Throughout the minor league season, the prospect staff here at Fake Teams will look at a number of prospects for your fantasy and dynasty teams. Some will be prospects that you'll see this year in the majors, while others are interesting targets in longer term formats. Up today is another Rangers' middle infield prospect, Rougned Odor.
The Basics
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 170 lbs.
On 40-Man Roster: No
Protect After: 2015 Season
DOB: 2/3/1994 (Age 20 Season)
His History
Odor was eligible to be signed as a part of the July 2nd class of 2010, but concerns about his size left him unsigned until January of 2011, when he signed with the Rangers. For his first professional assignment, the organization sent him to Spokane, their short-season affiliate in the Northwest League. In 58 games, he hit .262/.323/.352 with two home runs and 10 stolen bases.
Odor was promoted to full-season ball for the 2012 season, playing second base in Hickory alongside Luis Sardinas primarily, hitting .259/.313/.400 with 10 home runs, 47 RBI, and 19 stolen bases. The numbers look solid, until you remember that Odor was 18 years old for the whole season, nearly four years younger than the average hitter in the league.
Moved up to High-A Myrtle Beach to start the 2013 season, Odor broke out in a big way, hitting .302/.365/.472 with 42 extra base hits (five home runs), 26 stolen bases, and 65 runs scored in just 99 games. He finished up the year with AA Frisco, hitting another six home runs and stealing five more bases in 30 games. He has started this year again in Frisco, and through 15 games is hitting .228/.278/.404 with three home runs and three stolen bases.
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The Scouting Report
Hit (AVG): Odor is expected to provide a high batting average in the major leagues. He has shown the ability to hit for average in the minors (.303 last year), and reports on his swing give him high marks for both how the swing looks (smooth, clean) and how his bat speed helps him.
Power (HR, RBI): Odor isn't expected to provide a ton of power in terms of home runs, but does generate solid gap-to-gap power, which should help fantasy owners if you use one of slugging percentage, total bases, or OPS. I can see him hitting 10-12 home runs per year consistently, and it's possible we could see even more in a few years.
Speed (R, SB): Odor is considered to be a solid runner, but not a burner by any stretch. There is the potential for 15+ stolen base seasons on a regular basis, as his speed plays up a bit better than the raw tool would suggest.
Defense: An excellent defender, Odor moved from shortstop to second base early on in his professional career due to the presence of multiple shortstop prospects throughout the system. With the newest major leaguer Luis Sardinas at the same level as Odor, the shift to second base was an easy call.
Other Items: The nephew of a AA hitting coach (Rouglas Odor), Rougned gets rave reviews about his makeup and overall baseball skills. The other thing to remember is that while the performance stands on its' own at each level, it's worth noting that Odor has been at least 3.5 years younger than the league average at every stop, including reaching AA as a 19-year old.
When Could He Arrive?
Odor could see time in AAA this year, and I could see him possibly getting a late-season call up. Realistically, he probably won't be in the majors to stay until sometime during the 2015 season.
What Can He Do When He Gets There?
A line of .290, 10-12 home runs, 15-20 stolen bases, 80 runs and 60 RBI at second base is entirely possible for Odor, and a peak season involving 15-18 home runs, 20-25 stolen bases, 90 runs and 70 RBI with a .310 batting average isn't out of the question either.
Conclusions
We had Odor as our #47 consensus fantasy prospect, tied for the top spot at second base with Cubs' prospect Arismendy Alcantara, and realistically he has the potential to be a top 5 second baseman down the line. He's not going to give you elite production in any of the categories, but it's entirely possible that he will provide solid to above-average production in all five categories.
The hard part with Odor right now is the path itself. The major league spots are blocked in the long-term by Elvis Andrus at short and Jurickson Profar at second base. Andrus is under contract for a very long time, and Profar is only in his second season, and unlikely to be unseated long term by Odor either. While we always like hitters playing in Texas, his profile shouldn't change much if he were traded to a pitchers' park instead. He is a great target for dynasty owners, as he could still be a top 5 producer at his position in the future.
Sources
Baseball America
Baseball Reference
Baseball Prospectus
The Baseball Cube
Fangraphs
MLB Farm
Lone Star Ball