Former Binghamton Mets catcher Xorge Carrillo has turned up the heat in winter ball, batting .350/.373/.550 with two home runs and 11 RBI in his last ten games. With this recent flurry, Carrillo has improved his Mexican League average to .291 with a .355 on-base, three home runs and 25 RBI in 165 at-bats.
Xorge Carrillo, C
DOB: 4/12/1989
Bats/Throws: Right/Right
2013 Performance: 128 plate appearances, .278/.331/.330, 32 hits, 6 doubles, 13 RBI’s
2013 Review
The Mets drafted Carrillo in the 14th round of the 2011 June Amateur draft out of Arizona State University. He began his professional career playing for the Brooklyn Cyclones, hitting .217/.298/.304 in 27 games played. Carrillo spent 2012 in Savannah appearing in just 11 games, yet still netting one home run and 13 RBI’s. He began 2013 playing for St. Lucie, appearing in just two games before being promoted to Double-A Binghamton. He hit below average in the beginning of the season, but really turned it up late in the year, hitting .344 in July and .400 in August.
Prospect Outlook
While Carrillo shows flashes of offensive skill behind the plate, making decent contact and driving in RBI’s, he is unanimously considered a primarily defensive catcher. His swing is notably simple, constantly being compared to the “see the ball, hit the ball” approach. And while his bat is his least efficient tool, his abilities only seem to be further tested against left-handed pitching. In 2013, he hit .322 against right-handed pitchers and only managed to bat .143 against left-handed pitchers. Defensively, he is talented. He has good hands and footwork behind the plate, improving significantly in both facets since being drafted. Additionally, Carrillo has often been overlooked by many analysts due to the fact that he played behind Austin Barnes at Arizona State and Blake Forsythe in Binghamton.
2014 Prediction
I feel that Carrillo’s defensive abilities and simplified batting skills could really help him advance. While he still has a lot of work to do, I feel that he has the potential athletic abilities to be worth following. The biggest question, his batting skills, seemed to transition well to the next level of competition. He has shown legitimate improvement in his defensive abilities, and has an above average arm at his disposal. If he can continue to improve his defensive traits, while maintaining his offensive advancements, I think it’s only a matter of time before Carrillo becomes a name to watch.
(Photo: purobeisbol.mx)
