Asdrubal Cabrera

Asdrubal Cabrera: Shortstop

Age: 21 Height: 6’0” Weight: 170 Bats: Switch Throws: Right

Stats & Stuff: The Indians obtained Cabrera from the Seattle Mariners in a late-June trade last year in exchange for Eduardo Perez. In 2005, Cabrera hit a combined .295 at three stops in the Mariners organization. Last year, he hit a combined .249/.310/.349 with 4 HRs, 36 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 112 games in the Mariners and Indians system.

The Good: The Indians are very excited about Cabrera’s defense. His future in the big leagues will ultimately be decided by how he performs with the bat, but right now all the rave is with his defense. Cabrera is a gold-glove caliber shortstop who has excellent hands, footwork and very good accuracy. An All-Star short-stop in 2003 and 2004, in 2005 he played second-base and was voted the top defensive second-baseman in the Single-A Midwest League. Cabrera is an acrobat in the field, and has very good short-stop instincts. He gets a great read on balls, and his excellent range and instincts allow him to get to balls that most short-stops can’t get to. He has very good body control, and his athleticism is displayed with his showy actions in the field.

The Bad: As is the case with most young defensive short-stops, Cabrera’s bat is his biggest question mark. At 20 years old last year, he was the youngest player in all of Triple-A, so there is still a lot of time to development the bat and his approach at the plate. Cabrera is a switch-hitter with average speed, but he doesn’t have any offensive tools that stand out. He has an inside-out swing from the right-side of the plate, and feels for contact from the left-side. At times he can be overly aggressive at the plate, and he need to work on becoming a more disciplined hitter and drawing more walks. His throwing arm is also only average, but his plus accuracy makes up for it.

The Outlook: When the Indians traded for Cabrera last June, what the Indians got in return in Cabrera was a defensive wizard. Clearly, the reason Cabrera was picked up was for his defense, which is considered major league ready. There is no question that the defensive struggles Indians starting shortstop Jhonny Peralta had in 2006 paved the way for Shapiro to look for more defensive help, namely in the middle of the diamond. Cabrera provides depth at a position of need in the farm system, and is looked at as an eventual everyday player at the major league level. In 2007, he will be back at Buffalo and work on his offense. Depending on what happens with Peralta, Cabrera could see time with the Indians in 2007 and should push for a job as a starter or utility player in Spring Training in 2008.

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