Conforto has athletic bloodlines, as his father Mike was a Penn State linebacker and his mother Tracie (Ruiz) won two gold medals in synchronized swimming at the 1984 Olympics. Conforto picked baseball, which proved to be a wise choice as he was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2013 and was drafted 10th overall a year later.
Conforto's signature tool is his left-handed power, which could produce 25-plus homers on an annual basis once he gets to the Major Leagues. He doesn't get cheated at the plate, taking a big uppercut hack that produces nice loft on his drives.
While Conforto is willing to take a walk when pitchers won't challenge him, he swings and misses too much to hit for a high average. Most of his value comes from his bat, because while he has some athleticism, he's limited to left field by his range and arm strength.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2014/#list=prospects
Went to see the Cyclones and Conforto play the Lowell Spinners on Monday night and Tuesday morning:
ReplyDeleteConforto looked extremely comfortable, physically mature and had decent athleticism in the field and on the bases. He was selective in what he swung at. He also looked to be a good teammate - on at least 2 occasions he waited to high five or glovetap another outfielder who made a nice play. He only had one hit in the 2 games but it was a bullet line drive that almost decapitated the pitcher. He clearly stood out in approach, physicality and composure against all the other players. Keep an eye on Urena and Rosario as well.