Cincinnati Reds Minor League Scouting Notebook

Today I wanted to take a look at outfielder Jose Fernandez, who played for the Arizona League Reds in 2013. Fernandez hit .284/.352/.422 and stole 17 bases in 19 attempts. He played in just 35 games and racked up just 130 plate appearances on the season.

The 19-year-old made big improvements in 2013 over what he did in the 2012 season where he played for the Dominican Summer League Reds, hitting .211/.301/.273. Despite making a big step up in competition this season, his performance was much stronger, improving his power and output at the plate overall. He also performed much better on the base paths, stealing 10 more bases and being caught one less time despite less playing time. His walk rate was a tad low at 6.2% and his strikeout rate was 22.3%, which isn’t good but isn’t bad either.

Scouting Report

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Jose Fernandez has plus speed and he was able to use it well on the bases and in the field where he has good range in center field. As a center fielder with good defense, he won’t need to hit as much to provide value.

He is listed at 6′ 2″ and 175 lbs. and with that size he has a bit of projection left in his power, which at this point is just gap power. Fernandez is noted for his ability to barrel up a baseball. The right handed hitter uses the entire field and actually goes the other way more than he pulls the ball. With his speed he was able to use it well as he bunted for a hit 7 times in 12 attempts. He had another 3 infield hits during the year.

Let’s take a quick look at his hitting profile.

In a limited sample size he showed off big power to his pull side even though he didn’t pull the ball often. When he went to center and right field he showed a little bit of power but not much and certainly not nearly as much as when he pulled the ball.

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