Cesar Prieto 2023

[jabba72]

4 hit game yesterday. Prieto's OPS in Norfolk is up to .885.

[bluedog]

20 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

4 hit game yesterday. Prieto's OPS in Norfolk is up to .885.

The .364 average has my attention as well.

[DocJJ]

Not a lot of power and extremely limited defensively, but you have to love the contact and on base....

 

It will be interesting to see if they keep him or trade him.

 

 

[bluedog]

2 hours ago, DocJJ said:

Not a lot of power and extremely limited defensively, but you have to love the contact and on base....

 

It will be interesting to see if they keep him or trade him.

 

How limited is he defensively? Like can he be an average / serviceable defender at 2b / LF or is he straight up George Costanza in the field?

[orioles22]

I'm curious on the defense also. I'm thinking he could be our best option as the utility guy with his ability to hit while playing several positions.

[sportsfan8703]

He's LH so he has a chance to stay in the org.  Urias, Mateo, and Ortiz are RH.  

[TheWall]

15 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

He's LH so he has a chance to stay in the org.  Urias, Mateo, and Ortiz are RH.  

Westburg as well. 

[CharmCityHokie]

1 hour ago, orioles22 said:

I'm curious on the defense also. I'm thinking he could be our best option as the utility guy with his ability to hit while playing several positions.

From everything I've read he doesn't have the arm to play SS. This is what Tony said in his report:

"While second base was always considered his best position, being on the same team as Connor Norby for a good bit of season at both levels forced him to play some SS and even more 3B. He’s showed good hands and quickness no matter where he played, but a below average arm really limits his ability to play shortstop in anything but a pinch."

 

And if you want a second opinion, this is what FanGraphs posted in their last updates to prospect lists which was during the offseason:

" Prieto is a below-average infield athlete and presents a stiff, non-traditional look at both second and third base, but he has only had access to Baltimore’s conditioning and developmental tools for about a year. "

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/baltimore-orioles-top-38-prospects-2023/

 

Make of it what you will but second seems like his only home on the dirt. He could be a Terrin Vavra/Hanser Alberto type, hopefully more though.

 

[orioles22]

Interesting that he's a better defender than Norby reading that report. It sounds Norby is a left fielder/DH if he stays with the Orioles. If Prieto is the backup for an infield of Henderson-Holliday-Westburg or Ortiz it would work with someone else playing short if Prieto is in the game.

[ChosenOne21]

Yeah, everything I've heard says that Prieto and Norby aren't going to be assets with the glove, at least not at 2B

[Frobby]

I’m starting to think that Prieto is the most underrated and unappreciated player in our farm system.  He hit .364 at Bowie, and is doing the same at Norfolk, and his K rate is miniscule.  I don’t know that he’ll ever play for us, but he should be an attractive piece of trade bait.  

[emmett16]

I have a feeling we will be seeing Prieto carve out a nice little productive career for another team.  The man just hits.   Hitting for some power recently as well.  

[now]

16 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I’m starting to think that Prieto is the most underrated and unappreciated player in our farm system.  He hit .364 at Bowie, and is doing the same at Norfolk, and his K rate is miniscule.  I don’t know that he’ll ever play for us, but he should be an attractive piece of trade bait.  

I've just been thinking the same thing... even wanting to sub him for Fabian on my top 10 list.

[orioles22]

I always wonder if a guy we WANT to trade is going to get us what we want from another team. I'm thinking Prieto ends up as our utility guy and we have to trade to Westburg or Ortiz to get pitching since other teams want starters who can play defense, just like we do.

 

 

[Alasdaire]

5 minutes ago, orioles22 said:

I always wonder if a guy we WANT to trade is going to get us what we want from another team. I'm thinking Prieto ends up as our utility guy and we have to trade to Westburg or Ortiz to get pitching since other teams want starters who can play defense, just like we do.

 

 

Other teams don't want retreads. So any hypothetical packages that involve players who are flawed because they haven't done anything/have been give a shot failed are fantastical.

But a Prieto isn't that. I said this earlier, but fifteen years ago, we would have been pretty excited about Prieto. A guy who put up historic numbers in Cuba and has done nothing but hit since entering our system would be intriguing irrespective of his other tools.

It's just that our infield prospects in particular go so deep that it's very difficult to imagine any scenario where he makes the team. The best case scenario is as a utility guy, and even then, he would have competition there.

So I think it can simultaneously be true that Prieto has actual value and is a guy who we could move without wincing.

If Hernaiz netted us a ~4 starter in Cole Irvin, could Prieto get a 3? Prieto + another surplus player? Those are the types of moves we should be looking to make, not chopping our own hands off by moving guys with real value to us like Westburg or Ortiz.