steveno89 Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Seby Zavala - What do we have in this guy? http://notesfromthesally.com/2016/06/13/sc...a-c-kannapolis/ He has been on a tear since being promoted to Winston Salem, hitting .320 avg, .393 OBP, .560 SLG, .953 OPS The power has been impressive as well, with 18 home runs in 75 games in 2017. What do we have in Zavala? He's going to turn 24 years old in August, but his very strong 2017 surely has raised attention in the organization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Yeah this has been one of the very nice surprises of 2017 along with Adolfo. I think with his age we can push him more aggressively, I mean sox have had NO problems moving catchers from AA to majors (not that I'm advising that). But what a great year. He's had some monster months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightsOnMintSt Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Interesting scenario since we have Collins, but Zavala has been tearing it up. Would like to see what he has against AA pitching. But I wouldn't be against being aggressive with his development. You can't keep him behind Collins forever, so mind as well see what he has in the more advanced levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveno89 Posted July 27, 2017 Author Share Posted July 27, 2017 QUOTE (KnightsOnMintSt @ Jul 27, 2017 -> 09:32 AM) Interesting scenario since we have Collins, but Zavala has been tearing it up. Would like to see what he has against AA pitching. But I wouldn't be against being aggressive with his development. You can't keep him behind Collins forever, so mind as well see what he has in the more advanced levels. I don't have much scouting info to go on besides the article I posted earlier. Sounds like his arm is fringy, but his technique and pop up are solid. "Defensively, he sports soft hands and very efficient footwork. For a guy that was considered to be a work in progress at catcher he excels defensively. His throwing arm is viewed by professional scouts as slightly below average which I assume is a byproduct of the Tommy John surgery of 2012. However, his ultra-efficient pop-step-throw mechanics and laser like accuracy have allowed him to devastate his opponents running game. Thus far he has nailed would-be base stealers at a 37% clip. He is a very perceptive player and is not afraid to throw to catch runners off guard at first base which he did in back to back games against Greenville and Hickory earlier in the week, and he nearly caught a runner leaning off of second last night. From the multiple games that I have observed his baseball IQ is stellar. Zavala was recently selected as a SALLY league all-star and is a name for White Sox fans to keep an eye on. I look forward to watching him grow as a player and feel like he is only going to continue to improve. The professional scouts profile Zavala as a major league backup. From my vantage point I see more. There are some questions, but there is an awful lot to like here and there will always be an organization willing to develop a cerebral, athletic catcher who can stymie an opponent’s running game and bring the occasional thunder with his bat." Scout June 13, 2016 That is really encouraging to hear as Zavala has really broken out in 2017. I would consider promoting him to AA and see what he can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightsOnMintSt Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 I believe that Winston-Salem has been using him as a DH at some points too. Anything to keep developing that bat is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 I've seen Seby play a number of times, interviewed him, talked with coaches about him. We have a profile on FutureSox here, but it needs to be updated for 2017 (will be done soon in fact). To be fair, I am higher on him than some of the other FS writers (though not all). He gets a wide range of evaluations. But my take... --He's got a short, quick swing with good speed and leverage. That's probably his best asset overall. It give him a 6 FV for power for me, though 5 may be more realistic. --His contact rate is OK, not great though. He can wait back plenty long enough because of that swing, but he offers on offspeeds a little too often. That short/quick makes up for it to an extent. He does draw some walks, though not as many as he did before, and not a ton of them. --Speed is below average overall, but average to slightly above for a catcher perhaps. --His arm is just OK, but he does have a very quick release. So, unless he's catching Hansen, he's pretty effective throwing out runners. Will never be elite in this category though, and even above average might be a reach. But I think he can be average at it. His footwork looks good on throws. --Doesn't hesitate to back pick at any base, and occasionally throws guys out that way. --His weakest point is plate blocking, where he's behind where you want him to be. Certainly he's got the tools to make progress with it, but it's an area of attention for him. --He provides a nice quiet target for his pitchers. Speaking of that, pitchers and pitching coaches have said very positive things about him. --In terms of active defense from the position, he shows good athleticism and commands the field well. --In my interviews with him, he's got a very high "baseball IQ", and can and does talk in detail about framing and pitch subtleties. I'd say this gives him a better than average chance at making further development strides. --He's got some professional blood lines. Father and an uncle both played professionally, though in Mexico. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveno89 Posted July 27, 2017 Author Share Posted July 27, 2017 QUOTE (KnightsOnMintSt @ Jul 27, 2017 -> 09:40 AM) I believe that Winston-Salem has been using him as a DH at some points too. Anything to keep developing that bat is great. The bat is nice for sure, but I'm almost more interested to see how he can do defensively. We certainly need catching options moving forward, it just remains to be seen if Collins/Zavala/Skoug will be able to step forward for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GenericUserName Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 If nothing else, this shows that our minor league staffs know how to turn catchers with defensive question marks into at least average defenders, which makes me like the Evan Skoug pick even more. So now it looks like we have three young catchers who can be at least average behind the plate and each brings some pop to the lineup, so hopefully one can reach their cieling and become a big part of the future lineup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 I am excited about him. I'd love to see he and Collins really serve to push each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightsOnMintSt Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 With Collins, Zavala and Skoug, I wouldn't be surprised if we have a log jam at catcher eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigHurt3515 Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 AA could use a catcher, I see no problem with him finishing the year off there and see if we might actually have something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveno89 Posted July 27, 2017 Author Share Posted July 27, 2017 QUOTE (KnightsOnMintSt @ Jul 27, 2017 -> 11:17 AM) With Collins, Zavala and Skoug, I wouldn't be surprised if we have a log jam at catcher eventually. Catching depth is very valuable to have. Our farm has come a long way with regards to this in the past 12 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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