Carlos Rivero

Carlos Rivero - Shortstop
Age: 19 Height: 6'3" Weight: 200 Bats: Right Throws: Right

	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007 Lake County (A-)	.261	115	436	59	114	26	0	7	62	47	84	1	.332	.369	.701
Career	.260	234	873	100	127	41	0	10	122	74	141	8	.318	.341	.659

History: Rivero was signed out of Venezuela in March of 2005 at just 16 years of age. This upcoming season will be Rivero's fourth year in the Indians system, his third year stateside. In 2005, Rivero played in the Indians academy in the Dominican Summer League and hit .257 with 0 HR and 31 RBI in 237 at bats. In 2006, in combined time at rookie level Burlington and the Indians new rookie league team the Gulf Coast League Indians, Rivero hit .260 with 3 HR and 29 RBI in 200 at bats. Last year, was amed a South Atlantic League (SAL) All Star.

Strengths & Opportunities: Coming into last season, Rivero was a hidden gem in the Indians system that finally started to show himself over the course of the season at Lake County. Now at age 19, he is an impressive physical specimen at such a young age. To go along with his size, Rivero has all the outstanding abilities and intangibles except speed. What he lacks in speed, though, he more than makes up with his power potential, bat-to-ball ability, his hands, and his glove-work.

Rivero has the potential to be a good hitting middle infielder with some power potential down the road. He has a very good approach for a young player, and last year he got better as the year went on and competed at a high level for a kid who just turned 19-years old during the season. Rivero is a big kid with a great looking swing with good technique, and the ball comes off his bat well. He hit a couple home runs last year which were very deep, and could have hit more home runs if he was allowed to pull the ball more, but he was working on staying in the middle of the field. To go along with his excellent makeup, his two strike approach and walk percentage got better as the year went on.

An ankle sprain near the end of June hindered Rivero for most of the second half of the season, but he still managed to put in a good full season in at Lake County. While size is not everything, he is impressive physically and is expected to get even bigger. A report last year in Baseball America even had a scout go as far as to say he could eventually be another player along the lines of Miguel Cabrera.

For his size, he moves around well at shortstop. He is not fast, but he has good first step quickness, has real good hands, and a strong and accurate arm. Whether or not he sticks at shortstop or slides over to third base depends on how big he gets, but the Indians believe he will be able to stick at shortstop long term. Going forward, Rivero needs to keep getting stronger and maintain his first step quickness, and he has been working with minor league infield coordinator Ted Kubiak on getting better jumps to the ball.

Rivero has it all to become an elite prospect given his abilities at such a young age, but like with so many highly touted players at his age, developing his plate discipline, breaking ball recognition, and staying healthy will determine his prospect status down the road. One thing going for Rivero is he already appears to have a good handle with his two-strike approach as in 873 career at bats he has only struck out 141 times. Considering he has played three minor league seasons before the age of 19, an 8:1 at bat to strikeout ratio is very good and shows the potential with his bat-to-ball ability and plate discipline.

Outlook: Make a note of this name, as Rivero could be one of the next great prospects in the Indians farm system. In a system mostly barren when it comes to good middle infield depth, Rivero joins the likes of Josh Rodriguez and Jared Goedert as the top three middle infielders in the system. He should start the season in Kinston, and could be in line for a breakout campaign in 2008.

Video: Rivero takes batting practice and batting practice in spring training

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