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    Cincinnati Reds Prospect #22: Yerlin Confidan – OF

    Doug Gray 6

    After signing in July of 2019, what would have been the first professional season for Yerlin Confidan and the entire signing class that year was cancelled in 2020 when the entire minor league year was shut down before it even got started. When 2021 began, the Cincinnati Reds sent the outfielder to Arizona where he would make his professional debut with the Arizona Complex League Reds.

    The season didn’t get out to the best start for Yerlin Confidan. He went 0-11 in his first three games. But he caught fire after that. Over the next month he would hit .347/.402/.573 in 20 games that included five doubles and four home runs. He would slow down a little bit in the following week, though he struck out just once in seven games.

    As hot as his month stretch run earlier in the season was, the month that followed that brief slow down was even better. In 18 games from August 16th through September 14th he would hit .356/.373/.753 with four doubles, two triples, and seven home runs. The lone negative in that time frame was that he walked just twice while striking out 23 times. After a day off on September 15th the ACL Reds played two more games to round out their season and Confidan went 0-4 with a walk in those contests (combined).

    When the season was over he led the league in home runs and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

    For all 2021 Season Reviews and Scouting Reports – click here (these will come out during the week throughout the offseason).

    Yerlin Confidan Scouting Report

    Position: Outfield | B/T: L/L

    Height: 6′ 3″ | Weight: 170 lbs | Acquired: International FA (2019)

    Born: December 16, 2002

    Hitting | He has an average hitting tool.

    Power | Above-average to plus raw power that he can show off at times now.

    Speed | He shows above-average speed.

    Defense | He’s a below-average defender.

    Arm | He has a plus arm.

    Winning the MVP of your league is never easy. Doing so in your professional debut is even more impressive. In doing so, Yerlin Confidan showed off plenty of tools and skills out in Arizona. The then 18-year-old who was said to have good power potential when he was signed made sure to show that it wasn’t just potential as he led the league with 11 home runs. While he did show off more power to his pull side, he showed off power to all fields during the season. Confidan also hit .315 while showing off big time pop.

    While there’s nothing extreme in either his walk rate or his strikeout rate, you would like to see each improve – at least marginally – as he continues to develop. His walk rate was a tad lower than you’d generally like, and his strikeout rate was also a tad higher than you’d generally like – even from someone with power. Players can get by with the rates he posted if maintained moving forward.

    Defensively there’s a mix of good and not-so-good here. The good is that he’s got a plus arm that will play very well in right field. He had seven assists in 42 games played in the field (36 starts in right, 6 in center). On the other side of that is reports that while he has good enough speed, he’s not the strongest defender – particularly in right field where he seemed to be uncomfortable. The numbers back that up a little bit, too, as he posted an .860 fielding percentage in right field where five of his seven errors were of the fielding variety.

    Yerlin Confidan Spray Chart

    Yerlin Confidan Spray Chart

    Interesting Stat on Yerlin Confidan

    When his team was trailing he hit .404/.426/.808 in 54 plate appearances.

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    Doug Gray
    Doug Gray is the owner and operator of this website and has been running it since 2006 in one variation or another.

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    6 Responses

    2. I like his raw abilities. He seems like a good fit at 1B. Tall left handed fielder, not a particularly good defense in the OF. Also brings the power that you want at a corner infield position. He’d be 21 in the 24 season, which would likely be the beginning of the post Votto Reds. A little young, but if he actually developed by then, we have a potential stud replacement. If not, we’d better draft some college 1B’s starting now, because I don’t see any good choices in our system.

      Also side note, when was the last time we had a 1B with above average speed. I know SB’s don’t seem to be a focus of the organization, but having guys who aren’t station to station would be a nice way to build the new Reds era.

    3. Really like the production of Confidan. He seems to have gotten a bit lost, partially, I suspect, due to playing complex level ball and partially due to all of the prospects in the system. Confidan was nearly two years younger than league average– and was its MVP. He’s at least a year ahead of schedule at this point and has a 135 wRC+ season to show for it.

      Moving forward, he has to tighten up his BB/K issues and improve his plate discipline if he wants to be considered among the best prospects in the game.

      Confidan is one of a large number of Red prospects who were signed largely, it seems, on their ability to generate power. Hendrick, De La Cruz, Cerda, Hinds– all are plus power guys (and there are probably a number of guys I’m forgetting). That’s obviously a franchise focus.

    4. I’ve noticed over the last few articles that the Red’s prospects have tended have average or less hit tools and defense but above average power. Is that what the Reds have been drafting or is it typically how players develop through the minors?

      1. I mean we’re in the 20’s at this point. Guys that project to hit better than average are going to rank higher than the 20’s, right?

    5. Q. – As noted, he shows above average speed and a plus arm, yet also a below average defender – is that a coaching and practice issue, or just another guy with tools who hasn’t or may not put it all together? “Uncomfortable” and “fielding” miscues seem like something very fixable, unlike height or speed.

      After following your comments on him thru the year, he seems right there with De La Cruz as a guy who can rocket up the prospect lists.

      1. Not having seen him, I’d guess it’s a lack of experience being a factor. I would guess that he’ll improve somewhat over the years with more reps in the corners.

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