As many of you know already, over these next few days I will be profiling some of the international free agents that figure to have an impact on the MLB in the next year or so. These guys are some of the best international players from all sorts of different places that are thinking about making the jump to Major League Baseball. Some of these guys you may have heard of, and others maybe not. There will be many different types of players that I will be looking at, but they all have one thing in common, they are the best of the rest throughout the world. This time around, we're going to look at Erisbel Arruebarruena, a slick-fielding Cuban Shortstop.
Erisbel Arruebarruena is a 23 year old shortstop who just recently defected from Cuba. He is 6'0" and a little under 200 pounds. He has also played in the Cuban Serie Nacional for six years so he will be able to sign as an unrestricted free agent once he is cleared by the US Office of Foreign Assets. Much like another Cuba product Jose Iglesias, Arruebarruena is very talented in the field. Although he isn't overly fast, Arruebarruena has fantastic first step, as well as overall instincts. He also has a great arm and has shown the ability to make tough throws with ease. He has great awareness at the position, and some scouts have even gone as far as saying he has legitimate gold glove potential. The other half of his game is a major problem though. His bat has been his true liability thus far in his career, and many scouts don't think he will be able to hit in the majors. He has a very long swing, doesn't take good paths to the ball with the bat, and has very little power in his swing. To top it off he doesn't have very good pitch recognition skills, which doesn't help him behind the dish much at all. Most scouts don't believe he will able to work out the kinks in his swing and will struggle in the majors, but maybe having some quality major league coaching can help him out some. It seemed to work for Iglesias last year.
Some of you might recognize Arruebarruena from when he played shortstop for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic last spring (he was the guy with the letters of his last name stretched all the way down the back of his jersey if that helps any). At the WBC, Arruebarruena hit .375 in 16 at bats with a pair of walks. He also stole a base along with a pair of RBI but he had no extra base hits and struck out three times. Its obviously a small sample size but the thing that most concerning to me is the lack of extra base hits. If he is can only be a singles hitter, he will have limited value in the MLB, even with his superb defense. Arruebarruena debuted in the Cuban Serie Nacional in 2007 at the age of 18 and only managed 21 hits in 100 at bats. He then improved slightly each year until 2012 when he hit .320. Despite his rising numbers, Arruebarruena took a major step back this past year, only slashing .275/.324/.366. These numbers are also inflated a little bit as well due to the strong hitters league that is the Serie Nacional. So there are still some serious concerns with his ability to hit in the majors, and he will need some seasoning in the minors before he is ready to contribute on a major league roster. It will also take a team that is pretty desperate for shortstop help to take a chance on him, as many don't project him to be a major contributor. The Mets have been the team rumored to be scouting him the hardest thus far and would be a likely landing spot due to their current situation at shortstop. I see Arruebarruena as a future defensive specialist/ bench guy in the MLB, but his lack of hitting ability combined with his limited speed really takes away potential homes for him on a team. He's not going to be the next Puig or Cespedes, but who knows, he could contribute down the road. It all depends on the bat, and whether or not his last name can fit on the jersey...
Some of you might recognize Arruebarruena from when he played shortstop for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic last spring (he was the guy with the letters of his last name stretched all the way down the back of his jersey if that helps any). At the WBC, Arruebarruena hit .375 in 16 at bats with a pair of walks. He also stole a base along with a pair of RBI but he had no extra base hits and struck out three times. Its obviously a small sample size but the thing that most concerning to me is the lack of extra base hits. If he is can only be a singles hitter, he will have limited value in the MLB, even with his superb defense. Arruebarruena debuted in the Cuban Serie Nacional in 2007 at the age of 18 and only managed 21 hits in 100 at bats. He then improved slightly each year until 2012 when he hit .320. Despite his rising numbers, Arruebarruena took a major step back this past year, only slashing .275/.324/.366. These numbers are also inflated a little bit as well due to the strong hitters league that is the Serie Nacional. So there are still some serious concerns with his ability to hit in the majors, and he will need some seasoning in the minors before he is ready to contribute on a major league roster. It will also take a team that is pretty desperate for shortstop help to take a chance on him, as many don't project him to be a major contributor. The Mets have been the team rumored to be scouting him the hardest thus far and would be a likely landing spot due to their current situation at shortstop. I see Arruebarruena as a future defensive specialist/ bench guy in the MLB, but his lack of hitting ability combined with his limited speed really takes away potential homes for him on a team. He's not going to be the next Puig or Cespedes, but who knows, he could contribute down the road. It all depends on the bat, and whether or not his last name can fit on the jersey...