http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/images/headshot_68062.jpg8. Jorge Alfaro, C
DOB: 06/11/1993
Height/Weight: 6’2” 225 lbs.
Bats/Throws: R/R
Drafted/Acquired: Signed January 2010 out of Colombia by the Texas Rangers for $1,300,000, traded to Philadelphia in the Cole Hamels deal
Previous Ranking(s): 2015: #3 (Org), #31 (Overall)
2015 Stats: .258/.324/.438, 5 HR, 2 SB between the Gulf Coast League and Double-A Frisco
Key Tools: 80 arm, 60 power, 50 run
Role: 50—Average major-league regular in...right field?
It's borderline apostasy at Baseball Prospectus to have #TheLegend this low on an organizational list, even one as deep as Philadelphia's. And I get the appeal, I really do. You just don't find major-league catchers with Alfaro's catalog of raw tools. And he's still only 22, and performed well enough in Double-A before suffering an ankle injury. That's not nothing. At a certain point, though, the improvements projected both at and behind the plate have to start manifesting in games, especially given the large gap between present and future when it comes to how we've written about Alfaro.
You know the good by now. It's an elite arm behind the plate, though it can play down when he isn't mechanically right coming out of the crouch. The raw power is an easy 70, but the approach and swing issues will limit how much it plays in games. Alfaro might be a .230 hitter in the majors, which is fine for a catcher with some pop, but the skills behind the plate still play as well below average, and that was before his fairly severe ankle injury in 2015. His best defensive fit might be right field, where he has more than enough arm strength and athleticism to handle the position, though the bat is much less exciting there.
This looks to be a bit of a make-or-break year for Alfaro, coming to a new organization and off a significant leg injury. Like Appel, it is possible he benefits from a change of scenery, but until the tools start to play more in games, some conservatism is warranted.
Bret Sayre’s Fantasy Take: Catching prospects are a fickle breed in dynasty leagues, and yet we still gamble on the upside of having that elite option—a shark among a sea of plankton and pollution. Alfaro once held that upside, and as he’s gotten larger in the microscope, the warts have grown larger. There’s still plenty of value in a .260 hitting catcher with 20 homers (only one catcher did that in 2015, and it wasn’t who you think), we just all need to re-adjust our expectations.
Major league ETA: 2017
Plus according to MLB.com he's currently the top catching prospect, FWIW.