Yonder Alonso Remains Blocked By Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto

When a top prospect in an organization has an OPS of 1.100 at the Major League level in limited at bats, it’s probably in its best interest to find him additional playing time. In the case of Reds Yonder Alonso, his being a first baseman, below average athlete, and behind 2010 NL MVP Joey Votto on the depth chart, make the discussion a bit more interesting.

At the plate, Yonder Alonso is the definition of a ‘professional approach’ at work. His strength is working toward Left-Center, but is still quick enough to punish on the inner-third as exhibited at the 15 second mark of the above video. Alonso rarely offers at poor hitter’s pitches, draws plenty of walks, and projects to be good for around 25 home runs a season. The book on Alonso used to be that he couldn’t handle left-handed pitching, but he seemed to have put at least some of that to rest with a .907 OPS this year at Triple-A. It was only 112 at bats, so small sample alert, but it was a major step in the right direction.

Alonso is consistently balanced and has a swing plane geared more for hard line drives. However, he has the bat speed and strength to lift balls out of the ball park that he can elevate. Alonso’s biggest hole at the plate is against change-ups from right-handed pitchers which fade down and away. There isn’t a ton of separation in his swing, which doesn’t give him the room for error to adjust to those change ups that are running toward the other batter’s box, and it’s something MLB pitchers are starting to exploit. Should he learn to ‘delay and filet’ – sit down into his legs, lag the bat, and flip those foul or into left field – a big hole would be eliminated from his swing, making him even more dangerous.

Alonso currently doesn’t have a clear path to an everyday position in Cincinnati. Alonso played a good amount of Left Field while at Triple-A Louisville this year in preparation for his call up to Cincinnati. And while he held his ‘own’, his ‘own’ is still below average. Alonso’s arm is a bit below average, even for Left, and his foot speed is non-existent. Alonso simply is not an outfielder long term. The Reds have tried him at Third Base, but that’s not a long term option either at this point.

Drew Stubbs covers serious ground in center, but even he can’t cover all of Alonso’s defensive shortcomings. Few doubt Alonso will hit, but he does not project as an elite enough bat to fully offset his poor defense. Even with Alonso’s path murky at best, the Reds might only be looking at a two year problem. Joey Votto will become a free agent after the 2013 season, and the Reds may not have the money to retain him.

And while Alonso doesn’t have a ‘bad body’, he is a bit soft. If Alonso develops an off-season workout and nutrition plan to address his lack of foot speed and quickness, he could end up being passable in left until then. Whether Alonso can stick in Left or ends up manning first base for a different team, his bat should do plenty of damage. How much total value he’ll have will depend on where he plays defensively. If you’re a Reds fan, here’s to hoping Alonso becomes a fan of Yoga in the off season.

Steve Carter currently works as a baseball/softball hitting instructor and is Senior Scout at ProjectProspect.com. He is also a former college baseball player.

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