Here is a quick recap of the top 20 prospects we have taken a look at so far:

• #20-Mason Hope, RHP
• #19- Zack Cox, 3B
• #18- Tom Koehler, RHP
• #17- Kolby Copeland, OF
• #16- Austin Barnes, INF-C
• #15- Alfredo Silverio, OF
• #14- Avery Romero, INF
• #13- Derek Dietrich, INF
• #12- Mason Hope, SP
• #11- Adam Conley, SP
• #10- Jake Realmuto, C
• #9- Jose Urena, SP
• #8- Rob Brantly, C

The next prospect we will examine will be the Marlins every day short stop in 2013. He was one of the players the Marlins acquired in their blockbuster trade with the Toronto Blue Jays back in November.

Mar 17, 2013; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria (3) fields the ball in the fourth inning during a spring training game against St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

7. Adeiny Hechavarria

Signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as an amateur free agent in 2010

Birthdate: 4/15/1989 (23)  Height: 6’0″ Weight: 185 lbs.

The Toronto Blue Jays were able to steal Hechavarria away from the New York Yankees in March of 2010, when they signed him to a four-year, $10 Million contract. He was seen as one of the better international prospects and chose to sign with the Blue Jays over the Yankees because he did not want to be blocked by Derek Jeter.

Hechavarria provides excellent athleticism from the short stop position, which provides him with great range at the position. His soft hands and range make him an excellent defender. He has made some impressive plays for the Marlins defensively this spring, already. Hech’s defense at short will be a sight for sore eyes, as the Marlins have not had a slick fielding short stop since Alex Gonzalez.

Although his defense is strong enough to merit him a starting job for many years to come, his offensive game severely lags behind his defensive skills. Hechavarria does provide above-average speed and strong base running skills. He projects as a 15-stolen base guy, but that number would be higher, if he reached base at a better clip.

This is what prospect guru John Sickels had to say about Hechavarria:

7) Adeiny Hechavarria, SS, Grade B-: Glove will keep him employed for a long time. Don’t expect much hitting in the short run, but he’s not helpless and he could hit better than we currently expect as he gets into his late 20s.

In 102 games, Hechavarria posted a .312/.363/.424 line with six home runs and eight stolen bases in 490 plate appearances in Triple-A Las Vegas last season. The numbers look great, until you consider that Vegas is seen as an extreme hitters environment, which helped inflate Adeiny’s numbers.

His strong line earned him a promotion to the Blue Jays big league roster in August, but Hech was disappointing with a .254/.280/.365. line in 137 plate appearances. His defense on the other hand was extremely impressive.

Hechavarria struggled with strikeouts in his time in the majors, as he struck out an alarming rate, posting a K% of 23.4 percent. The league average last season was 19.8%. That is extremely high for someone that does not provide much pop with his bat. To make matters worse, Hechavarria’s walk rate was an abysmal 2.9%. He clearly needs to improve on his plate discipline.

I would say Hechavarria’s ceiling will be as a .240 to .260 hitter that does not get on base at a high rate, but could provide 10-12 home runs down the line. If he can provide that kind of offense, combined with his already strong defense, the Marlins will have a strong short stop for the next several seasons.

Adeiny Hechavarria is the Marlins best middle infield prospect since Hanley Ramirez. Marlins owner Jeffery Loria claims that Hanley told him that Hechavarria is a better player than he is.

“Hanley Ramirez called us and told us what an incredible shortstop he is,” Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria said. “When Hanley tells you ‘He is better than I am, you’ve got a great guy with great hands,’ it’s amusing to listen to.”

Hech is a better fielding prospect than Hanley, but without much offensive upside, it is hard to see the entire package being better than Hanley’s.

The World Baseball Classic returns to Miami next week with second round play scheduled to be held at Marlins Park starting on March 12^th.  Possible participants for this round include teams from the United States, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

Undoubtedly, you have heard all of these negative arguments against the WBC which seem to pop up each time the tournament takes place.  It was with these in mind and pretty low expectations that I attended my first WBC game back in March of 2009 when the tournament came to Miami.  I figured that it would be like a spring training game where it’s great to see baseball again, but nobody really cares about the final score much.

The match up was USA vs. Puerto Rico, countries that are not exactly considered bitter rivals in anything.  When I think of Puerto Rico, I envision a beautiful tropical island with fun people and great food and great music.  Plus, do I even need to mention the greatness of Puerto Rican rum?  And, oh yeah, they love their baseball too.  Come to think of it, I can’t think of anything not to like about Puerto Rico. so I was not really looking to root against them.

It’s true that many of the top players did not participate for the U.S. team, case in point, Mark DeRosa started in left field that night.  However, the team still included future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, former MVP Jimmy Rollins, perennial All-Stars like David Wright and Kevin Youkilis.  The Puerto Rican team had some equally famous players in Carlos Delgado, Pudge Rodriguez, and Carlos Beltran plus Bernie Williams who was making a comeback from retirement.  This was probably the closest I would ever get to attending an All-Star game.

Once the game started, the Puerto Rican team took the lead early in the game, but team USA scored a couple of runs to tie it at 3-3 in the sixth.  Then up stepped Carlos Delgado to give PR the lead once more with a mammoth home run to right field and with that the atmosphere in the stadium erupted.  All of a sudden it seemed that there were Puerto Rican fans everywhere and they all had cowbells and flags.  The stadium rang in cheers of “Puerto Rico! Puerto Rico!”  and it hit me that somebody did care who won this game.  It also hit me that I cared which team won this game.

Well the bottom of the ninth inning rolled around with PR leading 5-3 and the US team started mounting a fierce comeback. Suddenly I found myself on my feet with the rest of the crowd.  When the U.S. team loaded the bases, the chants of “USA! USA!” filled the stadium.  I remember thinking “where did all of these people come from” and “this is freaking awesome” at the same time.  David Wright sliced a single into right to score two runs and give the U.S. a walk-off victory.  The players poured out of the dugout to dog pile on Wright at second base like they had won the World Series and the crowd went absolutely crazy. 

It turned out to be one of the most memorable baseball games I have ever attended.  Up there with playoff games and opening days and historic home runs and walk off victories I’ve witnessed.  This year’s U.S. team even includes two Marlins in Giancarlo Stanton and Steve Cishek among countless other stars on all of the teams.  If you get the opportunity to go see a game, make it happen.  Any baseball fan will enjoy it.  Despite what anyone says, I can assure you the players care and the fans care about the WBC.

Now, it may be too hasty to call a soon-to-be 26-year old player a Hall of Famer, but with the way that Ramirez’s career has played out so far, it would not be all that far-fetched. Let’s take a look at it graphically, with some comparison points. (more…)