Indians Top 100 Prospects: #3 Matt LaPorta

3. Matt LaPorta - Outfielder/First Baseman
Born: 01/08/1985 - Height: 6'2" - Weight: 210 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007	22	Helena	R	7	27	4	7	1	0	2	4	1	8	0	.259	.286	.519	.805
	22	West Virginia	A	23	88	18	28	8	0	10	27	7	22	0	.318	.392	.750	1.142
2008	23	Huntsville	AA	84	302	56	87	23	2	20	66	45	63	2	.288	.402	.576	.978
	23	Akron	AA	17	60	6	14	1	0	2	8	4	12	0	.233	.299	.350	.649
		Career		131	477	84	136	33	2	34	105	57	105	2	.285	.382	.577	.957

History:  LaPorta was a 1st round pick in the 2007 Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers out of the University of Florida, and then was traded to the Indians in July 2008 as part of the haul the Indians received in trading C.C. Sabathia to the Brewers.  He was actually drafted as a catcher out of high school in the 14th round of the 2003 Draft by the Chicago Cubs, but did not sign.  He led the NCAA in home runs as a sophomore at Florida. 

Strengths & Opportunities:  In just 477 at bats as a professional, LaPorta has 34 HR and has a .577 slugging percentage.  He has impact potential as a middle-of-the-lineup run producer in the big leagues with his plus-plus power to all fields, and he is big and strong with the ability to handle more advanced pitching right now.  He was primarily a pull-power hitter in college, but he has no problem driving balls out away from him now.  He also has an advanced approach at the plate with good pitch recognition skills and patience to wait for his pitch to hit or take a walk.  He has excellent bat speed that helps not only with his power, but also lets him wait longer to swing so he can get a better read on pitches.  His good hand-eye coordination should allow him to hit for average or close to it at the major league level. 

LaPorta is a feared hitter that pitchers often pitch around, but he has shown an innate ability to get his pitch to hit and drive it out of the park.  He has a very good work ethic with a great deal of character, and is great in the clubhouse.  He has outstanding makeup and displays maturity both on the field and off it.  He is the complete package with the charm, looks, power and ability to be the face of a franchise.  There is certainly a ton of talent in his bat, and he is often compared by scouts to a young Pat Burrell. 

Upon signing with the Brewers, LaPorta was moved to the outfield for the first time in his baseball career.  The Indians will sort through what position is best for him, but his bat is going to find its way into any lineup.  While he will primarily play left and right field this year, the Indians will keep first base an option for him in order to allow him more versatility.  They were really impressed with his play in left field after they acquired him, and feel he is at worst a serviceable outfielder and could be an average-to-above average defensive first baseman.  He is slightly below average with his speed, so his average routes and average jumps combined with his speed gives him a step or too less to cover ground in the outfield.  Still, he has shown a great release and gets to a lot of average and routine plays in the outfield.  He has shown good instincts and is a gamer.  His arm strength is a tick above average, but very accurate. 

Last year was a whirlwind for LaPorta with the crazy travel schedule he had after being traded.  He was traded to the Indians and sent to Akron in early July, then went to New York to play in the Futures Game a week later, then before returning to Akron after the All-Star break had to return home to Florida for a week to be with his family for the death of his grandfather, then a week and a half after returning to Akron he went to California to meet up with his Team USA teammates, then he went to North Carolina to play an exhibition series against Team Canada, and then he was off to Beijing, China to play in the Olympics before he returned to Akron for the final two weeks of the season in late August.  All of that happened over the course of six weeks.  He was also involved in a scary incident in the Olympics when he was struck in the head with a pitch in a game against China, but tests were negative and he was diagnosed with a mild concussion. 

For now, LaPorta will continue to predominantly get his at bats in left field and take some ground balls from time to time at first base.  He needs to continue to get better with his route running and getting better jumps in the outfield.  While he does hit a lot of home runs and he does draw walks, he is very much the traditional slugger where he will likely always have over 100 strikeouts in a season.  Also, he still has plenty to learn as he is still adapting to the professional game having played in only one and a half seasons as a professional, but what he has done from a performance standpoint already is greatly impressive.  He will benefit from a full season in the minor leagues in 2009 to better settle in and work on polishing his near major league ready game. 

Outlook:  It is hard to give an exact timetable on when LaPorta should reach the big leagues as the Indians have adopted the approach to just let his progress dictate where he ends up.  They feel he has a chance to be a run producing bat for them in the near future and want to be certain he is ready and finished off before giving him that big league call.  The stats late last season did not show it, especially in the Eastern League playoffs, but he had some really great at bats and was close to putting things together.  The Indians just want him to get comfortable in the organization and it could mean he spends most if not all of the 2009 season in the minors.  He will open the season in Triple-A Columbus. 

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr 

Matt LaPorta MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page 

Matt LaPorta Baseball-Reference page 

Matt LaPorta MinorLeagueSplits.com page 

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