What do you think of Carlos Triunfel?

by nyy601 on Feb 4, 2008 6:26 PM EST

I was really surprised to see BA had him #4 in the Mariners system. I was expecting him to be #2 behind only Clement. He played well above his age level this year and hit for a good average. I've even seen some comparisons to Cabrera and Tejada. Does he really project to hit for that much power? He didn't have any homers in 371 ABs, but Cabrera only hit 2 when he was 17. Other than homers his stats are actually better than Cabrera's.

Is he a better prospect than Villalona? Will he stay at SS or make the move to 3B or 2B?

Where would you put him on your top 100?

Poll

Triunfel on your top 100

21-30

26 votes

71-85

15 votes

31-40

29 votes

86-100

5 votes

41-50

22 votes

not in top 100

12 votes

1-10

14 votes

51-60

19 votes

11-20

14 votes

61-70

7 votes

163 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

My take

I'll consider Triunfel legit as soon as he hits a home run. LOL

"The Dodgers won't win a playoff series until the Cool-a-Coo returns." -mckeeno

by PujolsJunkie on Feb 4, 2008 6:49 PM EST reply actions

lol

Matt Eddy doesn't have a clue, the Mariners list was a joke.

He's one of the 25 best prospects in baseball.

by phuturephillies on Feb 4, 2008 6:52 PM EST reply actions

Truinfel

I think that the range of opinions on Truinfel will be (and probably should be) rather widespread. Given his age, most of the value in his potential as a prospect is in projecting what he WILL BECOME, not on what he is now. He is much further from being a polished product, and for that reason, I have to believe the scouts more than the stats thus far.
All that said, given that the indications are that he'll have no shot to stick at ss, that his value had better come from his bat, which has yet to show power. For that reason, he's not a player I'd target with my draft strategy, though I would hold onto him if I already owned him. I think he'll be a bust...
JAS

by jasvlm on Feb 4, 2008 8:10 PM EST up reply actions

Have you seen this kid?

He looks nothing like Tejada as teenager. Totally different body type. He has very broad, Adrian Beltre-, Gary Sheffield-, Wily Mo Pena-like shoulders. His whole upper body is very built. Big, thick wrists and forearms, large pectorials and seemingly not a pinch of fat on his belly. And he claims to have never lifted weights before he was signed. He can hardly hold down shortstop right now because of his build, and it's seen that he'll move off of the position because of expected muscle gain from the training he'll receive as he climbs the ladder. He'll never have above average speed stats.

That's only part of the power projection. The other part is plus bat speed compared to all of baseball (Churchill and Cameron talk to scouts who rank it at 65), which is way ahead of the curve compared to his competition and way, way ahead of the curve for his age. And when your bat speed is real quick, it doesn't stay in the zone for very long, which means there's less of a chance to make contact with the ball. Well the fact that he hit for a high average at all bestows the projection for a hitter who can reach the All-Star Game on a year to year basis no matter what position he's at.

So if you think he's going to flame out, I'll concede that you're probably right on the grounds that most guys his age will lose the attrition war, even if they are as talented as he is. But if you're getting any kind of negative reaction from his stats, you're off base. Simply put, unimpressive or even poor numbers from a high school junior in any part of the Minor Leagues tell you nothing, good or bad. Zilch. It sucks for us saberdweebs that we can't put the hype to the test, but at this age we are forced to go by the subjective nature of scouting reports. I'll take high scouting praise over impressive stats any day of the week when we're talking about a teenager.

by elrey34 on Feb 5, 2008 12:49 AM EST reply actions

Also just as a note,

a lot of this post isn't necessarily directed toward just you. When I say "you" in that post, I mean everyone.

by elrey34 on Feb 5, 2008 12:52 AM EST up reply actions

So to answer your questions,

I feel he is on par with Villanola.
He will not stay in the middle infield.
Yes, he projects for that much power.
The Cabrera family of players is a better comparison than Tejada-like players, and I think the best comp to Triunfel is Gary Sheffield -- but with less overall athleticism and a lesser natural batting eye.
I put him right around #30, and #1 in the Mariners system.

by elrey34 on Feb 5, 2008 1:08 AM EST reply actions