Drafted in the 22nd round (670th overall) by the Houston Astros in 1997.
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Drafted as a two-way player out of junior college, Alfaro nearly made the Astros out of spring training last year. A late cut, he settled for making his major league debut in September after his eighth full season in the minors. Despite his limited major league experience, Alfaro will challenge for a utility role in Toronto after signing as a minor league free agent. Alfaro has solid all-around skills. He can swing the bat, owns gap power and is versatile defensively. He played six positions in 2004: shortstop, third base, second base and all three spots in the outfield. His best tool by far is his strong arm, and he also has average speed. Alfaro employs a narrow, straight-up stance, and he incorporates a toe tap as a trigger mechanism. He has a compact stroke, and though he takes aggressive hacks he doesn't strike out excessively. He does lack the home run power and patience to project as an everyday player.
Drafted as a two-way player out of Hill JC, Alfaro pitched four games in his first pro summer before becoming a full-time infielder. He spent three years as a shortstop and another as a utilityman, never doing much with the bat. In spring training 2002, he made his stance more upright so he could see the ball better and tried to adopt a more disciplined approach. Bingo. Alfaro became a Texas League all-star, hitting .314 (59 points above his previous average) with 16 homers (one less than he hit in his first 403 pro games). He showed power to almost all areas of the field and doubled his career high for walks. He also has average speed and good instincts on the bases. The Astros compare him to Keith Ginter, whom they traded to the Brewers for Mark Loretta last August, but Alfaro isn't as pull-conscious and is more flexible defensively. Alfaro has top-of-the-line arm strength that translated well to the hot corner when he moved there full-time last year. He also showed good hands, leading TL third basemen with a .963 fielding percentage. He's still a little inconsistent and needs to read balls better at third. Alfaro was 24 and repeating Double-A last year, so he has to prove that his breakthrough wasn't a fluke. If he's for real, he has more offensive upside than most of the position players on this list. Projected as Houston's regular Triple-A third baseman in 2003, Alfaro will get time at second base and in the outfield if Morgan Ensberg is sent to New Orleans.
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