Eugenio Suarez

Suarez's 2020 season began inauspiciously in January, with an incident in a swimming pool that ultimately required surgery to repair. The delayed start to the season worked to his benefit, as he made it to Opening Day and only missed three games, though he did begin the season 0-for-13. But even with the three extra months off, Suarez wasn't quite himself in 2020, sinking to a .202 BA over 231 plate appearances. Some correction from the previous two seasons was likely foretold by his 29.0 K%, but this might have been an overcorrection. His power remained intact (.268 ISO), and he was extraordinarily unlucky with balls in play, with a .214 BABIP. No doubt some of that is attributable to his below average sprint speed (25.9 ft/s), which alas is unlikely to improve. Suarez will likely continue to be a source of power, though his days of hitting .270+ are likely behind him.

Suarez turned a good power season into an epic one with a strong finishing kick, hitting 20 homers while batting over .300 with a 12% walk rate over the final two months of 2019. He fell just short of the NL homer title with 49, but it was nonetheless a career year. The only drag on his value is his lack of speed, and the lack of production from his teammates -- those 49 homers translated into 103 RBI, one less than the previous year when he hit 34 home runs. His counting stats should improve in 2020 with the addition of Mike Moustakas, who will play second base to allow Suarez to remain at third. Suarez hit for similar power at home and on the road, though he hit for a far better average at Great American Ball Park. One concern is his strikeout rate spiked to 28.5%, putting a strain on his batting average.

As was the case with teammate Scooter Gennett, we asked whether Suarez could build off a 2017 season where he improved across the board. Like Gennett, Suarez not only answered in the affirmative, but he improved in most aspects at the plate, tallying career highs in HR, AVG, SLG and ISO. His 48.6% hard-hit rate ranked third in MLB and his 8.4% soft-hit rate was the bottom mark among qualified hitters. This should help negate concerns over his HR/FB jumping from 17.9% to 23.4%. The seven-year, $66 million contract extension he got from the Reds before the 2018 season seems like a bargain now. His 11 steals in 2016 were a complete outlier, and a bad back that hampered him in the second half (.245/.322/.463) bears watching. Even so, he has logged over 600 PA in three straight seasons. This is a middle-of-the-order hitter in an improving lineup who is right in the middle of his prime -- he is entering his age-27/28 season.

Suarez is yet another lineup regular for the Reds picked up on the cheap -- Adam Duvall, Scott Schebler and Scooter Gennett all fit that mold. If only the club had been as successful in acquiring starting pitching, though admittedly that's a higher bar to clear. In his third season with the Reds, Suarez took another step forward at the plate, demonstrating real skills growth. His isolated power increased from .163 to .201, his walk rate jumped from 8.1 percent to 13.3 percent and he even took a big leap forward against right-handed pitching, raising his OPS against them from .683 to .806. Is there another jump coming? Most likely not, but at age 26, there's plenty of potential to sustain this level of production for a number of seasons. One potential threat looms on the horizon -- the organization's top hitting prospect, Nick Senzel. But it's possible that Suarez could move to shortstop in a pinch and put Jose Peraza's lineup spot in jeopardy instead.

Suarez made the move from shortstop to third base after Todd Frazier was dealt to the White Sox. He struggled to adjust in the field for much of the year, committing the second-most errors among all players in 2016 -- only Jonathan Villar had more. The 25-year-old Suarez continued to provide decent power numbers for a shortstop-eligible player, but he is slated to be eligible only a third baseman in 2017 and that limits his mixed-league appeal. His inability to make consistent contact is problematic; Suarez struck out in an alarming 24.7 percent of his plate appearances. Right now he's the starter at third for Cincinnati and he probably won't face much competition in 2017, as the Reds are in rebuilding mode, but Suarez could be replaced by top prospect Nick Senzel in 2018.

Suarez was one of the few bright spots in the Reds' miserable 2015 season, heisted from the Tigers in the Alfredo Simon deal. He stepped up after Zack Cozart's ugly knee injury and held his own at shortstop, despite having a bumpy defensive start. Suarez is not as sure-handed as Cozart but might have a little bit more range. The Reds will probably find a way to play both Suarez and Cozart in 2016, possibly moving Suarez to third base or left field following the Todd Frazier trade. In a full season, Suarez has the potential to produce a 20-homer season while potentially earning multi-position eligibility.

With Jose Iglesias out for the season, Suarez took on a much bigger role than expected for the Tigers in 2014. Suarez was called up to Detroit after making just 12 appearances with Triple-A Toledo. After reaching Detroit, Suarez was used in a platoon with Andrew Romine at shortstop. His strikeout rate (24.2 percent) hinted at the missed development time at the upper levels of the minors, but Suarez did flash the ability to work the count and draw his fair share of walks (7.9%). Suarez never flashed significant power or speed during his time in the minors, but he has shown the ability to reach double-digits in both home run and steals. While he was considered a solid defensive prospect in the minors, Suarez’s defense was erratic for much of his rookie campaign, which caused him to lose time to the more defensively inclined Romine down the stretch last season. Traded to the Reds in December as part of the Alfredo Simon deal, Suarez will likely open the year in a utility role but could eventually work into the starting job at short if Zack Cozart doesn't produce.

Suarez has been quietly working his way up the Tigers' prospect rankings over the past couple seasons, and his upward trend continued in 2013, as he graduated from the A-ball levels to see his first taste of action at Double-A Erie. In 442 at-bats with the club, Suarez hit .253/.332/.387 with nine homers, 45 RBI and 53 runs. His batting average dipped from the .311 mark he posted with High-A Lakeland earlier in the season, but Suarez displayed a boost in power by clearing the fence nine times at Erie. While not considered a burner, Suarez has shown the ability to steal bases at the minor league level, but he will have to improve on the 44 percent success rate from last year to continue seeing a green light. He picked up his fair share of strikeouts (123) last season, but he also displayed the ability to draw a walk (60). Most scouts are sold on Suarez’s ability to be a plus defender in the majors, but a lack of speed and range could eventually lead to a transition from shortstop to second base. The 22-year-old Suarez is Detroit’s most complete minor-league option at the position and ranks as a top-10 overall prospect for the team. That said, with Jose Iglesias now projected to be the Tigers’ long-term option at Suarez's position, the team is in no rush to bring him up from the minors. A strong showing at Double- and Triple-A in 2014 could put Suarez on the Tigers’ radar for 2015, though, likely for a utility role.

Suarez is an international signee who splashed onto the prospect scene in 2012. The 21-year-old shortstop hit .288/.380/.409 with 45 extra-base hits and 21 steals in 511 at-bats for Low-A West Michigan last season. He’s already considered a plus defender, with solid instincts and a strong arm. The biggest question mark with Suarez looms with his ability to swing a productive bat at the higher levels of the minors and eventually the majors. At six-feet and 180 pounds, Suarez isn’t the biggest player and his other tools are not the kind that make scouts salivate, but his production at the plate in his age-20 season is hard to argue. He’s still a couple years away from big league consideration and needs to prove himself at higher levels, but Suarez is starting to look like a name to monitor for keeper leagues that track minor league players.