Ruben Mateo
| AB | 876 |
|---|---|
| AVG | .25 |
| OBP | .303 |
| SLG | .386 |
| HR | 21 |
- Full name Ruben Amaury Mateo
- Born 02/10/1978 in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic
- Profile Ht.: 6'0" / Wt.: 210 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Liceo Jose Manuel Maria Balance (DR) HS
- Debut 06/12/1999
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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Background: It seems like Mateo has been around for years and should be getting on the old side of prospect status, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Dominican native played all of 1998, his fourth full season, at 20 years old. Despite a shoulder injury that caused him to miss four weeks and then start slowly, Mateo enjoyed an excellent season. He handled a position change, established career highs in every major offensive category except stolen bases and put together a 27-game hitting streak. Strengths: For pure tools and athletic ability, Mateo is one of the premium prospects in baseball. He's the kind of athlete who would fit in at point guard or cornerback at a top college program if he had been raised in the United States. He successfully moved from right field to center field in hopes of playing there in the big leagues. With his raw speed and cannon arm, he has a chance to be a top-notch defensive player if he refines his routes and jumps. Offensively, the hitting streak and power increase attested to his maturity and improved consistency. Weaknesses: Mateo has a live, tightly wound body that has not shown great durability. He missed time in 1997 with a hamate bone fracture, a month in 1998 with shoulder problems and was hampered by hamstring troubles this winter. None of the injuries is serious enough to cause long-term problems but a six-month healthy streak would be encouraging. Ideally, Mateo would draw more walks so he could use his speed and high batting average from the leadoff spot in the order. The Future: The Rangers likely will start Mateo at Triple-A Oklahoma this spring and probably wouldn't mind if he spent the entire year polishing his game there, as long as they get good production in center field in Arlington. Premium prospects such as Juan Gonzalez and Ivan Rodriguez carried the franchise for the past decade and the organization believes Mateo could be in that mold.
Minor League Top Prospects
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If any of the managers saw a problem with Mateo, it was that he could use more discipline at the plate--he struck out during an at-bat with the Rangers while swinging at an inside pitch that hit him in the biceps. Other than that, he got rave reviews before earning a midseason promotion. "He's a five-tool player," Pitts said. "He's a young guy who can do just about everything. He just needs to fix a few holes in his swing with a better knowledge of the strike zone. But a pitcher better not miss looking for those holes." And the reason is, Mateo can easily lose the baseball. Oklahoma manager Greg Biagini said the biggest disappointment is he didn't have Mateo for enough games. "Those guys like him, with five tools, they're hard to come by," Biagini said. "The only thing I saw is that he just needs more discipline on his pitch selection at the plate. I think he'll have that figured out before long. He's a smart kid."
