Arizona State shortstop Deven Marrero entered the season looking like a sure top five pick. But could his struggles at the plate cause him to slip some in the draft?
The shortstop is currently hitting for a .281/.330/.348 line in 89 at-bats this season, after a 1-for-9 performance mid-week against CS Fullerton. Last year he hit for a .315/.352/.434 line in 219 at-bats.
The main appeal with Marrero is his defense. He’s been compared to a young Omar Vizquel at shortstop for his defensive skills. But would that defense be enough to keep him in the top five, even with poor hitting?
A lot of draft prospect values revolve around “what have you done for me lately” analysis. Players can rise due to strong numbers the year they are drafted. We’re seeing that this year with Kyle Zimmer. But players can also fall due to poor results. It happened with Grant Green in 2009. Green was a top three prospect heading in to the year, but ended up falling out of the top ten picks in the first round after a poor season with USC.
If Marrero continues to struggle, and falls in the draft as a result, the Pirates would be getting a lot of value if he was available at eighth overall. But there’s still two months remaining before the draft, so a lot can change.
Notes From the Past Week
-Deven Marrero went 1-for-9 in a two game series against CS Fullerton.
-Trey Williams went 1-for-2 on Wednesday with his second homer of the year. He was also walked and hit by a pitch.
-Mike Zunino went 1-for-4 with a single against Florida State on Tuesday. Alan Smodic was at the game, and had some Twitter updates. He mentioned that the hit was a solid single through the left side. Zunino threw out a runner trying to steal, and Alan mentioned the runner had no chance.
The schedule for the top draft prospects this weekend:
FRIDAY
6:00 PM EST – Georgia Southern (Chris Beck) vs College of Charleston
6:00 PM EST – San Francisco (Kyle Zimmer) vs San Diego
7:30 PM EST – Florida (Mike Zunino) at Ole Miss
8:00 PM EST – LSU (Kevin Gausman) vs Arkansas
9:00 PM EST – Arizona State (Deven Marrero) at Oregon
9:00 PM EST – Stanford (Mark Appel) at Arizona
SATURDAY
2:00 PM EST – Valencia HS (Trey Williams) vs Lompoc
2:30 PM EST – Florida (Zunino) at Ole Miss
5:00 PM EST – Arizona State (Marrero) at Oregon
6:00 PM EST – Valencia HS (Trey Williams) vs Rocklin
SUNDAY
1:30 PM EST – Florida (Zunino) at Ole Miss
3:00 PM EST – Arizona State (Marrero) at Oregon
