Inside The Rangers' Prospect Watch: No. 5 Leody Taveras

Inside The Rangers on SI continues our Prospect Watch preseason rankings with our #5 prospect Leody Taveras.

5. Leody Taveras | OF

Born: September 8, 1998
Bats: S Throws: R
Height: 6'1" Weight: 171 
Drafted: Signed in 2015, Dominican Republic 
Team: Frisco RoughRiders (AA)
Other Team Rankings: Baseball America (3), MLB Pipeline (5)

Career Statistics

Player Bio

Leody Taveras was signed out of Tenares, Dominican Republic, on July 2, 2015. His signing bonus of $2.1 million was below that of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s $3.9 million and above Juan Soto's $1.5 million, making him one of the more sought after prospects during the J2 period in 2015. However, despite the initial hype around his signing, Taveras has not yet lived up to the expectations set forth for his future on the club.

Strengths

Leody Taveras has always been known for his speed and athleticism. Early in his career, his bat speed allowed him to be an effective hitter for average at the lower levels of the Minors. Furthermore, his propensity for getting on base early in his career allowed him to soar in prospect rankings across baseball. 

Perhaps his biggest strength lies in is his defense. He patrols center field using his speed and range to his advantage, along with a quick first step. He also possesses a plus arm, making him an elite defender at a premium defensive position.

Taveras has always played against older competition in the Minors. On average, Taveras has played three years above the average age at each level in the minors. Even then he has been able to hold his own, which has allowed him to remain not just a top prospect in the Texas Rangers organization but a Top 100 prospect in all of Major League baseball as recently as 2018. 

Weaknesses

His biggest weakness is his bat. While Taveras has hit for a modest average in the upper levels of the minors, his power has never come to fruition. A lack of extra base hits has kept Taveras from the upper tier of prospects in baseball, and will continue to do so unless his can figure out how to make hard contact.

Other than his bat, Taveras possesses a keen knowledge of the sport, and is a stalwart on the defensive side of the ball. 

Future

Taveras will likely start the season at Double-A Frisco. Depending on his progress and the state of the big league club, his could make an impact at the Major League level as soon as the All-Star break in 2020. With the center field position in flux at the big league level and the active roster now expanded to 26 players, Taveras could make an immediate impact for the big league club. His defense could allow for Texas to place him in the game late for additional defense to hold any leads.

If not, it's a good bet that he makes his way to Triple-A Nashville before 2020 concludes.

Again, his future advancement all hinges on his bat, and the development he has made with it over the course of the last offseason. The Rangers have shown that defense alone will not keep players on the major league roster if they cannot produce offensively. 

Inside The Rangers Top 10 Preseason Prospect Rankings

10. 3B Sherten Apostel
9. SS Maximo Acosta
8. RF Bayron Lora
7. LHP Joe Palumbo
6. RHP Cole Winn
5. CF Leody Taveras

Each spot will be released daily.

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