There was a lot of buzz about Los Angeles Angels outfielder Nelson Rada coming into spring training, to the point where there was even speculation that he might even be with the team on Opening Day.
Not even close. The 20-year old prospect was reassigned to Angels’ minor league camp yesterday, despite flashing some of the speed, plus defense and on-base ability that generated the buzz in the first place. The team’s No. 3 prospect reached Triple A Salt Lake last season, but he also struck out four teams in his first 11 at-bats, and with Mike Trout returning to the outfield, this move makes a lot of sense.
New manager Kurt Suzuki made the call, and his comments hinted that Rada still has some work to do with his preparation and developing a professional work routine.
“Trust me, I'm a huge Nelson Rada fan, as is everyone else in this organization,” Suzuki said in a piece written by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. “It’s just consistency for a younger player, right? It's getting their work done off the field. It’s early work, it's extra work. Sometimes with a young player it's not always about the stuff on the field. It's the stuff off the field with the preparation.”
Rada had great numbers in the minors last year, and he probably will this season as well given his talent. At 5’9” 185 pounds, he probably won’t hit for power, but no one is ruling out an in-season call-up, and Rada still looks like the team’s center fielder and leadoff man of the future.
As good as Rada’s numbers were, he also needs to work on hitting the ball in the air more. His ground ball rate of just over 56 percent will play to some extent given his speed, but the Angels want him to become a complete hitter, too.
“He’s just 20 so you don't know how much power he's going to develop,” Suzuki said. “But for me, he's already a great hitter. So when the power comes, who knows? This guy could be unbelievable. It's just a matter of putting in the work consistently.”
While this will almost certainly be a disappointment for Rada and many Angels fans, this is probably a good decision by Suzuki. The Angels have rushed prospects like Rada in past years, which results in uneven development and fundamentally flawed players.
The decision should also make Suzuki’s job easier when it comes to sorting out the outfield. Between Trout’s return to center field, Josh Lowe’s injury issues and the sheer number of outfield names and faces in camp right now, the manager has a lot of work to do to figure out who’s starting where and what the depth chart will look like on Opening Day.