Rymer Liriano Impresses In Futures Game Batting Practice

For those that were tuned into the overlapping Padres game or just had other Sunday afternoon plans, you missed Padres prospect OF Rymer Liriano at the Futures Game. Well, sort of. He didn't start, he played the field as a substitute and came up to bat just once. When he came up it was an uneventful fly out to CF, albeit off of a pitcher that experts were saying looked tough to hit on the day.

Where we really all missed Liriano apparently was at batting practice. Now that sounds kind of lame, and to a certain extent it is, but remember that many of the prospect exports at these games don't get to see a player very often and they'll get to see a player's swing mechanics and power way more in batting practice than the game. Some of them may have already seen the player a while back, but with coaching things change and opinions adjust. To get an idea, here's what ESPN's Keith Law had to say (ESPN Insider subscription required).

Liriano, a right-handed hitter, showed huge power out to left and left-center; he's so strong that he can get out on his front side and still pull a ball out, but his best swings come when he stays back and can take advantage of his hip rotation to generate more force. He has built like a running back and is pretty athletic for his size, but if he becomes any kind of star it'll be about his power.

Liriano was recently ranked #52 among baseball prospects in Minorleagueball.com's midseason review. That was good enough for #3 on the Padres behind Yasmani Grandal and Jedd Gyorko. He was promoted from Single A Lake Elsinore to AA San Antonio for the second half of the season.