Gregory Barrios

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Tampa Bay Rays #22 prospect in 2025
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High.
  
  Track Record: When the Brewers signed their international class in 2021, the two most prominent acquisitions were a pair of Venezuelan shortstops: Jackson Chourio and Barrios. Chourio quickly moved to the outfield and became a star. Barrios, a $1 million signee, will never match Chourio, but he has impressed, especially defensively. He’s been voted the best defensive shortstop in his league in each of the past two years. He was traded to the Rays for Aaron Civale in July 2024.
  
  Scouting Report: Barrios’ glove should get him to the majors, but his bat is going to determine if he just stops by or settles in for a long time. He was a switch-hitter when he signed, but he stopped batting lefty when he came to the U.S. in 2022. He understands the strike zone and makes good decisions. He just lacks the power to drive the ball enough to make much of an impact. Improving his strength and bat speed is vital to him becoming a better hitter. Defensively, Barrios is a rangy and reliable defender with excellent body control. He is very comfortable charging to bare-hand choppers, but he’s also excellent at going deep to his right. His above-average arm is an asset. He uses his above-average speed to good effect as an aggressive baserunner.
  
  The Future: Barrios’ skill set isn’t all that different from that of his now-teammate Adrian Santana. Barrios has a more mature approach at the plate, but like Santana, it will depend on him getting stronger as he matures to make him more than a singles hitter. If not, he’ll likely slide into a utility infielder role eventually.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 30 | Run: 55 | Field: 60 | Arm: 55.
• 
  Ranked Milwaukee Brewers #22 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Barrios was one of the top shortstops in Venezuela when the Brewers signed him for $1 million in Jan. 2021. A switch-hitter when he signed, Barrios made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2021 and took some of his at-bats from the right side against righthanders, then in 2022 hit exclusively righthanded in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League.
  
  Scouting Report: From the time he signed, Barrios has always stood out for his defensive acumen. He has smooth, easy actions at shortstop, where he's light on his feet with soft hands and good body control. He's not especially tooled up--it's average speed with a solid-average arm--but his instincts and internal clock help everything play up in the field. At the plate, Barrios has a good eye for the strike zone, makes good swing decisions and makes frequent contact, albeit with limited power. Dropping his weaker lefthanded swing helped his numbers tick up in 2022 and should benefit him long term, though he will need to get stronger to do more damage on contact.
  
  The Future: Barrios should get his first test of full-season ball in Low-A Carolina in 2023. He has a good mix of OBP skills and defense at a premium position, but becoming more than primarily a singles hitter will be critical as he faces more advanced pitchers.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 50. Power: 30. Speed: 50. Fielding: 55. Arm: 55.
• 
  Ranked Milwaukee Brewers #26 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Barrios was one of the top Venezuelan shortstops in the 2020-21 signing class when the Brewers landed him for $1 million in Jan. 2021. He made his pro debut in 2021 in the Dominican Summer League.
  
  Scouting Report: Barrios was one of the top defensive shortstops from Latin America in his class. While not as explosive as fellow 2021 Venezuelan signing Jackson Chourio, Barrios is a smooth, instinctive fielder with a good internal clock. An average runner with solid-average arm strength, Barrios is light on his feet with good body control and soft hands. Barrios is a switch-hitter, though he’s much better from the right side and might end up hitting exclusively righthanded. Most of his at-bats came as a lefty, dragging down his offensive production, though he also took some at-bats from the right side against righthanders. Barrios does have a keen eye for the strike zone and makes frequent contact with a line-drive approach. There’s some physical projection for Barrios to grow into more power, but right now he’s mostly a singles hitter with limited pop.
  
  The Future: Barrios shows promise as a true shortstop who will need to develop his offensive game, but with contact skills and strike-zone judgment intact to build from. He should head to the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League for the 2022 season.
  
• 
  Ranked Milwaukee Brewers #27 prospect in 2021
  TRACK RECORD: The Brewers signed a trio of Venezuelan shortstops at the top of their 2020-21 international class that opened on Jan. 15, 2021, including Barrios, one of the best defensive shortstops in his class.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Barrios is a smooth, instinctive defender who is light on his feet with good body control, soft hands and fluid actions. An average runner, Barrios has a good internal clock, especially for his age, with a strong arm that projects to be above-average. He has added strength over the last couple of years with some more physical projection to dream on to help grow his current gap power. He's a switch-hitter who is better from the right side, with a sharp eye for the strike zone, good bat-to-ball skills and a line-drive approach.
  
  THE FUTURE: Barrios is a promising shortstop prospect, but he is still far away with a lot to prove. He will get his first professional experience in 2021.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Barrios was one of the top shortstops in Venezuela when the Brewers signed him for $1 million in Jan. 2021. A switch-hitter when he signed, Barrios made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2021 and took some of his at-bats from the right side against righthanders, then in 2022 hit exclusively righthanded in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League.
  
  Scouting Report: From the time he signed, Barrios has always stood out for his defensive acumen. He has smooth, easy actions at shortstop, where he's light on his feet with soft hands and good body control. He's not especially tooled up--it's average speed with a solid-average arm--but his instincts and internal clock help everything play up in the field. At the plate, Barrios has a good eye for the strike zone, makes good swing decisions and makes frequent contact, albeit with limited power. Dropping his weaker lefthanded swing helped his numbers tick up in 2022 and should benefit him long term, though he will need to get stronger to do more damage on contact.
  
  The Future: Barrios should get his first test of full-season ball in Low-A Carolina in 2023. He has a good mix of OBP skills and defense at a premium position, but becoming more than primarily a singles hitter will be critical as he faces more advanced pitchers.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 50. Power: 30. Speed: 50. Fielding: 55. Arm: 55.
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Barrios was one of the top shortstops in Venezuela when the Brewers signed him for $1 million in Jan. 2021. A switch-hitter when he signed, Barrios made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2021 and took some of his at-bats from the right side against righthanders, then in 2022 hit exclusively righthanded in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League.
  
  Scouting Report: From the time he signed, Barrios has always stood out for his defensive acumen. He has smooth, easy actions at shortstop, where he's light on his feet with soft hands and good body control. He's not especially tooled up--it's average speed with a solid-average arm--but his instincts and internal clock help everything play up in the field. At the plate, Barrios has a good eye for the strike zone, makes good swing decisions and makes frequent contact, albeit with limited power. Dropping his weaker lefthanded swing helped his numbers tick up in 2022 and should benefit him long term, though he will need to get stronger to do more damage on contact.
  
  The Future: Barrios should get his first test of full-season ball in Low-A Carolina in 2023. He has a good mix of OBP skills and defense at a premium position, but becoming more than primarily a singles hitter will be critical as he faces more advanced pitchers.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 50. Power: 30. Speed: 50. Fielding: 55. Arm: 55.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Barrios was one of the top Venezuelan shortstops in the 2020-21 signing class when the Brewers landed him for $1 million in Jan. 2021. He made his pro debut in 2021 in the Dominican Summer League.
  
  Scouting Report: Barrios was one of the top defensive shortstops from Latin America in his class. While not as explosive as fellow 2021 Venezuelan signing Jackson Chourio, Barrios is a smooth, instinctive fielder with a good internal clock. An average runner with solid-average arm strength, Barrios is light on his feet with good body control and soft hands. Barrios is a switch-hitter, though he’s much better from the right side and might end up hitting exclusively righthanded. Most of his at-bats came as a lefty, dragging down his offensive production, though he also took some at-bats from the right side against righthanders. Barrios does have a keen eye for the strike zone and makes frequent contact with a line-drive approach. There’s some physical projection for Barrios to grow into more power, but right now he’s mostly a singles hitter with limited pop.
  
  The Future: Barrios shows promise as a true shortstop who will need to develop his offensive game, but with contact skills and strike-zone judgment intact to build from. He should head to the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League for the 2022 season.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: The Brewers signed a trio of Venezuelan shortstops at the top of their 2020-21 international class that opened on Jan. 15, 2021, including Barrios, one of the best defensive shortstops in his class.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Barrios is a smooth, instinctive defender who is light on his feet with good body control, soft hands and fluid actions. An average runner, Barrios has a good internal clock, especially for his age, with a strong arm that projects to be above-average. He has added strength over the last couple of years with some more physical projection to dream on to help grow his current gap power. He's a switch-hitter who is better from the right side, with a sharp eye for the strike zone, good bat-to-ball skills and a line-drive approach.
  
  THE FUTURE: Barrios is a promising shortstop prospect, but he is still far away with a lot to prove. He will get his first professional experience in 2021.
• January, 2021 Scouting Report
  The Brewers' 2019 signing class centered around Venezuelan prospects in 2019 and it looks like they're going to do the same again in this class. One of their top targets is Barrios, an instinctive, fundamentally sound defender at shortstop with soft hands and fluid actions. His high all-around game acumen shows at the plate as well, with a good eye for the strike zone and a high-contact, line-drive approach from both sides of the plate with gap power, showing more impact from his natural righthand side. He trains at the Gold Prospect Academy with Guillermo Quintero.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: The Brewers signed a trio of Venezuelan shortstops at the top of their 2020-21 international class that opened on Jan. 15, 2021, including Barrios, one of the best defensive shortstops in his class.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Barrios is a smooth, instinctive defender who is light on his feet with good body control, soft hands and fluid actions. An average runner, Barrios has a good internal clock, especially for his age, with a strong arm that projects to be above-average. He has added strength over the last couple of years with some more physical projection to dream on to help grow his current gap power. He's a switch-hitter who is better from the right side, with a sharp eye for the strike zone, good bat-to-ball skills and a line-drive approach.
  
  THE FUTURE: Barrios is a promising shortstop prospect, but he is still far away with a lot to prove. He will get his first professional experience in 2021.