66. Livan Soto, SS
Soto may be my favorite non-Maitan big-money international free agent signed this season. He was signed from Venezuela for a reported $1M.
He just turned 16 in June, and already the video I’ve seen of him shows better bat control than a lot of guys I watched in the low minors this year.
Soto gets very high grades for his baseball IQ and his leadership on the field. In fact, the guy who I kept thinking of when I was reading his scouting reports was Dansby Swanson and the reports on him coming into 2016.
After watching Swanson quarterback the field with Carolina and Mississippi before doing the same thing with older players in Atlanta told me how useful that skill is on the field.
Soto is a sure shortstop. He’ll handle the position well with very good hands and instincts.
His arm is average/slightly above-average now, but he’s also experienced a significant arm strength growth in the last year, which parallels a jump from about 5’8, 140 pounds to the guy who signed that was near 6′ and 170ish a year later. His arm could certainly continue to gain strength as he fills into his body.
Soto’s contact skills are high-end, and he has gap power as part of that. He doesn’t have a frame that portends big power right now, but he’s also added strength in the last year that could lead to decent playable power in the future. He’s also a guy who doesn’t have elite speed, but his instincts and above-average speed will allow him to probably still 15-20 bases frequently.
It will be interesting to see how the Braves handle their group of IFA signings that all play SS, and many that could/should stick there long term.
It could be that some get skipped all the way to Danville, or it could be that some end up playing in DSL, which is not usually where the Braves send their “big-money” signees.
65. Shean Michel, OF
Interestingly, Raysheandall Michel suddenly became Shean Michel everywhere online this winter. I’m not sure if people started to take notice of him and realized how many letters his first name required, so they shortened it, or if it was a natural thing. For some indication, he does refer to himself as Shean on his Twitter page.
Shean Michel was a guy that the Braves signed out of Curacao, an island that they’ve seemed to do very well in since a certain defensively-elite CF slugger came from there, in 2014. He debuted in 2015 in DSL, and he hit .272/.322/.347 with 5 triples and 9 steals. He flashed incredible defense, and many were impressed by his arm in the outfield.
Michel was started back with DSL, and he hit .316/.379/.414 with DSL in 39 games before getting a promotion to GCL. He struggled with GCL, but he still displayed excellent speed and a plus arm in the outfield, tallying 11 assists in only 64 games.
Michel is a guy at the plate who profiles as a bottom of the order hitter with solid gap power, but a level swing that doesn’t really allow for much big power. His contact skills are reportedly high, but his time with GCL was rough, though he did have a .246 BABIP for a very speedy guy, so that could play into the batting average.
Michel has two plus tools – his speed and his arm. This allows him to play well in the outfield defensively at any position. His instincts in center could use some work, but his speed has allowed him to make up for it. However, as good as his arm is, he may get put into right just to take advantage of that big arm.
Michel’s speed on the basepaths is very solid, but he also did not have a great lineup behind him in DSL, so he did not run as often as he probably could have while there. He certainly could be a 30-steal guy in the majors, the type of speed that could be disruptive to opposing pitchers.
I’d wager Michel probably opens 2017 in either GCL or Danville, but his elite defense could advance him ahead of his bat at times as he works his way up the system. Luckily, there are elite defenders like Ray-Patrick Didder and Cristian Pache ahead of him that should allow him to progress at his pace.
Next: #64 & #63