It’s easy to forget sometimes that Luis Urias is still just 20 years old (DOB: Jun 3, 1997) considering the fact that he’s already pushed past both Double-A and dominated a stint in the Arizona Fall League representing the San Diego Padres, hitting for average and getting on base with the best of ’em along the way. A free agent signing as a teenager out of Mexico, the middle infielder has moved quickly to date, and in his 347 game career Urias is already a .310 hitter with 153 walks against just 135 strikeouts in more than 1,500 plate appearances. That bodes well for his future in San Diego; although Urias has virtually no pop (just a .391 career slugging percentage), his contact skills are off the charts, and coupled with above-average defense, he’s fast becoming one of the Padres’ top prospects ahead of the 2018 season.
Baseball Census saw Luis Urias for most of the 2016 season when he was playing with High-A Lake Elsinore, and then we got a second good look at him last month while he was playing for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League. (Just as you’d expect from him, the San Diego Padres prospect slashed .315/.443/.481/.924 in 17 games at the AFL against the game’s best pitching prospects.) Below, you’ll find our full Luis Urias scouting report based on our AFL notes — tool grades, game video, and projections for the remarkable contact hitter and defensive middle infielder.
Luis Urias Scouting Report, San Diego Padres — 2017
Dates observed in 2017: Arizona Fall League
Luis Urias Scouting Report, San Diego Padres — Game Video
Luis Urias Scouting Report — Notes, Analysis & Projection
One of the most exciting young prospects in baseball that isn’t on the Ronald Acuna-Victor Robles tier of potential future All-Star difference makers in The Show, Luis Urias may not wind up a flashy household name, but he’s got a good chance at being a remarkably consistent, competitive first-division starting middle infielder. A soon-to-be wunderkind with the San Diego Padres, it’s truly remarkable what Urias has been able to produce to date in his career and at his age, and there’s no reason he’d slow down as he moves closer to the big leagues. Seeing how well he took to shortstop at the AFL was icing on the cake, further proving that Urias’ athleticism and advanced feel for the game truly are for real.
There are holes, of course. He’s going to make a lot of weak, ground ball contact as he adjusts to better pitching with that inside-out approach, and it’s going to take some work to consistently produce gap-to-gap punch when he reaches the big leagues. The AFL served as a very nice audition, though, and Urias proved (albeit in a small sample size) that his revamped leg kick and more-leveraged look at the plate can work against top-line pitching. As young as he is, Luis Urias has ample time to make good on an everyday infielder ceiling for the San Diego Padres; barring significant injury, I can’t imagine him not reaching the big leagues in 2018.
Overall Future Potential (Future Value): Fascinating, unique set of tools; sum total profiles as an above-average everyday middle infielder at ceiling with versatile platoon/utility floor (55)
MLB ETA: 2018
Did you like this Luis Urias scouting report? Get more prospects here:
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Oakland Athletics C Sean Murphy — CLICK HERE
Chicago White Sox 2B Danny Mendick — CLICK HERE
Kansas City Royals OF Elier Hernandez — CLICK HERE
Tampa Bay Rays RHP Roel Ramirez — CLICK HERE
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