Howdy LSB, I wrote a piece for last week, but I decided I really wanted to get a little more information on the player in question before I threw anything with my name on it out there. In the meantime there's a very interesting Texas Ranger who all of us know and most of us love who is in a very strange part of his career. Jurickson Profar has the potential to be one of the very best players in the game, but injuries to his shoulder have caused a major delay to the promising career. Profar came back and played a few games in Frisco and then played in the Arizona Fall League. Let's talk about the potential possibilities and scouting report for the once #1 prospect in the MLB.



Jurickson Profar

Profar is going to be 23 at the start of the 2016. Let that sink in for a second, a player who missed 2 years of his career is still only 23. Kris Bryant, boy wonder, is 24 and he is considered as one of the best young talents in the Majors. Jurickson is 6'0' and about 185 pounds; he is listed as 165 but he has gained significant muscle weight in the two years since playing. Profar signed with the Rangers in 2009 as shortstop when most other teams were scouting him as a pitcher, much like Joey Gallo. Profar projected to stick at SS and hit for average, a little power, and a very high OBP due to his fantastic plate discipline. He was very advanced for his age and moved through the ranks quickly. By the end of 2012, the son of Judeska and Chesmond was the number 1 prospect in the MLB after 2 seasons with a wRC+ of around 136. His defense was praised as well with his strong arm and great instincts in the field. By the middle of 2013 he was playing for the Rangers club. His very first major league at bat he did this.



He held his head above water after this, but not by much. He struggled due to inconsistent playing time and maybe because it's really hard to hit major league pitching. During spring training he would injure himself and the re-occurring injury would lead to two lost seasons.



Scouting Report

Unfortunately it is near impossible to scout his defense due to having not seen it since the 2014 season. However I was able to see him at Frisco a few times in 2015 and there is also quite a bit of video.



Hit: 50/60

Profar is a switch hitter who has a great feel for both sides of the plate. His swing is almost identical from both sides, but it very different from the last time he was in the majors. He has a very relaxed stance with his bat resting on his shoulders, think Josh Hamilton. Jurickson has slight hip inward before taking a very short step and unloading. His hands stay very close to their original position until he uncoils. His swing is very smooth and lacks moving parts allowing him to replicate the swing every sequence. He is very coordinated and is able to make contact with difficult placement and junk, even if he's fooled by the pitch. Profar works the field from pole to pole and generates a lot of hard line drives that find the gaps in the outfield fairly often. One of the best things about Profar is the plate approach. He will make the pitcher throw strikes, but he will jump on a pitch he likes. He also doesn't strike out much, so seasons where he walks more than he strikes out are possible. This video by Moore Baseball shows Profar from both sides of the plate. At 1:15 you can really see him drive a pitch.



Power: 50/55



Profar has great bat speed and a swing that can generate a good amount of pop to all fields. He mostly generates line drive power, but he can put a charge into any ball he gets a hold of. Jurickson will probably never be a 30 home run power threat, but 17-25 at his power peak is foreseeable. Here is a recent dinger in the AZL.

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Run: 50/50

Profar was above average speed when he was 165 pounds, but now that he's added on muscle to his frame I'd say average is about it. He has good instincts on the base paths and should be an overall positive on the base paths. As he progresses we might see some 10 SB seasons.

Field: 60/60

Profar is a natural ballplayer. He has soft hands and a quick glove and he could play any position in the infield if his arm is able. If his arm is willing, he can stick at SS, but he most likely won't win any Gold Gloves. He also made great strides to become a serviceable left fielder, but with the Rangers outfield as stacked as it is his best change will probably not be there.

Arm: ?/70

To put it simply, I have no idea where his arm is at. I have heard from a source in the Rangers org that he is throwing without discomfort and that his arm strength is still there. Only time will tell how strong it comes back, but the potential is there. Profar had a cannon before his injury and the medical staff stated that the injury is completely healed. If his arm comes back at 85% he can still play any infield position and corner outfield spots.



Makeup:

JuPro's always got a smile on his face when he's playing baseball. He also reeks of intelligence and good vibes. He loves baseball and it shows. Work ethic is not a question either, as even when he was unable to participate in baseball activities he was in the gym building strength. This is the kind of guy you want leading your team to the post-season.



Final Thoughts

Coming back from two years of not playing ball isn't something that most players could do successfully. If I were to bet on a player being able to do it, it is Profar. He does not have failure in him, so he is going to drive himself to becoming better until he can't do it no more. His advanced plate approach and great hit tool and coordination should give him a good chance once his timing is back. Spring will be a great time for Profar to show us where he is at.

There is only one player that really looks anything like Profar's minor league stats and that is Ben Zobrist. We have talked about this before, but it really couldn't be more comparable. Profar's career minor league slash is .276/.365/.446 for an OPS of .811. Zobrist's career major league line is .265/.355/.431 for an OPS of .786. They have an eerily similar SO/BB ratio ISO, and extra base hit rates as well. When Zobrist was 23, he was in A ball and he didn't get a chance at the majors until he was 25. Profar at 23 himself, will be fighting for a major league spot in 2016, although it is extremely likely he starts the season in AAA. The big question comes when you bring up the fact that Zobrist added a lot of his value because of his defensive capability and flexibility. A lot of Profar's value hinges on the question that he can or cannot play certain positions. If Profar can play SS and LF and his bat is as developed as most scouts seem to think it is, he could be an all-star. His potential peak ceiling is huge and his offensive floor is still very high as well. If Profar gets decently close to his peak he could hit 25 HRs, 40 doubles, 100 BBs with 90 SOs, and a slash of .285/.375/.450. If he's doing that at SS, he's an easy all-star and possibly a top 15 player. It is possible his bat never fully develops, but he should still get numerous starting opportunities with his power/patience combo with good defensive instincts. Jurickson is not a Proflop yet and if I were a betting man, I would wager that he will be helping the Texas Rangers win games this year in some fashion. It's been a long time, but we can finally be excited that we get to watch one of the best young talents in baseball again in 2016.