Surprise, Arizona —— At the top of this post, watch one of our scouting videos of Texas Rangers catching prospect Jose Trevino, a compilation of more than a dozen of his at-bats during California League play while a member of the High Desert Mavericks.
Jose Trevino scouting report
Much of what Jose Trevino does won’t show up in a box score or on his statistical profile, and it’s probably best discussed regarding his leadership qualities as a catcher behind the plate, but the Texas Rangers prospect is far from being a weak bat. Yes, he spent 2016 with the High Desert Mavericks at one of the most offensively-favored ballparks in all of minor league baseball, but he’s not a cheap home run beneficiary. (He slashed .303/.342/.434/.776 with 30 doubles and nine home runs in 433 at-bats in High Desert last summer). The controlled aggression in his approach at the plate has some strengths that will serve him well this coming season as a member of the Frisco RoughRiders, and beyond that as he makes his way to the Texas Rangers in Arlington.
Trevino tends to hack early in counts, and at some point that’ll catch up to him some as pitchers at higher levels learn the book on him, but he’s not a free swinger and he has enough bat control combined with above-average hand-eye coordination to overcome early over-aggressiveness, too. He’s mechanically well-balanced at the plate and shows a pretty conventional line drive approach centering on right-center field. That said, his bat is quick enough that he can keep his hands in and turn on inside pitches, too, and he’s not shy about driving the ball to left field based on how he’s being pitched (as you’d expect, much of his natural power goes to left field).
Just as it goes behind the plate, Trevino’s best asset at bat is his focus and intensity. He doesn’t give up on pitches or give away at-bats, he tracks the ball very well, and he’s clearly thinking about how he’s being pitched at-bat to at-bat—all signs of a mature hitter and all things you’d hope for based on his experience and leadership role in the organization.
Jose Trevino’s stock is rapidly rising within the Rangers’ system, and he deserves it. Having watched him play more than 50 times in 2016 between the Cal League and the Arizona Fall League, I’ve seen him more than most and I can reliably say you ought to be bullish on Trevino’s full breakout in 2017. His mental game is off the charts, he knows how to handle adversity, and above all, he knows how to win—the sum of which ought to make Rangers fans very, very excited.
Long term, he’s (probably) not going to put up Buster Posey-type production offensively from the catcher position, but he’s far from an automatic out. He will be a reasonably productive offensive backstop while providing much of his value—quantifiable and otherwise—working with pitchers and behind the plate. Off the field, everything you’ve heard about him is true: he’s as good a human being as they come, and it’s always good when good stuff happens to great people.
In that regard, may 2017 (and 2018, and 2019, and 2020) be the year of Jose Trevino.
Prepare yourselves, Frisco.
For our Jose Trevino catcher scouting report, click here.
For our longform feature on Jose Trevino, click here.
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Jose Trevino scouting report, hitting: 140 characters or less
Much of Jose Trevino’s value comes in what he does behind the plate, but the Rangers prospect will hold his own beside it, too.
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Jose Trevino scouting report videos
Below, here’s our full series of Jose Trevino hitting videos from the entire time we saw him in 2016, ranging in both the California League and the Arizona Fall League:
For more video on Trevino and every other prospect we’ve covered, please subscribe to the Baseball Census channel on YouTube. This coming season alone, we’re expecting to upload videos of more than 500 baseball prospects.
Jose Trevino scouting report GIFs
Just as we did with videos, we’ve compiled nearly 100 different Jose Trevino GIFs, showcasing the prospect hitting, as well as blocking, framing, and receiving behind the plate. A sample of those GIFs are here:
If you want more GIFs of Jose Trevino and hundreds of other baseball prospects, we invite you to follow the Baseball Census Giphy channel. Just as with our YouTube channel, we’ll be uploading hundreds of GIFs throughout the summer season.
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In this Jose Trevino scouting report:
California League | Texas Rangers | High Desert Mavericks | Frisco RoughRiders | Surprise Saguaros | Jose Trevino
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