2023 Cleveland Guardians Scouting Report: #47 INF Milan Tolentino
2023 Cleveland Guardians Scouting Report: #47 INF Milan Tolentino
Patience or passivity? That's just one question the young infielder must answer in 2023.
Build & Background
Drafted in the Fourth Round of the 2020 MLB Draft, Tolentino received an $800,000 signing bonus to forego his commitment to UCLA. He was a high-level performer with Team USA and flashed strength gains as a high school senior (Rancho Santa Margarita HS, CA). The left-handed-hitting infielder displays a medium athletic frame. He performed well in Low-A Lynchburg to start the 2022 campaign earning a mid-season call-up to High-A Lake County.
What Tolentino does well
The defensive stalwart shows the versatility to handle either position on the left side of the infield. He displays the range to his left and right and will run down pop flies around the infield and into the grass. The California native utilizes his speed on the bases and to chase down balls defensively. Tolentino entered the minors with high expectations defensively and he has lived up to that to this point. Strike zone awareness and high walk totals should allow him to buoy his batting lines.
Where Tolentino needs to improve
Is it patience or passivity at the plate? Maybe it's both but continuing to refine his strike zone awareness/aggressiveness will be beneficial long-term. In other words, selective aggression and appropriate passivity will reduce the punch outs. One continued “knock” on him is the need to add strength. That could be said of a number of the Guardians prospects; maybe that's more to do with their “type” or their model, but Tolentino would benefit from strength gains. He is a gap hitter with natural loft and an uppercut stroke to his swing, adding strength would allow him to hit the gaps and drive the ball through the infield.
Intangibles
High baseball IQ? Check. Positional flexibility? Check. Bloodlines? Check? On base skills? Check. Young for his level? Check. Tolentino is one of numerous (to the point of hilarity) middle infield prospects with similar attributes. He is a heads-up player that takes extra bases when he sees opportunities combined with on-base skills and quality defense it is a pretty safe floor. Tolentino was 2.3 years younger than the league average at Lake County last season and overall had 458 at-balls against older/more advanced competition. His ability to hold his own and adjust appear indicative of coming improvements.
Future
Don't fall behind in this organization that is littered with middle infielders could be the moniker. The high floor (mentioned above) seems odd to say about a player entering his age 21 season, but numerous attributes should keep Tolentino relevant in Guardians prospect conversations. His relative youth and solid (not great) performances against older/more advanced competition should lead to future success.
Role: 40 – utility infielder with speed, and quality defense.