2012 Dodgers Player Profile: Alfredo Silverio, Futures Star

Silverio was born May 6th, 1987, and signed on 11/13/03 out of the Dominican Republic at the tender age of 16. He would not show up in the United States until 2007, three years after signing his first contract. Once in the United States Silverio did not waste any time putting his bat on the prospect map by hitting .373 with a .950 OPS in the Gulf Coast Rookie League. That BA was good enough to lead the league while his OPS was 7th best (Andrew Lambo was number five at age 18 with a .960).

What followed after 2007 until 2011 was some solid hitting but nothing that got anyone's attention. By the time 2010 had ended very few people were considering Silverio much of a prospect. Except one.

Last year at this time many were mocking Kevin Goldstein the Prospect maven for Baseball Prospectus for making Silverio the Dodgers number 20 prospect leaving off teen-ager Jonathan Garcia. After all Silverio had just finished a season in the offensive Cal League and had not done much damage for an experienced 23 year old. Yet Goldstein defended his choice, and the 2011 season that Silverio put up, seems to have justified Goldstein's confidence.

You couldn't have done any more then Alfredo did in 2011.

Was the Dodger representative in the Futures game and slugged a home run

Using 300 at bats as the criteria for Southern League Leaderboard:

You want batting average? how about .306 good for 7th

You want slugging percentage? how about fourth at .542

You want speed? how about 18 triples to lead the league

You want extra base hits? how about 76 Extra Base Hits (42 doubles, 18 Triples, 16 home runs)

You want defense? How about the fact he did all of this damage as a CF

The rest of the numbers are courtesy of Minor League Central

You want a guy who can simply hit? How about 283 total bases, second best in all of AA

You want a guy who swings at every pitch and makes contact? How about a 5% walk rate with 92 line drives

You want a guy who crushes left handed pitching? How about a .899 OPS (from a center fielder)

The only thing holding back Alfredo Silverio is his plate discipline and year by year he's made improvement.

Brandon Lennox made him his 12th top prospect Dodger prospect,

.Why #12: Silverio definitely put himself on the Dodgers’ radar with a big season in 2011, but I’m not sold on him being a top 10 prospect for Los Angeles. While he does show some potential for all 5 tools, he doesn’t seem to have any skill that stands out. He has the ceiling of a starting big league outfielder and seems likely to make it to the majors as soon as this season, but I personally don’t think he’ll be more than a .260 hitter with 10 to 15 homer potential.

Baseball HQ on the other hand thinks he is our 2nd best offensive prospect behind only Joc Pederson.

Comments: Strong, powerful, athletic OF has all the tools to star and had a breakout season at Double-A and played in the Futures game. Has plus bat speed, drives the ball with authority, and is a bit of a late bloomer. Moderate plate discipline and good pitch recognition should enable him to hit for average.

Baseball America went even further and picked Silverio as the Dodgers fourth best overall prospect and number one offensive prospect.

Finally Kevin Goldstein also moved up Silverio to number seven on his list, one bump a head of Joc Pederson.

The Good: Silverio has always impressed with his tools. He has plenty of bat speed and enough strength for average power. He runs well and plays a solid outfield with a plus arm.
The Bad: Silverio's aggressive approach often gets the best of him, as he often falls behind in the count by chasing breaking balls. He's an above-average runner but is better in right field than center, which puts more pressure on the bat. He's never been a good baserunner and has stolen just 35 bases over the last few years at a middling 57 percent success rate.

Trivia

Per Basebal Prospectus:

Silverio's season of 42 doubles, 18 triples, and 16 home runs has been matched just nine times in the majors, the last by George Brett, who had 42 doubles, 20 triples, and 23 home runs in 1979.

Contract Status

On 40 Man roster

Stats

2012 Outlook

Destined for New Mexico where he should destroy the league leaving many to pine for him if Juan Rivera struggles.