Thursday, June 05, 2014

Alex Verdugo is the Dodgers 2014 2nd Round Draft Pick


During the 2014 Draft's 2nd Round the Dodger chose Alex Verdugo, 62nd overall, out of Sahuaro High School in Tucson, AZ.  I had originally thought he was going to join the franchise as a left-handed pitcher, but according to Chad Moriyama at Dodgers Insider the Dodgers picked him up as an outfielder.  So Mr. Verdugo, you get 2 cards (since I already made the first before doing any real research).  Check them out above.

As you can see, I put him on a 1959 Topps vintage card design using a photo grabbed from MaxPreps (taken by Chris Hooks) for the cards on the left, and a photo from StudentsSports.com for the card on the right.

Verdugo is 6' 1" and about 200 lbs.  He bats left-handed is thought to have power potential.  Verdugo is also an able pitcher and is thought by some to be a potential middle of the rotation guy.  He had committed to go to ASU, but apparantly that is now off.  Chris Cotillo at MLB Daily Dish remarked on twitter that he and the Dodgers had made an agreement to sign prior to the draft on twitter.


Then, Ocotillo says that the Dodgers did not specify to him what position they want him at.  So, it remains to be seen if he'll be an outfielder or pitcher.  Nevertheless, the Dodgers announced him as an outfielder, so I'll assume that's the direction he's headed.


Matt Garrioch  at Minor League Ball said this of him:
He is arguably the best two-way player available in this draft along with Michael Gettys. I'm not sure at this point where he should play. Similar to Trey Ball last year, he has high-end tools both on the mound and in the outfield.

His speed is just average, so I don't see him sticking in centerfield long term. His thick legs look more like the legs of a pitcher than an up the middle talent. Once he matures he'll likely be a right fielder so the bat has to be very good, but the bat is that good. He can hit the ball with authority from line to line. He has a strong build but doesn't have a lot of physical projection remaining.

He has a toe tap and a big stride to trigger his aggressive swing. He tones it down in game situations but doesn't lose the aggressive swing. He has great hand eye coordination and can hit the ball hard to all parts of the field and he seems to have a good idea of what to do at all times. He has a fast bat that is short to the ball and long through it allowing him to have good contact ability and project for power as well.
Chris Rodriguez at Baseball Prospectus said this:
Verdugo might have more upside in the outfield, though, with solid tools across the board. The arm is obviously plus, and he pairs that with good outfield defense and above-average speed. During batting practice, he rocketed balls into the gaps and sold out for a little more pull-side power. He was dipping his back shoulder and trying to lift, but he did hit a couple balls off the wall and one that cleared, no easy feat with the wind blowing in hard. In game action, Verdugo showed off natural hitting ability with several balls hit hard in the gaps, including a triple.
Below is a video of him taking some swings.

Video Link:

Here's another video.

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And another.  This time you can see him get some work in the outfield and throw a few pitches.

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UPDATE:  Tucson News Now Sports Anchor Damien Alameda just got off the phone with Verdugo and made the following tweets.












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By at Thursday, June 05, 2014
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