Jorge Nunez Stats & Scouting Report — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

Full name Jorge Nunez
Born 03/03/1978 in

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Acquired in the Shawn Green-Raul Mondesi trade with the Blue Jays prior to the 2000 season, Nunez led the Southern League in stolen bases last year. His performance enabled Nunez to return to the Dodgers' 40- man roster in the offseason after he was left off the year before. Nunez is a tools player who can do several things well. He has plus speed and outstanding quickness that he uses on the basepaths and in the field. His arm was rated as the strongest among SL infielders last year. Nunez hit 14 homers in his last year in the Blue Jays system but hasn't shown the same kind of power since the trade. He needs to make more contact instead of trying to hit home runs. His offense will improve if he can tighten his strike zone. If he can't, then he'll have to be relegated to the bottom of the batting order. The Dodgers say Nunez is just beginning to mature physically and get comfortable with his body. He'll open 2002 in Triple-A. Los Angeles' trade for Cesar Izturis has at least temporarily taken away Nunez' status as the shortstop of the future.
Nunez spent his first season in the Dodgers organization last year after leading all Class A players with 116 runs in 1999. He caught fire at the plate last July to lead Vero Beach in runs, hits and triples while topping the entire system in stolen bases. He has a wiry, athletic body that projects to be even more productive as he continues to mature. His arm was rated as the best among Florida State League infielders last year. He also has outstanding speed that he parlays into impressive baserunning skills. His athleticism, however, can cause Nunez to play out of control on occasion. He also isn’t as disciplined as he needs to be at the plate, resulting in few walks and more than 100 strikeouts in each of the past two seasons. He has some power and produces a decent number of extra-base hits, but Nunez would be better served spraying the ball to all fields in order to get on base more often. The Dodgers believe he’s just beginning to reveal his vast potential and are looking for more progress this year at Jacksonville.

Minor League Top Prospects

Playing next to Lopez, it's easy to get overlooked. But Nunez, as fast as anyone in the league, showed power and advanced defensive skills. "He has a cannon for an arm," Pino said. "For as small as Jorge is, he has really good power. He has better first-step quickness than anyone I've ever seen. He just needs to play more." Nunez lacks size but the pop and progress are intriguing. His power came as a surprise, as he had 18 professional home runs in 868 at-bats (all but 16 in Rookie ball) entering the season. He must improve his plate discipline.