JAVIER GUZMAN
5/4/82; NDFA '00; Dominican Republic
S/R; 5-11, 160
| Level |
BA |
OBP |
SA |
AB |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
K |
SB |
CS |
| 2002 R |
.307 |
.347 |
.472 |
199 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
12 |
25 |
13 |
6 |
| 2003 A- |
.243 |
.283 |
.353 |
173 |
9 |
2 |
2 |
10 |
26 |
4 |
3 |
| 2004 A |
.306 |
.334 |
.413 |
470 |
20 |
12 |
2 |
20 |
78 |
31 |
14 |
Guzman appeared to be one of the Pirates' few real position prospects below AA. He
had an outstanding GCL season in 2002, hitting for average and surprising power, and
was selected the league's 11th best prospect. After a strong start at Williamsport
in 2003, he completely fell apart with the bat. He eventually was placed on the
disabled list, so the problems may have been injury-related. The fact that he was
nevertheless named the league's 20th best prospect also indicates the problem may
have been an injury. Guzman bounced back well in 2004, finishing 10th in the SAL
in batting and showing decent gap power. Defensively, his arm, range and hands are
all considered good, and he has good speed. He does, however, have a number of
flaws. He's been error-prone, with 40 in 2004. He hasn't learned to steal bases
efficiently. Most importantly, he's a free-swinger who doesn't take a lot of pitches,
although his K rate at least isn't terrible. Unfortunately, he also turned out to
be two years older than was originally thought. For some reason, his correct age
wasn't listed anywhere until it temporarily showed up at the official minor league
web site in June 2004. As I write this, the correct age isn't listed anywhere, but,
trust me, he was born in 1982. This means he'll play in the Carolina League at 23
instead of 21, so he'll be old for the level. His age probably explains why the
Pirates didn't lose him in the 2004 Rule 5 draft. He'll be at SS for Lynchburg in
2005.
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