FanNation: He has the instincts to play center field for Diamondbacks.

 

Rivera is among the select few outfield prospects in the D-backs system who is anticipated to play centre field for the duration of his career.

This piece is a part of a series that ranks the top 30 prospects the Diamondbacks have entering the 2024 campaign. Michael McDermott collaborates with the Inside the Diamondbacks staff to determine these rankings.

summary

Belfi Rivera is considered one of the best prospects from the D-backs 2024 International Signing Class, much like Adriel Radney. Rivera’s $1.8 million signing further demonstrated the team’s greater commitment to baseball in Latin America.

With a projectable body and a swing that is best described as a work in progress, Rivera is very much a project prospect who will require a lot of development time in the system. Even so, he remains one of the organization’s best prospects due to his raw tools, projectability, and chance of sticking at a premium defensive position.

Rank: 17

Age: 17

Height/Weight: 6’1″ 160 lbs.

Bats/Throws: Left/Right

Tools: Hit 45, Power 50, Run 50, Defense 55, Arm 50, Overall 45

ETA: 2030

2024 Expectations

Like every prospect in the signing class of 2024, Rivera will start his career in the Dominican Republic at the D-backs school. In June, he will then begin participating in professional games in the Dominican Summer League. That will be his first real test in the league because most of the players are still in their teens and the level is often associated with recklessly young pitchers and subpar defence. Between the two D-backs teams in the DSL, he will play for the most of 2024, if not the entire year.

Projection

Compared to some of the other outfielders in the team, Rivera doesn’t necessarily have a high ceiling, but if the bat develops, he might be a reliable centre field projection. Although there isn’t extra speed, the instincts are strong enough to make up for it.

Though he fits the organization’s mould of little guys with underlying pop, his swing will require a lot of fine tuning as he gets older and fills out physically. His left-handed bat is more useful on the major side of a platoon, thus he’s likely to end up as a fourth outfielder who can play all three outfield spots.