ProfileHt.: 5'11" / Wt.: 195 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School
Howard JC
Debut04/08/2015
Drafted in the 2nd round (60th overall) by the Minnesota Twins in 2008 (signed for $673,000).
View Draft Report
Ladendorf has put up the gaudiest numbers in junior college baseball over the last two seasons. As a freshman, he hit .425 and led all national juco players with 65 steals in as many attempts. This year, he has become more of a power threat, topping the juco batting race with a .542 average thru mid-May and throwing in 16 homers (up from one a year ago) and 31 steals in 32 tries. The best juco prospect in the draft, Ladendorf would have signed for $200,000 in 2007. The Yankees offered him $150,000 as a draft-and-follow, while the Giants proposed a $190,000 bonus after taking him in the 34th round. Ladendorf is bigger and stronger than he was last year, and he now carries 210 pounds on his 6-foot-2 frame. Scouts aren't sure if he truly has more than gap power, but they like him as a multitooled shortstop. He has shortened his swing and can flash plus-plus speed when he's not playing on cruise control. Defensively, he has good hands and plenty of arm despite having the labrum in his throwing shoulder disintegrate as the result of a high school injury. A team that buys into Ladendorf's entire package could take him in the sandwich round.
Top Rankings
Minor League Top Prospects
Ladendorf may have been the league's best player during the three weeks he spent with Elizabethton, batting .410/.500/.721. But in two stints in the Midwest League, both before and after the Twins traded him to the Athletics for Orlando Cabrera, he hit just .232/.298/.316 over 50 games. That's a concern for a 21-year-old, second-year pro whom Minnesota popped in 2008's second round after he led national junior college hitters with a .542 average. Ladendorf didn't miss many fastballs in the Appy League, and he showed an ability to work counts in his favor so that he could be aggressive. He trusts his hands and already shows an aptitude for using the whole field. Muscular, with a mature body, Ladendorf is an average runner who moves well in the field. He's a consistent if not especially rangy shortstop with sure hands. His arm is average and his quick release should help him stay at shortstop.
Best Tools List
Rated Best Defensive Infielder in the Oakland Athletics in 2012
Rated Best Defensive 2B in the Texas League in 2011
Rated Best Defensive Infielder in the Oakland Athletics in 2011
Download our app
Read the newest magazine issue right on your phone