LOS ANGELES -- If there has been any knock on Dodgers prospect Corey Seager, it's that the 6'4, 215-pounder will eventually have to move from shortstop because of his size. However, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said on Saturday there are no plans to move Seager to third base or anywhere else any time soon.
"His hands work really well. We have a number of guys who feel like he has a real chance to stick there," Friedman said. "In the few games we got to see him a couple weeks ago he had a lot of different chances and completed plays from all different angles - to the backhand, up the middle. His body control is really good."
The Dodgers drafted Seager in the first round of the 2012 draft, 18th overall, and in his three minor league seasons has played in the field in 256 games. All but one have been at shortstop. The only game he played at third base came in 2013 in his very first game after a promotion to Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, as a reserve for the final two innings.
Seager has heard the talk of a potential move to third base, but he said he's not bothered by it. But if a positional move is inevitable eventually, he would like to play third in the minor leagues first rather than learning on the fly in the majors.
"I'm open to [switching positions]," Seager said in September. "I'd rather learn how to play it before I got up here."
But that move won't happen for a while. Friedman has watched Seager in a few games in the Arizona Fall League, where the shortstop has a 12-game hitting streak.
"It's a difficult thing to project, but we're going to give him every chance in the world to stick there. It's obviously of significant value if he can play shortstop at the major league level, so we will let that play out as long as we can," Friedman said. "The little bit I've gotten to know him, I would not bet against him."