Tayron Guerrero

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Miami Marlins #16 prospect in 2017
  A 170-pound beanpole when he signed out of Boca Chica in 2009, Guerrero put on 45 pounds and started setting off radar guns. The towering Colombian reliever routinely touched 100 mph in 2016 and earned his first big league callup with the Padres before being traded to the Marlins in July in the deal that sent Josh Naylor to San Diego. The swing-and-miss stuff is there for Guerrero to be a back-end reliever in the majors with upper-90s velocity and a slider that flashes plus at times. But like many pitchers his size, Guerrero has trouble keeping his delivery in sync. his delivery isn't violent but lacks efficiency; one evaluator likened it to an angry stork. Coordination and general mechanics will need a lot of work for him to have enough control to be effective. But if he can curtail his wildness, as he did at times at Double-A Jacksonville, he can be a neffective, late-inning reliever.
• 
  Ranked San Diego Padres #16 prospect in 2016
  Guerrero weighed about 170 pounds and threw about 85 mph when the Padres signed him out of Colombia. Six years and 40 pounds later, the 6-foot-7 righthander possesses premium velocity and a slider that looks like a wipeout weapon at times. But those times are elusive. Guerrero finally appeared to harness control of his stuff at Double-A San Antonio, when he lowered his walk rate to a still-high 4.3 batters per nine innings. He compiled 13 saves with the Missions and was promoted to Triple-A El Paso. His wildness got worse in the Pacific Coast League as his walk rate spiked to 7.2 per nine. Guerrero is still inexperienced--he didn't begin pitching until he was 18 years old. He lacks coordination at times and resembles what one observer called an angry stork when pitching, leading to imprecision in his offerings. With a fastball that sits in the high 90s and touches 100 mph and a slider that flashes plus, Guerrero will get a long look in spring training as a potential bullpen piece, but a return to El Paso is likely.
• 
  Ranked San Diego Padres #27 prospect in 2015
  The 6-foot-7 Guerrero had sported a walk rate of 7.3 batters per nine innings in his career until 2014, when he provided a glimpse of his future potential in the first half at low Class A Fort Wayne. He struck out 42 in 36 innings while allowing opponents to hit .169 to earn a spot in the Futures Game. Guerrero tops out near 99 mph in each outing and pitches in the mid-90s with no apparent effort, though his fastball is true and his command the very definition of imprecise. Guerrero's low-80s slider flashes plus and is tough for batters on either side of the plate to handle when it nears the plate on a fastball plane with late action. His control must improve dramatically as he repeats high Class A Lake Elsinore in 2015.