Prospect Profile: #10 Los Angeles Angels Alex Yarbrough

Alex Yarbrough shares two things in common with our #1 Los Angeles Angels prospect: Both play 2nd base and both are talented hitters. As one of the focal points in an article by Sam Miller about the changes the Angels made to their player development, the conclusion about Alex Yarbrough by Scott Servais was that he “is going to play in the Major Leagues.” We fully agree.

Yarbourgh’s biggest asset is his bat. Yarbrough led the Cal League in hits by a healthy margin (182 hits-27 more than the 2nd place hitter who played in 4 more games than Yarbrough). Yarbrough has power (32 doubles along with the 11 HRs) and is likely to add more. This offseason, Yarbrough committed to gaining muscle mass and reportedly did add quite a bit, so we are hoping to see a spike in his power production (although tempering it by the confines of his home ballpark in Double-A).

Defensively, Yarbrough is above average for the position. As noted in the article by Sam Miller, Yarbrough is a hard worker and has put in countless hours drilling all the fundamentals. Yarbrough’s defense rates as a plus tool. His arm is average, but he can easily turn the double play.

One last tool that Yarbrough has is speed. While not a burner, he is capable of stealing 10-20 bases in a season at the Major League level.

The Angels will continue to advance Yarbrough this year to Double-A, where he will once again be paired up with Eric Stamets at SS. This will be their third year together, and the quality of defense and offense that they provide will be quite a joy to watch. According to scouts, the floor for Yarbrough’s development is very high, and he will continue to push his way up the organization.

Please click here to watch an interview we recorded with Alex Yarbrough.