Jonathan Galvez, Sleeper Prospect

Let’s take a look at two statlines really quick:

Player A: .258/.372/.352 with 14 SB, 2 HR, and 37 BB in 61 games
Player B: .286/.348/.350 with 16 SB, 1 HR, and 17 BB in 53 games

Both lines were put up by 19-year-old shortstops playing for Fort Wayne. The second line belongs to current rising prospect Drew Cumberland, who’s in Double-A at age 21 now (that line is from 2008). The first line belongs to the lesser-known current Fort Wayne shortstop, Jonathan Galvez.

Fort Wayne’s a tough environment, particularly early in the season, but Galvez has already done a pretty solid job there and he’s just 19 years old.

It’s apparent he can do two things very well: get on base and run, which are two great traits to have.

What makes him also interesting is that scouts think he’s very projectable and could develop home-run power in the near future, so Galvez looks like he could be a real all-around offensive force.

Defensively, he’s athletic enough to stay at short, but he’s made 25 errors this year, most of them on errant throws. He needs to clean that aspect of his game up, but he’s 19, so he’s got plenty of time.

It’ll be interesting to see what Galvez does next year as he likely fills out a bit more and moves to the hitter-friendly environment of Lake Elsinore. We’ve seen what Cumberland was able to do there, and Cumberland had the benefit of spending his age-20 season in Fort Wayne as well (he hit .293/.386/.410 repeating the level), so if Galvez can hit .300 with some power next year in Lake Elsinore, he’ll really be on the fast track. With Cumberland looking to slot in as the Padres SS of the future, Galvez may ultimately wind up as an athletic second baseman, where he wouldn’t have to worry about making the long throws.

Galvez is definitely a prospect to watch.