Diamond in the Rough

7/24/2008

C  J.P. Arencibia 22, (R), New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays)

There is nothing better in fantasy baseball than having catcher on your team that is a fantasy stud, not a fantasy dud. You know what I'm talking about; having a catcher that actually helps your team. One you can pencil in your lineup week after week, without the need to check waivers each week to see who is hot. I believe this is going to be one of those guys you can set and forget.

J.P. Arencibia is the 2007 21st overall draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays. "How can he be a 'Diamond it the Rough' when he was drafted so high?" you ask. The answer is pretty simple. I call a guy a "Diamond in the Rough" when I see he has a chance to be a special fantasy player and I don't hear or read much about him. I also play in some very deep keeper leagues with minor league slots, so I take into account whether or not he is on a roster. Almost all of the guys I write about are not rostered at that time. Now, that we have that settled, back to the fantasy prospect.

J.P. Arencibia played three years at the University of Tennessee, I must be growing as a person I'm not even holding that against him. In 2005 he won the SEC Freshman of the Year Award. He made the SEC All-Conference team as a sophomore and second-team All-SEC as a junior. He finished his college career with a .333 BA, .413 OBP, and a .552 SLG.

Arencibia was on the USA college national team twice and in his first year tied Matt LaPorta and Shane Robinson for the RBI lead with 12. In his second stint he led the team with 9 HR and was second with 37 RBI.

There is no doubt that this kid can hit for power and he has done just that in his first full season. He is hitting for a nice .310 BA with 27 2B, 21 HR, and 83 RBI in between advance-A and double-A. Those are very nice numbers for a catcher. One thing that is a little worrisome for his future is the lack of walks; 11 BB in 365 single-A ABs and zero in 117 double-A ABs. With the power he has I am willing to look past that flaw for now. If it starts to hurt his average as he goes up then I will get concerned.

Arencibia has a good shot to get called up this year. Toronto's catching situation is not getting any younger; Greg Zaun and Rod Barajas, enough said? If not this year. I can say without a doubt, with a good spring, 2009 should be his year.

2007 NYP (21)
.254 BA 228 AB 31 R 58 H 17 2B 1 3B 3 HR 25 RBI 14 BB 56 SO 0 SB 0 CS .309 OBP.377 SLG .686 OPS

2008 A+ and AA (22)

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