Nicholas Prainito, 2B, Santa Barbara City College

April 23 — Unfortunately undersized and will consistently have to prove himself again and again at each new level; I say ‘unfortunately’ because this kid’s a ballplayer and it’ll get lost a little bit as evaluators worry about his stature. Solid range and athleticism at second base with real, nuanced, advanced feel for the position. Moves very, very well and shows consistent ability to field his position both up the middle and deep into the hole. Made a great play on a high hopper in my April look; multiple times moved well side to side with a quick first step in each direction; throws well on the run; not the strongest arm, and thus probably an ideal fit for second rather than the left side of the infield, but he gets it done over there with consistency … Timed 4.30 up the line from the RHH box; 4.63 on the turn at first base in my looks … Short, compact mechanics at the plate; will never hit for a ton of pop but he’s got some sneaky gap-to-gap power and decent physical strength in spite of his stature; I fully expect Nicholas Prainito to be an advanced, mature hitter by the end of his college career, where he should be taking consistent professional-quality at-bats as a table-setter and giving amateur pitchers a lot of trouble … We’ll see whether that’s enough to get him a shot at pro ball, but whether he makes it or not, it’ll be a couple years before we start to head down that road, undoubtedly at his four-year stop after Santa Barbara City College. Long-term MLB Draft follow; underdog, but a real ballplayer.

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