A young, potent bat with a high ceiling in the Angels system? Yes, they do exist and currently take the form of one Natanael Delgado.
Natanael Delgado
In 10 words or less: Raw, powerful LF. Teenager. Did I say raw?
Position: OF Born: 10/23/95
Bats: L Throws: L
Height: 6’1″ Weight: 170
Last Year Rank: #13
2014 Season Stats
[table id=49 /]
OFFENSE
Contact – C. This graded out as a “B” last year and I feel that may have been slightly generous. As with all young, raw power hitters, NatanaelDelgado does have some swing and miss to his game. He’s better at generating contact than most guys who share his profile, but we’ve also yet to see this skill truly tested. In time.
Power – B. If this were power potential, I’d say it was an “A”, but seeing as this is simply a snapshot in time, Delgado is certainly a “B” here. The same description applies, he has long arms and a gorgeous, fluid swing. He does a great job of swinging through the ball and generates a ton of torque (Which in turn is power. See; Harper, Bryce). While Natanael clearly likes to turn on pitches, I watched him hit a line drive this year off the wall in straight away LF, not left-center, not CF. Straight away LF. Normally this wouldn’t mean much, as liners off the wall happen a few times a year, except he did this as a left-handed batter. To see an 18-year-old kid hit a 10-15 foot line drive to the opposite field and hit the fence in a real ball game against players much older than he is, is amazing.
Discipline – D-. Admittedly, I got carried away by giving him a “B” last year. I saw his BB% climb all the way to 10% in his final month in Arizona and took this as legitimate evidence of adjustment, which it may have been. However, this doesn’t mean any and all issues with patience and discipline are a thing of the past. It’s a work in progress and always will be. Delgado faced more advanced pitching this past season and as we saw, didn’t walk nearly as often. More than anything, Delgado just needs time, which he has a ton of, as he’s still couple of years ahead of the age curve and meeting reasonable success.
Speed – B. Delgado is moderately fast. He’s a smart base-runner, as evidenced by his 100% SB success rate (only 8 attempts), and he moves around the bases better than most corner outfielders. I don’t see him ever stealing more than 10-15 bases a season, especially as he adds weight, but I can’t ever see him being slow either.
DEFENSE
Arm – B. Natanael has enough arm to play either LF or RF. The Angels play around with him in CF here and there but he’s clearly best suited in LF.
Fielding – C. This was the biggest area for improvement for Delgado this past season. Down in Arizona, there was no hiding it, he was an awful outfielder. Yeah, he was only 17 years old, but he had neither the instincts, route or glove to even belong out there. This year in Orem, he was considerably more sheltered, as he DH’d almost as often as he played the field. But this time out in LF, he wasn’t completely lost. By no means was he good, but he wasn’t embarrassingly bad anymore, and that’s a huge deal. He might even be halfway decent in the future.
Range – C. Fast as he can run, Delgado still needs a bit more time out there before we really seem him take advantage of his long stride and run down balls out there. But at least he isn’t a statue.
OVERALL
Performance – B. I would’ve liked to see what Nat could’ve done across a full season. But he was injured and didn’t play a game past the first week of August. Still, in the games that we did see him play, he was batting in the middle of the order in a lineup chalk full of 22 and 23 year olds. Impressive for an 18-year-old. He didn’t embarrass himself either, he hit over .300 and flashed impressive power. Next year, he may either return to Orem, which certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing, or the Angels could continue to aggressively push him as they have and move him up to full season ball in the pitcher friendly confines of the Midwest League.
Projection – A. Delgado has shown the maturity, work-ethic, and ability to be successful as a professional. He seems to realize that this skill set is his key to success, and given his natural talents, I think he’ll flourish, with time. I really can’t emphasize that enough. The Angels have been so impressed with him that they’ve promoted him about two years ahead of schedule. This doesn’t mean Delgado doesn’t need the same amount of time to fully develop, because he does. He just might spend more time in AA/AAA and less time in A Ball, which is a good thing. Still, I see him becoming a very good corner outfielder, in the Garret Anderson mold.
Grade as a Prospect – C+. He has plus power and makeup and is at least two years ahead of the age curve, which is normal for elite prospects. But Nat has yet to show he’s elite just yet. He may be someday though.
Estimated Time of Arrival – 2019. Yeah, that’s five years away. And the craziest part? Delgado will still only be 24 years old.
2014 in Review*
Any 18-year old that can play in the Pioneer League and more than hold his own is hard to complain about. I’m going to give it a shot though. Despite his solid numbers, Natanael Delgado had a frustrating season. The biggest frustration is that he was only able to log 162 plate appearances due to injury. That’s not his fault, but it is a shame that he missed that time.
What that meant is that Delgado didn’t really get to work on a lot of things. In particular, he continues to walk only by accident. This is not entirely unexpected of a raw prospect, but it was an issue last year for him and he just never got enough reps to make any real strides in this area. He also got almost no reps against same-side pitching. Seriously, he had 19 plate appearances against southpaws in 2014, that’s after only 44 the year before. This isn’t to suggest he can’t hit lefties, but rather that he isn’t seeing lefties enough for him to figure out how to handle lefties.
Looking Ahead*
OK, enough complaining. 2014 was a bit of a wasted year, but Natanael Delgado remains one of the more exciting and promising bats in the Angels system. He is also one of the youngest, so it isn’t the end of the world that his 2014 campaign was so abbreviated. He’s got more than enough time to make up for the lost development. As such, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he starts the year in Orem once again. He’s so young and raw that there is no sense in rushing him. Spend the time to smooth out some of the rough spots and only then start promoting him. His numbers are good, so he clearly isn’t all that far off from that point, so don’t be surprised if he ends the season in Burlington.
*As we do every year, the scouting reports and grades are provided by Scotty Allen while Garrett Wilson provides the 2014 in Review and Looking Ahead sections.
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