The writeup below and the video to the right are both from the 2010 Digital Prospect Guide. We'll be releasing reports with video on each of our top 30 prospects later this month and the full 2011 Digital Prospect Guide in January ($19.99 for PDF with video and $9.99 for text only). For more information, email me at adamf@projectprospect.com.
Fuentes’ game is designed around putting the ball on the ground and hustling. He has a very lean build and offers little in the way of power projection. We saw 70 speed from Fuentes in March of 2010. While he certainly looks like a center fielder and ranges well, his lack of patience and power give him a low ceiling, even if his defense starts him with a high floor. Fuentes also was an extreme-ground-ball hitter during his debut in the GCL. He definitely has time to improve but we didn’t see much to get excited about when we saw Fuentes in action.
Update
Fuentes continued his trend of being a big ground-ball hitter over 413 plate appearances in the South Atlantic League in 2010. He also struggled with making contact at times and wasn't too patient, though his walk rate went up a lot during the second half of the season. Fuentes also hit five home runs, more than I though he'd hit.
Going forward, Fuentes will need to focus on not chasing pitches out of the zone or trying to do too much at the plate. He has the foot and bat speed to turn into an everyday center fielder, but he's going to be a bit of a project. I see Fuentes as a decent bet to surface as a No. 4 outfielder. I have a 45 overall future potential (OFP) on him right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if some people had a 50-55.
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