Adael Amador
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| Photo: Purple Row |
Bio:
Age: 20
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 200 lbs.
Bats/Throws: Switch/Right
Hometown: Santiago, Dominican Republic
Draft Profile: Signed as an International Free Agent June 2nd, 2019
Drafted Out of: N/A
Career Stat Line: .297 AVG .406 OBP 31 HR 127 RBI 50 SB 0.946 Fielding %
Our final Minor League Spotlight of the year...this day seems to come quicker and quicker every year...and to think this is only our second go round. Fun prospect to wrap up with though, representing the Rockies' organization, we've got shortstop Adael Amador!
Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Amador caught the eyes of international scouts early on as a long, athletic switch-hitter. He amplified the hype with a strong performance as a member of the National U-15 team that split gold with the USA in 2017 (The Denver Post).
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| Photo: Hector Vivas/ Getty Images |
Two years later, he found himself squarely on Colorado's radar. His bat speed indicated potential to hit well for contact and power at the plate, in addition to good instincts on the base paths and positional flexibility. The team offered the twelfth ranked international prospect a $1.5 million dollar bonus in July of 2019 (MLB.com). Terms were agreed to and the 16 year old was officially a Rockie.
Due to the loss of the 2020 season, the young talent's development was set back slightly, as he was kept on rookie ball circuit for the entirety of 2021. In 47 games at the Arizona Complex, Amador produced an impressive .299/4/24 line at the plate, while putting forward an average glove in the middle infield (Baseball Reference). The fact that he was nearly two years younger than his competition made the pro debut that much more eye catching.
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| Photo: Mangudivertido |
Colorado moved their now-top ten organizational prospect to Class-A Fresno for the following campaign, where he shined even brighter. Adael's .292/.415/.445 slashes were solid, as was his production-- with 15 long balls and 57 RBI. The plate discipline though, was excellent, boasting 87 walks compared to just 67 strikeouts (MiLB.com). To put it simply, the kid was going to make you get him out.
The baseball world took notice of these statistics, as Amador was a big mover up the Top 100 rankings coming into the 2023 year. All he's done to fuel the hype is deliver a .306/12/46 line, mostly between A+ Spokane and AA Hartford. He's boosted his slugging percentage nearly 100 points, still walks more than he strikes out and is a threat to steal an occasional base too.
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| Photo: MiLB.com |
The Rockies' top prospect was put on 7-day IL earlier this week with an undisclosed injury. Durability has been a bit of a concern early on in his career, something we're hoping subsides as he fills into his adult frame. As one Twitter account described him: contact rates like Luis Arraez and a chase rate like Alex Bregman. That's a guy we want to see at their fullest potential!
His current ETA for the majors is in the 2025 year. Learn the name now, especially my dynasty fantasy baseballers.
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@Choppinglines
*I own no rights to any images found in this blog
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