Socrates Brito named under-the-radar breakthrough player by ESPN’s Buster Olney
Mar 29, 2016, 6:30 PM
Arizona Diamondbacks' Socrates Brito watches his RBI double against the Los Angeles Angels during third inning of a spring baseball game in Scottsdale, Ariz., Tuesday, March 8, 2016. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
(AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Socrates Brito has garnered some attention this spring.
After hitting .303 in 33 at-bats at the end of his debut season in 2015, Brito is hitting .327 this spring with one home run and seven RBI.
The 23-year-old’s talent has started to catch the eye of the national baseball media.
Earlier this month, ESPN’s Aaron Boone said that Brito “has all the makings to be a really good player” and “a rookie of the year caliber player if he gets that opportunity.”
As ESPN’s Buster Olney noted in his list of 10 under-the-radar breakthrough players, that opportunity is what’s currently blocking Brito in the starting lineup.
He’s 23 years old and theoretically is behind a wall of more experienced and more expensive players, from A.J. Pollock to David Peralta to Yasmany Tomas. But more than a couple of evaluators believe that Brito is such a well-rounded player that he will push his way into playing time. “They’ve bet on this year,” said one scout, referring to the Diamondbacks, “and if [Brito] turns out to be better than Tomas — offense, defense, everything — they’ll play him.”
Brito could benefit from a quick pull of Tomas that the scout in Olney’s piece suggests if the $68.5 million dollar man is unable to live up to expectations.
Earlier in the offseason, Olney named Tomas as the D-backs’ “linchpin player.”
