Cincinnati Reds Top Prospects: C Ramon Cabrera

For all 2016 Prospect Ranking Scouting Reports – click here (these will come out one a day over the offseason).

Ramon Cabrera joined the Reds organization just before the 2015 season after time in both the Pirates and Tigers organizations. The Reds sent the catcher to Louisville, where he got limited playing time in the first week of the season with the Bats, going 0-10 in three games. An injury to Devin Mesoraco at the big league level led to a call up of Tucker Barnhart, giving Cabrera more playing time moving forward. He would hit .455 the next week, racking up multiple hits in two games. The final week of April saw him go just 2-11 (.182). In 10 games he would hit just .219/.242/.219 over the span of 35 plate appearances.

Finding himself with more playing time, Cabrera went 6-15 over the first week of May with a walk and a double. Things slowed down in the second week as the catcher had one hit in four of his five games played, but went just 4-20 (.200). He went 3-3 with a walk on the 15th to kick off the third week in a big way, but went just 2-19 the rest of the week. Things picked up over the final six games of the month though as the backstop hit .381 in 21 at-bats. The first and last weeks of the month carried things as he would hit .295/.341/.308 with six walks and 11 strikeouts in 86 plate appearances.

June got to a solid start, going 5-19 (.263) with two walks and a double. The second week was stronger as Cabrera went 6-20 (.300) with his first home run of the season. From the 15th-21st things slowed down some as he would hit just .235 on the week (4-17). He would finish strong, going 7-26 (.269) with three walks and just one strikeout to go with a double and a home run. In June he would hit .268/.326/.366 with his first two home runs of the season, seven walks and eight strikeouts.

In four games during the first week of July Ramon Cabrera would go 4-15 (.267) with a double and a walk. With just three games in the second week thanks to the All-Star game, he went 4-10 with a double. Despite a four day layoff he carried that little hot streak into the third week, going 7-17 (.412) with three doubles and a walk. Things would slow down in the final six games of the month, going just 4-17 (.235), but he added in six walks on the week. It was a bit limited, but it as the best month of the season as the catcher hit .322/.397/.424 with six doubles and eight walks.

The first week of August saw Cabrera go 1-10 in three games before being placed on the disabled list with a back strain. After missing a week he returned and made up for lost time by going 9-23 (.391) in his first week back, including three doubles and a walk. In the final eight games of August he would keep on hitting, going 11-33 with two more doubles and three walks. For August he would post a .318/.361/.394 line with five doubles and five walks over 72 plate appearances.

After a strong minor league season the Reds rewarded him by calling him up for September. He would make his debut on the 5th as a pinch hitter in the second game of a double header. He would get his first big league hit against the Pirates in another pinch hitting opportunity. On September 14thhewouldget the start against San Francisco and going 4-4 with a double. In total he would hit .367/.367/.500 in 30 plate appearances with the Reds.

Scouting Report

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Hitting | He’s able to use the entire field from both sides of the plate and has an average hit tool from both sides of the plate that might play up ever so slightly.

Power | There’s no power from either side of the plate and doesn’t project for more in the future.

Running | As a catcher, he’s never expected to use his legs, but he’s a below-average runner.

Arm | He’s got a below-average arm and has thrown out just 23% of attempted base runners in his career.

Fielding | He’s solid at best behind the plate. He’s known to call a solid game, and he’s agile enough behind the plate to block balls in the dirt. He’s an ok receiver of pitches.

For Ramon Cabrera, nothing in his game really stands out aside from his ability to make tons of contact. His offensive game is built around making contact from both sides of the plate, though he’s certainly better from the left side than the right side. Defensively he’s average at best in some areas and below-average in others. His arm/throwing abilities come into play more than you’d like from a backup catcher at the big league level, but you may be willing to accept that in trade for his ability to hit for a solid average from both sides. There’s not much upside here, but he could profile as a backup catcher in the near-term future. For now he’s likely third on the Reds depth chart behind Devin Mesoraco and Tucker Barnhart.

Spray Chart

As a Left Handed Hitter (Minor Only)

As a Right Handed Hitter (Minors Only)

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