Prospect Profile: Neftali Soto

[OesterPoster]

Pick number 109 in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft.

Neftali Soto

Born: 02/28/1989
Birthplace: Manati, CA
High School: Colegio Marista HS, Manati, P.R.
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 180
Bats: R
Throws: R

Originally signed to play for Oklahoma State University.

Excerpts from the Draft Scouting Report on MILB.com:

Hitting Ability: Soto has a good set of hitting tools and grades out as an average hitter right now.

Power: Soto has plus raw power projection.

Physical Description: Soto is an athletic infielder with a body type similar to Mike Lowell.

Strengths: He's got a good overall package of tools, with power projection being the best one.

Weaknesses: He doesn't have the defensive game to stay at shortstop.

Summary: Soto has an intriguing package of tools that includes raw power and above-average speed. Currently a shortstop, he doesn't profile as a guy who'll be able to stay there, particularly range-wise. That's OK, because his offensive skill set fits better at third. He should hit enough for the position and could develop into a No. 5 or 6 hitter in a big-league lineup.

GCL Reds 2007 Season Statistics
AVG: .357
GAMES: 21
AB: 84
RUNS: 16
HITS: 30
2B: 6
3B: 2
HR: 2
RBI: 16
BB: 6
SO: 13
SB: 0
OBP: .396
OPS: .943

Video clip of Soto in the 2006 Power Showcase Home Run Derby:
http://www.power-showcase.com/old/ho...%20Web.wmv

[Mario-Rijo]

Nice clip OP, the kid looks like he might be the steal of the draft. Smooth and Strong is a great combination.

[Chi-Town Red]

now his stats are what all our prospects should look like...hope he can keep it up

[texasdave]

It is still early, but this kid is putting up numbers that would make Jay Bruce jealous. Ok maybe not jealous, but they are still pretty sweet indeed. Since Soto is younger than the league average and is outperforming league average by so much, I would venture to say that if he keeps up this pace he will rank in the top 20 of all minor league hitters for 2007. This is according to a system of ranking minor league hitters by Tony Blengino that I stumbled across. After the season I am going to use his system to see how Reds' prospects rank. His top ten lists seem pretty dead on. Here is a link if anyone is interested. http://www.johnbenson.com/stars.html
You have to scroll about halfway down until you see the article entitled, 'Relative Production Potential'.

NAME	AGE	AB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	XBH	BB	K
BRUCE	18	122	0.270	0.331	0.500	0.831	16	11	31
SOTO	18	87	0.345	0.389	0.529	0.918	10	6	14

[dougdirt]

Bruce was under the 'take the first pitch' thing in his 18 year old season. Still hit pretty well.

[texasdave]

Bruce was under the 'take the first pitch' thing in his 18 year old season. Still hit pretty well.

You are absolutely correct. But those are still some pretty salty numbers being posted by Neftali.

[dougdirt]

You are absolutely correct. But those are still some pretty salty numbers being posted by Neftali.

No doubt. Soto was said to be the best bat on PR all year and it looks to be true to this point.

[OesterPoster]

Neftali has cooled a tiny bit, but he's still sitting at .342 on the season with an OPS of .907.

More recently, hitting .297 in the past 10 games. Included in that 10 game stretch: 1 double, 2 triples, 8 RBI, 2 BBs, and 8 K's.

[lollipopcurve]

The kid looks to have some legit juice in his swing -- nice video clip, OesterPoster.

[Chi-Town Red]

another prospect to watch the next couple years

[camisadelgolf]

For some reason, he reminds me a little bit of Nomar Garciaparra.

[bucksfan2]

I remember watching his clip when he was drafted and saying "this guy has an impressive swing". He just looks so smooth when he takes a cut at the ball. Hopefully he makes his way to the bigs.

[lollipopcurve]

For some reason, he reminds me a little bit of Nomar Garciaparra.

I see that a little bit -- Nomar in his power-hitting days.

[OesterPoster]

Another hit for Neftali yesterday, brings his hitting streak to 6 games.

[Screwball]

Soto's line through last night's game per fangraphs.com:

.342/.384/.521/.905 with 7 2B, 4 3B, and 2 HR