Catching prospect Adrian Nieto has signed with the Washington Nationals. This may not be big news in many people’s eyes, but Nieto was part of the amazing American Heritage High School team this year out of Florida. The American Heritage High School team had four of it’s players selected in the major league draft this past June. Eric Hosmer (3rd, Royals), Nieto (151st, Nationals), JC Sulbaran (899th, Reds), and Joey Belviso (1501st, Angels).
Adrian has an incredible story as I have learned, he actually emigrated to the United States from Cuba when he was just four years old. He came onto the spotlight as a sophomore, when he went 0.381/4/27, continued hitting the ball well as a junior (while suffering through some injuries) where he went 0.361/4/17, and finally capped off his high school career as a senior hitting 0.372/5/38. He has been named to both the AFLAC All American team and to the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars roster.
He should have been picked earlier in the draft but apparently other teams shied away from his thinking he had a pre-draft deal in place with the Orioles, no matter which round he was selected in. The Nationals took a chance when he was still around in the fifth round and that chance has paid off, both for the Nationals and for Nieto. Right now he is with the GCL Nationals, but has not played in any games. He currently doesn’t have any trading cards to his name. Keep an eye on him though, he will be a top prospect soon enough.
Here is his scouting report from minorleaguebaseball.com:
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| Hitting Ability: | Nieto is a good hitter who stays on pitches really well. |
| Power: | He’s got some power and could be a 10-15 homer type if he stays behind the plate. |
| Running Speed: | He is a well below-average runner. |
| Base Running: | He’s not a particularly good baserunner because of his lack of speed. |
| Arm Strength: | If it’s healthy, he’s got a plus arm. |
| Fielding: | Nieto has been a little lazy behind the plate and has had trouble holding on to balls. |
| Range: | He did not move well behind the plate in this game. |
| Physical Description: | Nieto is big and strong, but was described as having a bad body. |
| Medical Update: | A strained elbow ligament kept him from catching all of last year. |
| Strengths: | A good hitting approach and a plus arm, if healthy. |
| Weaknesses: | Nieto struggled with his catching skills and there is concern about his elbow holding up. |
| Summary: | Generally considered to be the second-best prep catcher in the Draft class, Nieto has a solid approach at the plate and a very strong arm behind it. However, an elbow injury last year has limited his time behind the plate and he struggled a bit defensively early this season. On the same team as top prospect Eric Hosmer, he’ll get plenty of chances to show improvement in front of scouts this spring. |
