Pirate Draft Options at SS: Manny Machado
Manny Machado was the SS on the USA Baseball Under 18 National Team. Machado could have some questions defensively as reports document, but his bat is an exclamation mark. He is a tall shortstop at 6′2″ and that appears very evident in the video below. However, reports say he is highly athletic. The defensive questions appear technique oriented from what I found as I’ve read several articles about his sparkling defensive play. He shows good footwork and has a plus arm.
Machado consistently hits in big games as was evident with his .435/.536/.739 during six games of pool play at the 18U Tourney. His stats for the undeafeted Team USA were gaudy as he had eleven hits, nine RBI and ten runs scored in eight games. He did have three errors and five strikeouts.
He has verbally committed to Florida International. He will be a senior at Miami Brito HS. Jonathan Mayo has Machado as the first SS and number nine overall on his draft board.
