Seby Zavala

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Chicago White Sox #15 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: Zavala’s career at San Diego State included a Tommy John surgery, a switch to left field and a breakout in power that boosted his draft stock. As a professional, Zavala has moved more or less in lockstep with the organization’s other high-profile catching prospect, Zack Collins.
  
  Scouting Report: Zavala started strong at Birmingham, swatting 11 home runs (which placed him fifth on the team despite playing just 56 games) and showing the power that put him on the map in 2017. His offense took a dip in Triple-A, but recurring left wrist irritation may have played a significant role. He’s a borderline average defender who blocks well but needs to do better at smothering balls in the dirt. He’s got an average throwing arm, which he used to throw out 33 percent of runners between both levels.
  
  The Future: The White Sox placed Zavala on their 40-man roster after the season, and he has a good shot of making his big league debut at some point in 2019. He’s likely to start back at Triple-A Charlotte.
• 
  Ranked Chicago White Sox #29 prospect in 2018
  After hitting two home runs over his first two seasons at San Diego State, Zavala missed his junior year after having Tommy John surgery. He returned for his senior season as a left fielder and saw his power break out. He hit 14 home runs that year and was selected in the 12th round by the White Sox. As a pro, that theme seems to have repeated itself. After hitting just seven home runs in his first full season in 2016 at low Class A Kannapolis, Zavala tripled that total between both levels of A-ball in 2017. In fact, his 21 home runs were most in the White Sox system. The team worked with him to find a diet that helped him maintain strength throughout the course of the season, and he altered his swing path to get a higher launch angle. Combine the power with an all-fields approach and fringy but playable defensive ability with a fringe-average arm, a ceiling as a major league backup catcher starts to come into focus. Zavala will try to continue to get to his power at Double-A Birmingham in 2018.
• 
  Ranked Chicago White Sox #26 prospect in 2016
  Zavala sat out his sophomore year at San Diego State as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, then returned as the Aztecs' regular left fielder in 2014. He moved back to catcher in 2015 and hit 14 home runs while showing enough defensive potential to warrant a 12th-round selection by the White Sox. Chicago assigned Zavala to the Rookie-level Arizona League after signing for $100,000 because his skills behind the plate required polish. He dominated younger competition by leading the circuit with 26 extrabase hits, then played for Mexico in the Premier 12 in the fall. Zavala offers a bat-first profile with the sort of all-fields approach that should enable him to hit for average and gap power. He runs OK for a catcher. Zavala possesses agility behind the plate and has soft, quiet hands when receiving the ball, though he has tick below-average arm strength. Scouts who like Zavala see him as having a ceiling as big league backup.