Looking at top prospect Nomar Mazara

Nomar Mazara signed as an international free agent back in 2011 with the Texas Rangers for a record at the time five million dollars. Mazara was born in the Dominican Republic on April 26th 1995. After signing with the Rangers back in 2012 he reported to Rookie Ball at the age of 17. In 54 games his slash line .264/.383/.448 good enough for an .830 OPS while getting 22 extra base hits. His plate discipline was present throughout that year and at a very young age of only 17.

In 2013 he spent the entire year at Hickory at 18 years old being one of the youngest players in the league. His at bats doubled that year due to the increase in playing time and his power numbers greatly increased. In 126 games he increased his power numbers to 13 home runs and a total of 38 extra base hits. His on base percentage dropped to .310 which is around average for players while his slugging percentage and OPS significantly dropped. One thought to this is that he had a longer season and was exposed to the grueling terms of a full minor league season. In the field at hickory he played 115 games in right field while also being the designated hitter for the remaining games. He had 13 outfield assists while committing 10 errors in 201 chances good enough for a .950 fielding percentage.

He continued to play at Hickory in 2014 while also playing with Double A Frisco and in the Dominican Winter League for Licey. At Hickory he really improved his slash line to .264/.358/.470 while obtaining a .828 OPS. His power numbers were off the chart having 19 home runs and 42 extra base hits while knocking in 73 runs for the season. Mazara then got a well deserved promotion to Double A Frisco where he had 24 games of experience at a slash line of .306/.381/.518. After combining his two levels with the Rangers and the Dominican Winter League he had 66 walks, 53 extra base hits and 89 runs batted in.

Mazara has shown that he has tremendous power and has the ability to drive the ball to all fields. His outfield play has continued to improve with his strong arm and the ability to cover a lot of ground in right. When looking at his 2015 season it was a mirror image of his 2014 season. He spent a majority of the season at Double A Frisco and then getting the call-up to Triple A Round Rock to close the season. His OPS was .808 while walking once every time two strikeouts. He'll be 20 still to open up the season and will be one of the youngest minor leaguers in Triple A. He was rated between 40-55 last year and I expect that to jump to the top 15 this year. I'm expecting him to contribute late in the 2016.