quite well. In particular, note that power as an 18-year-old. He got on base, he drew enough walks, he stole a few bases.
Not bad for essentially a High School senior playing against pitchers who are typically college age.
Let’s break it down a bit more to see just how that summer went:
He got off to a great start in July, just top notch all around. Then he faded a bit in August, and really hit the skids in September in a smaller sample. This is the picture of a teenager wearing out in his first pro summer. No big deal.
The Scouts
- Rotowire: #262 on their Top 400
- Fantrax: #220 on their Top 400
- Fantasy Six Pack: Not on their dynasty Top 1,000+
- Imaginary Brick Wall: #362 on their Top 473
Warnings
He’s so young, we simply have to dream of the future. He will likely start 2022 at A-ball, and then maybe High-A before the season is done, so Double-A is not likely until 2023 unless he hits the stuffing out of the ball or something. This is a case for the scouts since we don’t have much production to evaluate.
Conclusion
On the plus side, everyone says his defense at SS is terrific, and that can carry even a weak bat. Arteaga did not show a weak bat. Sure, he struck out too much, but it’s hard to judge 18-year-olds against Complex League pitching. He might have seen such good pitches to hit that he swung at everything and made it work more times than not.
At 6’1″ and only weighing 170 pounds, he has room to grow muscle on that frame. That power could be real and growing.
He has a long swing, so the strikeouts might remain more of an issue than we like, and his speed to first is not fast. But once on the bases he can steal, so if it breaks right he could become a power/speed middle infielder.
But don’t expect to see him in the big leagues until 2025 or so. Just keep that in mind, though he would only be 22 at that point, so right on time.
The scouts like him, the numbers so far are good or understandably not good at this point, and the trainers know what to work on with him. He’s a good prospect for the patient, or an excellent trade piece to dangle in front of the prospect hounds in your league.