The Seedlings To Stars 2012 Top 100 Prospects, #48: Rymer Liriano

Name: Rymer Liriano
DOB: 6/20/91
Organization: Padres
Position: Outfield
Notable 2011 Stats: .319/.383/.499 with 30 2B, 8 3B, 12 HR, 95/47 K/BB, and 65-for-85 SB in 116 games with Fort Wayne (A);
.127/.213/.182 with 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 13/6 K/BB, and 1-for-2 SB in 15 games with Lake Elsinore (High-A);
.298/.365/.465 with 31 2B, 9 3B, 12 HR, 108/53 K/BB, and 66-for-87 SB in 131 games total

Why He’s This High: Liriano’s season got off to a terrible start, as he struggled in 15 games in High-A and was demoted back to the Midwest League. On the heels of his struggles in full-season ball in 2010 (which had prompted a demotion to the Northwest League), it looked like he wasn’t going to cash in on the promise he showed in his 2009 season in the Arizona League.

Then, everything changed, as Liriano suddenly showed a five-tool skillset upon going back to the MWL. Long considered an overly aggressive hitter, he managed to get his K/BB ratio up above 2/1, which opened up room for the rest of his skills to flourish. Liriano makes a lot of hard contact, which already translates into gap power and could make him a high-average 20-HR hitter if everything goes right.

Once he’s on the bases, Liriano can wreak havoc due to his plus speed, as evidenced by his 65 steals in 116 games in Fort Wayne. His athleticism translates well to his defense, where he covers a lot of ground.

Despite the false starts in both 2010 and 2011, Liriano just turned 20 in June, so he was still young for his level. With continued refinement, he could be one of the game’s top outfielders.

Why He’s This Low: While Liriano is very athletic, he spent most of his time in right field in 2011. He’s a very raw defender with a career .948 fielding percentage in the outfield, and he fielded .948 this year as well. He obviously has good speed, but he needs to improve his routes and jumps in the outfield to make better use of his athleticism. If he can’t find a way to become a good center fielder, he’ll need to provide more power to profile as a prototypical right fielder.

We certainly shouldn’t ignore Liriano’s numerous struggles, as well. It’s certainly great that he pulled everything together for most of a season–it got him into the top 50 on this list, after all. But when we compare him to some of the other top position players out there, the inconsistency in his career, especially at such low levels, is somewhat alarming; certainly, he has yet to prove he can consistently show his entire skillset. He’ll need to prove he can deal with promotions much better than he has. In particular, he’ll have to show his increased walk rate in 2011 was not a fluke, because it’s essential to his ability to get pitches to hit, not to mention the obvious benefit of walks for OBP purposes.

Conclusions: Liriano is a truly exciting talent who had a very nice year, but he’s still a very raw player. All of his skills either need consistency or need refinement, but if they all crystallize, he could be a poor man’s Matt Kemp. Few prospects took a bigger step forward in 2011, and if he can maintain his gains in 2012, he’ll be one of the top prospects in the game.

Check out all of the Seedlings To Stars 2012 Top 100 Prospects here!

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