South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 58: Darío Borrero
The most intriguing bat in Arizona will need to add a power stroke
Darío Borrero
First Baseman
6´4´´
190 pounds
Age: 19
2022 White Sox Top Prospect Ranking 76
2022 High Level Arizona Complex League (Rookie)
Age relative to high level -1.7 years
SSS rank among all first basemen in the system 3
Overall 2022 stats 46 games ⚾️ 0 HR ⚾️ 13 RBI ⚾️ .313/.349/.364 ⚾️ 7 BB ⚾️ 29 K
At his age (well, any age, really), Dario Borrero is a large individual.
When the Venezuela native was signed by Marco Paddy with a $350,000 bonus, he had this to say: “He’s going to have a lot of power. The intriguing thing about him is he can hit line-to-line. He handles pitchers, goes the other way when he has to, reads the breaking ball very well. He’s a very impressive kid. You normally don’t see Venezuelan players that tall with that kind of swing, being left-handed.”
In five DSL games in 2021 totaling 16 at-bats, Borrero slashed an impressive .357/.438/.429 with a double, two stolen bases, a walk and two strikeouts. Unfortunately, he missed the season from July 20 on due to injury.
Of the guys who lasted the entire year in the ACL in 2022, Borrero is probably the most intriguing. He showed pretty good bat-to-ball skills again this year, with a 16.6% K-rate and a .313 batting average. However, he does not walk much (4%) and showed little power, with no homers and a .060 ISO. The improvements needed are obvious, but somebody as big as he is should probably find some more power, and hopefully that comes.
Borrero’s Baseball Cube player ratings, from best to worst
Hitting 92
Contact 84
Durability 47
Speed 24
RBIs 17
Power 13
XBH 11
Runs 2
Team Winning Percentage .441
As you can see, Borrero’s results in just 51 career pro games profile to that of a flat-footed, punch-and-judy contact shortstop. Trust that as this very young player fills out a bit (he just turned 19 years old on November 13), that power profile will follow.
Another intriguing note from Arizona season is that Borrero, on a very crowded ACL roster, saw six full games in right field. He didn’t get much action, but that assignment indicates he may have the footwork and arm to be a passable defensive outfielder and potentially a strong first baseman.
2023 South Side Sox Top 102 White Sox Prospects
58. Darío Borrero, 1B
59. Michael Turner, C
60. Tyler Osik, 1B
61. Haylen Green, LHRP
62. Mark McLaughlin, RHRP
63. Terrell Tatum, LF
64. Shawn Goosenberg, 2B
65. Randel Mondesí, LF
66. Emerson Talavera, RHRP
67. Declan Cronin, RHRP
68. Fraser Ellard, LHRP
69. Colby Smelley, C
70. Ethan Hammerberg, RHRP
71. Lincoln Henzman, RHRP
72. Vince Vannelle, RHRP
73. Brooks Baldwin, 3B-2B
74. James Beard, CF
75. Gabriel Rodríguez, RHSP
76. Ronny Hernandez, C
77. Troy Claunch, C
78. Brooks Gosswein, LHSP
79. Tim Elko, 1B
80. Yoelvín Silven, RHRP
81. Trey Jeans, LHRP
82. Jerry Burke, RHSP
83. Carlos Jiménez, 1B
84. Mason Adams, RHSP
85. Frankeli Arias, LHSP
86. Ernesto Jaquez, RHSP
87. Laz Rivera, 3B
88. Xavier Fernández, C
89. Álvaro Agüero, CF
90. Ben Norman, RF
91. Erick Bello, RHRP
92. Adisyn Coffey, RHRP
93. Arnold Prado, RF
94. Alsander Womack, 2B
95. Johan Domínguez, RHSP
96. Evan Skoug, C
97. Noah Owen, RHSP
98. Javier Mora, 2B
99. Will Kincanon, RHRP
100. Yohemy Nolasco, RHSP
101. Billy Seidl, RHRP
102. José Rodulfo, RHRP