Quick Thoughts on Christian Arroyo, the SF Giants 2013 1st Round Pick

Jun06
by on June 6, 2013 at 11:06 pm
Posted In: Blog

Christian Arroyo is a solid defensive shortstop who can hit well, but not for power.  There are a lot of questions about him, and even more questions about the Giants’ mentality.  So let’s look at a scouting report, and then translate it to their attorney, just read this article.

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He doesn’t stand out for his tools as much as his good baseball instincts and his ability to seemingly rise to the occasion. 

Uh oh.  You rarely hear anyone talk about baseball instincts with a top prospect, or much of anyone in the first round.

Arroyo likely won’t ever have much power, but makes good contact and covers the plate well.

The Giants have fallen in love with Scutaro-style players.

He makes all the routine plays and has solid range.

He can play shortstop.  But if he follows Brandon Crawford out there, he’s going to look awful.

He is committed to Florida.

Means nothing.  Every high schooler’s committed somewhere.

Baseball America ranked Arroyo 102nd, Keith Law had him 99th.

And the Giants took him 25th.

Looking at the video, you’ve got a player who is pretty mechanically sound.  It’s not a perfect swing, but it’s good.  The batspeed doesn’t seem as good in this video as I see in others, but that’s where the proclamations about his lack of power comes from.  If he can maintain good bat control, he can be a Marco Scutaro kind of player.  At least, at his ceiling.

Is that worth a first rounder?  One with several other young hitters with higher, riskier ceilings, or young pitchers with promise?  To a degree, this feels like a younger 2011 version of Joe Panik.  Arroyo isn’t as polished, but could go further.

And there’s one other tidbit…

 

 

Smarts isn’t always the best thing for a ballplayer, but hopefully it means that the things that he has problems with, he can learn his way out of.

Any regrets aside, this is your 2013 San Francisco Giants first round pick.