Luis Almanzar

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked San Diego Padres #20 prospect in 2017
  Almanzar was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, came to the U.S. and played high school baseball at prep power American Heritage High in Plantation, Fla., for one year, then moved back to the Dominican to take advantage of the less-restrictive bonus pools available to international amateurs. He emerged as arguably the top hitter in the 2016 international class and the Padres signed him for $4 million. Almanzar has excellent bat speed and takes a short, direct path to the ball that produces a vast amount of hard line drives, combined with a discerning batting eye that allows him to work counts and get his pitch to hit. He uses the whole field and projects as a plus hitter with above-average power as he matures physically. Defensively, Almanzar has an above-average arm, though scouts are split whether he will stay at shortstop or have to move to third base as he fills out. His speed is average. Almanzar's bat will carry him, with a ceiling as a potent offensive shortstop. He is many years away from that, however, and will begin his pro career in the Dominican Summer League in 2017.