Matthew Sulentic
| AB | 2412 |
|---|---|
| AVG | .274 |
| OBP | .343 |
| SLG | .379 |
| HR | 31 |
- Full name Matthew Robert Sulentic
- Born 10/06/1987 in Voorhees, NJ
- Profile Ht.: 5'10" / Wt.: 170 / Bats: L / Throws: R
- School Hillcrest
-
Drafted in the 3rd round (98th overall) by the Oakland Athletics in 2006 (signed for $395,000).
View Draft Report
Texas A&M has endured a rough season in the Big 12 Conference, and its strong recruiting class may also take major hits. Lefthanders Clayton Kershaw and Zach Britton are unlikely to make it to College Station after improving significantly this spring, and Sulentic fits into that category as well. He hit .676-19-58 to win the Dallas area triple crown, and the only 4-A or 5-A player in the Metroplex who has matched his numbers in the last decade was Jason Stokes, who hit 19 homers in 2000 and now plays in Triple-A for the Marlins. Sulentic is a pure lefthanded hitter with power to all fields. He's an average runner with a decent arm, and his instincts allow his tools to play up in all aspects of the game. Scouts love his makeup, perhaps more than any high school player in Texas. His chief drawback is his size. He's built along the lines of Lenny Dykstra but is more suited for left field than center. Sulentic has played shortstop, and if a team believes he could handle second base he could get picked as early as the second round.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
-
Sulentic ranked fourth on this list after 2006, when he won the Dallas-area high school triple crown by batting .654-20-59, went in the third round of the draft and hit .354/.409/.479 against significantly older competition in the Northwest League. But he followed up in 2007 by hitting .175 in low Class A and showing little willingness to make adjustments, earning a demotion back to the NWL. Despite his struggles, the A's still promoted Sulentic to the California League in 2008, hoping that the league's offensive environment and a lower spot in the batting order would improve his confidence and decrease the pressure on him. He put together a solid season before getting hit by a pitch on July 27, breaking his hand and ending his season. Sulentic has strength, bat speed and good opposite-field power, though he still gets pull-oriented at times and struck out 91 times in 95 games last year. His bat will have to carry him because he's already maxed out physically and has fringy speed to go with below-average arm strength. Oakland tried him at second base in instructional league in 2006, but that experiment didn't work. He'll probably be a left fielder, though he played mainly in right last season. The A's were impressed by the defensive strides he made in 2008. He's on track to move up to Double-A this year. -
After winning the high school triple crown in the Dallas Metroplex during his senior year, Sulentic went to the A's in the third round in 2006 and signed for $395,000. He was an immediate success story in his pro debut, hitting .354/.409/.479 in the Northwest League and ranking as the circuit's No. 3 prospect. Sulentic was promoted to low Class A for a bite-sized stint at the end of 2006, and his numbers served as a warning of what was to come. Sulentic simply had trouble making consistent contact and driving balls in 2007. He'd spin off pitches trying to go too much with a pull-oriented approach, and he'd cut off his swing through the zone at times, not showing the full extension he had in his debut. While his performance improved somewhat after he was sent down to Vancouver, his strikeout rate remained high. Sulentic did show some improvements defensively, however, and he profiles as a corner outfielder. The A's thought it would be tough for Sulentic to duplicate his 2006 success and have tried to slow things down for him developmentally. They rave about the way Sulentic handled failure, however, and he worked hard through adversity. He'll head back to low Class A in 2008. -
Sulentic won the high school triple crown in the Dallas Metroplex last spring, hitting .654-20-59. Area scout Blake Davis talked him up to Oakland's front office for four hours, and the A's took him in the third round and signed him for $395,000. After tearing up the short-season Northwest League, Sulentic finished his pro debut on fumes in the low Class A Midwest League. Few doubt he will hit, and he soon should rival Daric Barton and Travis Buck for the title of best hitter in the system. Sulentic has a pure lefthanded swing and an innate ability to get the barrel on the ball consistently. His strength and bat speed should produce above-average power. His toughness and makeup endeared him to the A's. Projecting a position for Sulentic, who played both middle-infield spots and all over the outfield in high school, already is a challenge. He took a stab at second base in instructional league before Oakland decided to leave him in left field for now. His arm is below-average. He's probably maxed out physically. Though he offers little projection, Sulentic is already very good and looks like a future No. 3 hitter. If he settles in as a left fielder, he could move quickly. He'll likely start 2007 back at low Class A Kane County.
Minor League Top Prospects
-
Sulentic's draft stock skyrocketed along with his numbers for Dallas' Hillcrest High this spring, when he won the Dallas area triple crown by hitting .654-20-59. The Athletics were thrilled to snatch him in the third round, and they challenged him with an assignment to the NWL. He answered the call and even held his own after a late-season promotion to low Class A. "Everybody else here is three to four years older than him and much more experienced," Vancouver manager Rick Magnante said. "You take a kid right out of a high school in Dallas, put him in a collegiate-based league, and he left hitting .354, hitting lefties and righties, and as time went on he became more selective as a hitter. He has an innate ability to hit, just a pure hitter." Sulentic doesn't have the most projectable frame at 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, but he has surprising raw power in his tightly wound body and could develop average power as he matures. He has an advanced approach for his age, with the ability to work the count and wait for his pitch. He consistently squares the ball up and makes hard contact to all fields, and he can hit fastballs and stay back on offspeed pitches. Sulentic is a fringe-average runner who needs to quicken up his actions in the outfield and be more aggressive going after balls hit in front of him. His arm will limit him to left field, and second base could become another option.
