Earlier today Roberto Hernandez was traded by the Phillies to the LA Dodgers for reportedly two lower lever prospects. Enter 18-year-old 1B prospect Cody Bellinger, who currently is playing at Rookie Ogden for the Dodgers (equivalent to GCL). Bellinger a 4th round pick out of high school in the 2013 stands in at 6′ 4” 180 with room to fill out even more as he ages. Already an advanced defender at first, the power is still developing, which is no surprise for an 18-year-old prospect. In 20 games With Ogden, Bellinger has shown some good signs at the plate totaling 10 XBH (9 2B, 1 HR) to go along with a healthy 10.2% BB rate and overall line of .345/.408/.483. At the minimum the young prospect is showing that he can take a walk, which bodes well for unlocking power potential. Twenty games are a small sample, but there are definitely tools there to work with in Bellinger’s case. His .345 average will probably not remain that high the rest of the season; in 2013 he hit just .210. However, signs of his ability to get on base were obvious in his pro debut last year, boasting a strong .340 OBP as a result of a 15.9% BB rate in his first 47 games as a professional. It might be safe to say that Bellinger’s eye is already pretty decent, moving forward if Bellinger is able to add muscle and continue to refine his approach at the plate Bellinger could find himself as an everyday first basemen. I hope his chance to do just that comes with the Phillies as a result of today’s trade.
(Editors Note: We do not know whether Bellinger is actually on Amaro’s list of potential targets)
I might be jaded, but I doubt we get someone with that kind of pedigree. He is a real prospect; relatively high draft pick and promising performance against older competition. He probably would slot in somewhere between 15 and 25 in our prospects list. I don’t expect to get anyone like that.
And you are probably right, I’m a Bellinger fan by way of googling him after pulling his autograph in a pack of cards, and when the trade was announced it finally gave me a reason to write about him, albeit just a quick profile. Perhaps if Bert pitches dandy the rest of the way then we could see someone of or close to Bellinger’s caliber coming back.