Ricardo
Navarro

Background: The “surprise player” of the Future Games and the surprise prospect of the last 7 months in the Beehive State, has to be NAVARRO! A native and move in from Sonora, MX, Navarro wanted to come to the U.S., to play college baseball and was found by a professional hunting guide (Outfitter) and ex-HS coach who had contacts in Mexico through his hunts and “Rica” wanted to move to Utah to play baseball and have that chance, so he lives with family in Central Utah. He started playing for his HS, which by the way is at the 1A level and plays in the fall, due to the size of the small rural towns in the scenic byway of Tropic, Utah, at the base of Bryce Canyon National Park. Needless to say the competition is not even JV competition in most of the state, but it’s on the travel ball summer circuit and through Prep Baseball, that Navarro has been discovered and groomed for the next level. A Preseason All-State (Feb) and Top Prospect Games (July) attendee, Navarro was able to show his tools and talents to the in-state coaches and get his name out there within the state, and get it out there he has…but it was the invitation and to represent Team Utah at the Future Games that really got the word out there on the Uber talented SS!

Summary: A 5-7 165 fire hydrant of pound for pound strength, Rica has all the tools on both sides of the ball to excel at the next level and is physically strong for his size! With thick strong thighs and quick wrists and strong forearms, Navarro can juice the ball to the pull side and shoot LD’s to the back side of the field with backspin carry. There is loft in a BP setting and can drive it high and far to the pull side and is among the leaders in exit velocity and max distance at both invite state events he’s attended this year. In game settings, the swing has less uphill and with a high hand set, and a moderate knee lift, the body gets moving towards the baseball (will need to be toned down) and gets his entire backside going to and through the baseball with fast hands and a quick bat to shoot the ball on a line, while manipulating the barrel. Is able to get on top of high 80’s low 90’s FB’s and hit the high pitch with juice and spoil as well, while dropping the head on the low FB and shooting LD’s through the left side of the INF.

On the defensive side of the ball, Navarro made all the routine plays with a projectable plus arm across the INF that sits 86-88 now with online frozen rope carry across the diamond. Two plays stood out at the Future Games that caught the dugout and crowd/coaches attention. The first one was a softly hit ground ball up the middle and to the left side of the bag, that he gloved flipped to the 2B’man while continuing his momentum towards CF for the force out. The second was a slow roller coming in and to his right and he back handed the ball, and transferred to his throwing hand underneath and fired an off balance throw to 1B, with the runner just beating the throw. The run times of 7.34/60 are sneaky in that he takes proper tight turns around the bases and shows instincts to sniff extra base hits and gets out of the box, while being a below raw runner. The type that to the naked eye, you would believe he’s a better raw runner than the laser or watch indicates. As the game speeds up, he may have to move to 2B and can handle 3B at the mid-major D1 level with the pull side juice taking a bigger leap with his man strength in the coming years. But profiles nicely as an offensive type 2B with the defense bumping to plus across the bag at the keystone. Has generated quite the interest with offers promised and mentioned since August 1st with one back to back regional team in love with his tools and skill set…It will be fun to see where the next two years takes this young man, who is bilingual and speaks good English and has adapted nicely to his surroundings in scenic Central Utah. An engaging, energetic personality that asks questions in the dugout with the coaches and his teammates! He can play for me everyday and twice on Sunday!

The surprise player of the event! Navarro who hails from Sanora, MX, moved to of all places, Tropic, UT. Ricardo plays HS baseball at the 1A fall level, but the tools are evident. Playing for CBA Summit in the summer will be a recruiters arena to scout and evaluate this young man to gauge his skill level vs better pitching. An early invite to this summer's Future Games in GA, this will be where coaches will need to bear down on this kid. A strong hitting base, with a lean into his back side, while featuring a knee kick similar to Josh Donaldson’s. Navarro loads the barrel with a deeper turn of the tip, and then lands and really uses his lower ½ to turn from a torqued position and fires the hands inside and through the baseball with good extension out front, into a high one hand finish. The ball jumps from his compact 5-7 180 Lb frame with loft and carry. Left the park on numerous occasions with high deep shots over the 40 foot net in LF. Defensively he has the Hispanic flash and glove actions that catch your eye, while showing a strong accurate on line arm across the diamond. Navarro was so impressive that on first look, we jumped him into the preseason Top 10 prospects at #2!