Yesterday the Mariners signed Felix Hernandez’s older brother to a minor-league contract and now they’ve signed Vladimir Guerrero’s nephew, giving 17-year-old Dominican outfielder Gabriel Guerrero a $400,000 bonus.
Ben Badler of Baseball America has a brief scouting report on Gabriel and it actually sounds quite a bit like Vlad:
Guerrero, a big-bodied right-handed hitter, has shown good raw power and has made improvements at the plate and in the field since he became eligible to sign last year on July 2. He projects as a corner outfielder with a solid arm.
Obviously the odds are against Gabriel Guerrero developing into one of the best right-handed hitters of all time simply because of his bloodlines, but “big bodied right-handed hitter” and “a corner outfielder with a solid arm” are definitely Vlad-like traits and the $400,000 price tag suggests he’s a legitimate prospect.
David Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner and Fan Graphs jokingly suggested on Twitter that perhaps the Mariners have ditched their scouting department and are now simply focusing on finding all their players via genetic testing. In which case, I have two words for them: Ozzie Canseco.
