Colorado Rockies OF Yonathan Daza Scouting Report, February 2018

Lots of weak contact right now with weak wrists and hands. Tendency to get out on his front foot lunging at pitches when he gets off-balance from large leg kick and big weight transfer, but exceptional hand-eye coordination with a knack for putting the barrel on the ball. Average to above-average bat speed. Orientation in approach towards center/right-center field, especially for power; will produce quite a bit of ground ball contact when he gets off balance. Work to be done here to develop hit tool at higher levels, and I think there are going to be quite a few adjustments to make once he reaches The Show; that said, hand-eye coordination is good enough to really work in his favor and Daza should become an average hitter in time.

Showed astonishingly little power thus far in his career, even in a hitter’s paradise like High-A Lancaster in 2017; weak hands and wrists combined with a tendency to lunge at the ball with a big leg kick for timing leave Daza susceptible to getting off balance easily. To that end, his strong hand-eye coordination and ability to flick the wrists give him a shot to cover the plate and spray singles all over the field, but he lacks the ability to use leverage through his core and lower half to consistently drive the ball in the air; quite a bit of weak contact right now with adjustments to make. When it does come, natural power alley is in center/right-center as opposed to his pull side, with orientation inside-out to drive the ball the other way. Decent physical frame to his body and some room left to grow into a more muscular build, so likely some raw power still to come; will be further aided by playing at a hitter’s paradise like Coors Field, where Daza can take advantage of big gaps for doubles power that’ll be further aided by his foot speed.

Excellent jumps on balls in the outfield and excellent use of his speed to track down balls in the air from any of the three outfield spots. Likely more natural to slot him into right field when it’s all said and done, but there’s enough speed and athleticism defensively here to play in center field for the next few seasons, even in a place as vast as Coors Field. Find more of a discussion on his ability to read balls in the outfield under the speed tool section; suffice to say with a bit more development time, Yonathan Daza will be an above-average/plus outfield defender.

Legitimate plus tool right now; easily double-plus raw arm strength, but significant accuracy issues have prevented me from grading out his arm higher than this right now. Absolute cannon from the outfield with great velocity and carry to the infield, but tendency to overthrow in trying to show it off, and tends to miss his target considerably in doing so. Throws to home from right field tend to run up the line; inconsistent in actually hitting his target despite exceptional raw strength that holds runners on reputation alone. If further reps can bump up his accuracy over the next year or two, Yonathan Daza will have a legitimate weapon in that right arm, and it’ll allow him to play any of the three outfield spots, especially combined with his speed.

Recorded 4.28 - 4.30 out of the RHH box; 4.53 - 4.55 turns at first base. Extremely aggressive base runner, will push hard right out of the box and hustle; sometimes takes ill-advised risks because of it, but has a knack for forcing defenders to make bad throws in forced situations. Good anticipation and will look to make trouble on the bases; could stand to rein that in some and control the aggression, but that’ll come with development. Yasiel Puig-type base runner who likes to push the envelope, with plenty of room to improve. Defensively, speed turns it up a notch; an opposing pitcher in the California League last year told me Daza gets the best jumps on balls in the air that he’d ever seen; another opponent relayed his opinion that Daza was the fastest outfield defender in the Cal League in 2017. High praise, and a sign that Daza has a good shot to patrol the vast expanses of Coors Field in another year or two.

Worked hard to lose a good bit of baby fat between 2015 and 2017; body is considerably tightened up and much stronger already from the guy I first saw a few years ago. Some room left to add good weight onto his frame, particularly in his relatively weaker top half, and should have a little ways to go before he hits final form. Long, lean legs and strong lower half; weaker hands and wrists and any strength improvements there could go a long way to aid power profile. Venezuela born, conscious of social unrest in that country and hopes to bring his family — particularly his mom — to America full time. Likable guy; well-liked by teammates and seems to have formed good relationships with other Colorado Rockies farmhands. Decent handle on speaking English already in his young career.

I hedged for a while between giving Yonathan Daza a 50 FV (average regular) or a 55 FV (above-average regular), and while I think this is on the optimistic side of his ceiling, I’ll put my neck out there on Daza becoming an above-average outfield regular in the big leagues. There are a lot of tools here. The bat is a question — can Yonathan Daza show enough power to legitimately warrant an everyday outfield gig with the Colorado Rockies in 2019 or 2020? — but Daza does everything else well enough (run, throw, field) that there’s big league value to be had in the coming years. I’m encouraged by Daza’s physical and on-field maturation to this point, and I think it wise to bet on that growth to continue. Somewhat under the radar now, I like the chances of Yonathan Daza becoming one of the more exciting (and perhaps somewhat enigmatic) Colorado Rockies in the next few years. MLB ETA: 2019.