DET
Gilberto Celestino, OF
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Scouting report
I was surprised last year when Kiley McDaniel and I sourced Celestino's exit velos and learned the ball leaves his bat at 90 mph on average, which is above the big league average. I don't think that means Celestino is going to hit for power, or even that he has more raw than we thought, just that he hits the ball hard with consistency, a pervasive trait in this system. At a compact 6-foot or so, he's unlikely to grow into much more thump even though he's still just about 22 years old. Instead, Celestino is a potential everyday player because of his bat-to-ball skills and his center field defense. Celestino was more of an instincts/feel defender as an amateur, but he's sped up as he's grown into his modest frame and projects as a plus glove now. His athleticism is evident not only on defense, but in the batter's box, too, where Celestino stays well balanced during a long, slow leg kick. The lack of power projection caps his ceiling, but I like the defense and bat enough to consider Celestino a potential low-end regular, and a low-variance sort of prospect. He began the 2020 LIDOM season with Gigantes del Ciabo but only played regularly for the first week of the season or so before Jose Siri claimed everyday reps in center field. (Alternate site, LIDOM)