Here are a few short videos to enjoy on your Saturday morning. Earlier in the week I posted two Gregory Polanco videos highlighting his power (a home run) and his speed (beating out a chopper to second base). Today there are two more Polanco clips, both coming from Imo Kemp, who is a must follow on Twitter (click the link to go to his Twitter page).
The first clip is a response to Polanco beating out a grounder to second base this week in the Dominican League finals. This clip is a GIF of him beating out a chopper to the first baseman in Altoona.
It seems that wasn’t the only time this happened.
@timwilliamsP2 @27imokemp @mikemaw45 there's more than a few of those from his time with us.
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) January 25, 2014
I think what we can take from these videos is that Polanco’s speed allows him to be a threat and a playmaker. Not only does he have power, but his speed will definitely keep the #InfieldHit hashtag going strong, and will lead to a high average.
The second video shows off Polanco’s arm. Not really the best positioning by the catcher, and he missed the tag, but the throw was accurate and beat the runner to the plate.
Finally, this video has been up since May. We might have shown it before. It’s of new Pirates shortstop prospect Adrian Valerio. The Pirates signed him for $400,000 as a 16 year old out of the Dominican Republic this past year. I’m posting the video again because I was just watching it yesterday (via our own John Dreker), and because I’ve been hearing great things about Valerio’s defense. In preparing for the Prospect Guide, I heard that his defense is extremely smooth, and that he could already be one of the best defensive infielders in the system. He’ll be an interesting guy to follow to see how his hitting develops. The video below shows him doing fielding drills, and hitting from both sides of the plate. I’d expect Valerio to start in the DSL in 2014, with a jump to the GCL in 2015.
