Ignacio Alvarez

A 6-foot, 190-pound third baseman, Alvarez emerged early as one of the top junior college players in the draft class and led Riverside (Calif.) JC to a state championship this spring. He hit .370/.494/.582 with five home runs and had more walks (36) than strikeouts (16). Nicknamed "Nacho", Alvarez has above-average raw power he is still learning to access it in games. He makes consistent contact, controls the strike zone well and has a chance to get to his power with physical maturity and higher-level instruction. Alvarez is a decent athlete with an excellent glove at third base and above-average arm strength. He should have no problem staying at the hot corner and projects to be at least an average defender. Alvarez rarely faced good competition in high school or junior college and doesn't have any plus tools, so he may have a longer learning curve than most in pro ball. Some teams don't feel he's ready for the professional game, but others are interested in the top 10 rounds.