Indians Top 100 Prospects: #2 Nick Weglarz

2. Nick Weglarz - Outfielder
Born: 12/16/1987 - Height: 6'3" - Weight: 255 - Bats: Left - Throws: Left

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2005	17	Burlington	R	41	147	22	34	11	0	2	13	17	42	2	.231	.313	.347	.660
2006	18	GCL Indians	R	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
2007	19	Lake County	A	125	439	75	121	28	0	23	82	82	129	1	.276	.395	.497	.892
	19	Kinston	A+	2	7	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	2	0	.143	.250	.571	.821
2008	20	Kinston	A+	106	375	68	102	20	5	10	41	71	78	9	.272	.396	.432	.828
		Career		275	970	166	258	59	5	36	137	171	253	12	.266	.382	.448	.830

History: Weglarz was a 3rd round pick by the Indians in the 2005 Draft out of Lakeshore Catholic High School (Ontario, Canada).  In 2006, he played only one game for the rookie level Gulf Coast League (GCL) Indians as he was sidelined for the entire season with a broken hand. 

Strengths & Opportunities:  Weglarz is an impressive physical specimen, and at 250+ pounds and strong as an ox he easily has the best power bat in the Indians' system.  He has tremendous power, and often is compared to Jim Thome because of that left-handed power and plate discipline.  He has some flaws in his swing that will need to be tinkered along the way, but his long arms and good bat speed generate tremendous power.  He is a developed hitter with above-average hand-eye coordination, and he loves low pitches so he can extend through it either away or down and in.  He stays within himself and to his plan.  As with most big sluggers, he is a below average runner and lacks much athleticism. 

At a young age Weglarz has shown the past two seasons in Single-A Lake County and advanced Single-A Kinston that he understands the value of on-base percentage and has a good understanding of the strike zone.  The plate discipline is off the charts good, and it is not just the walks, it is how smart he is as a hitter where he lays off so many borderline pitches when he is ahead in the count, which shows how mature of a hitter he is and shows he is ready to be a star in the big leagues.  He is still a young, unpolished hitter who strikes out a lot, but he also shows excellent patience in waiting for his pitch and rarely swinging at pitches outside of the zone, which is uncommon for a player his age. 

Weglarz is a big kid who has continued to bulk up and grow into his body, and the Indians think will still get bigger as he matures.  He was drafted as a first baseman; however, since joining the Indians he has not played first base as they decided to move him to the outfield.  If he continues to get bigger some think he could end up back at first base.  He has made significant progress as an outfielder where the Indians have worked on his footwork, throwing mechanics, and his route-running to the ball.  He will never win a Gold Glove out in left field, but he has become at least a tick below average as a fielder and shows an adequate arm. 

The high strikeout rate is concerning and he does not hit for a very high average, but he is a slugger and while he may never be a .300 hitter he has enough plate discipline to where he could still get on base at a .360-.380 clip and become a 30-40 home run a year player in the big leagues.  Teams typically do not pitch to him, but he continues to stay patient and not leave the zone and just waits for his pitch.  Last year the Indians worked on his leg position and made some mechanical adjustments to his swing.   He needs to continue working on using the other side of the field and hitting balls the other way by staying on balls and not falling into his tendencies to pull off and roll balls over where he grounds out.  He still needs more work in the outfield getting good reads off the bat, and the Indians will also try to work him some into right field this year. 

In October/November 2007 Weglarz played for Team Canada and went over to Taiwan and Australia to play in the World Cup and did well in limited playing time.  Then, in March 2008, he again suited up for Canada and went to Australia to play in the Olympic qualifiers, this time as a starter hitting in the middle of the lineup where he hit .450 in the seven games played and lead all players in the tournament with three home runs.  His performance helped guide the Canadian team to a 6-1 record and they earned a berth in the Olympic Games in Beijing later in the summer.  He again joined up with his Canadian teammates for the third time in nine months when he left the Indians for a month in July to play for Canada in the Olympics and again impressed in his time playing against higher level competition and was named team MVP for Canada. 

Outlook:  Second only to Matt LaPorta, Weglarz had one of the craziest travel schedules in the Indians system last year going to China, Australia, and Taiwan in the span of nine months from October 2007 to July 2008.  He handled it well, although could probably use a full season this upcoming year in one place to really hone in on his game.  He will leave the Indians in spring training this March to play for Team Canada yet again in the World Baseball Classic, but after that all commitments with Team Canada should be complete for a few years.  This upcoming season is a big year for him, a separator in that his performance in Double-A will either solidify what people have been raving about or start to wonder if he is too much projection.  Needless to say, he is ready to have a big year, and will open the 2009 season in the Double-A Akron outfield. 

Photo courtesy of Carl Kline 

Nick Weglarz MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page 

Nick Weglarz Baseball-Reference page 

Nick Weglarz MinorLeagueSplits.com page 

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