Made brings elite defense, but needs to develop bat to make trade a win for Nats

PROSPECT REVIEW: KEVIN MADE

Age on opening day 2024: 21

How acquired: Traded with DJ Herz from Cubs for Jeimer Candelario and cash in July 2023; originally signed as international free agent by Cubs from Dominican Republic, July 2019

Ranking: No. 15 per MLB Pipeline, NR per Baseball America

MLB ETA: 2025
* Projected by MLB Pipeline

Signing bonus: $1.5 million

2023 levels: High-A South Bend (Cubs) and High-A Wilmington

2023 stats: 92 G, 383 PA, 335 AB, 44 R, 73 H, 21 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 30 RBIs, 4 SB, 4 CS, 39 BB, 72 SO, .218 AVG, .307 OBP, .319 SLG, .627 OPS

Quotable: “Made is a guy that's got great tools defensively. He's very slick at shortstop, he's got a great throwing arm, he's got good tools. And the bat's coming. We see this guy making improvements. He's made improvements over the final part of the season this year before he was traded. And our scouts really like the upside there. You can never have enough good, talented tools and players that play in the middle of the field. We felt that we got two more to add to our system.” – Mike Rizzo after trade deadline

2023 analysis: The Nationals, who were thought to be big sellers, made only one move at this year’s trade deadline, sending Candelario and cash to the Cubs for two prospects.

The position player of the two was Made, a young shortstop from the Dominican Republic still getting acclimated to playing professional baseball in the states.

Made came to the Nationals organization as a highly touted defensive shortstop with a still-developing bat. He had only committed 11 errors over 733 innings at short between Single-A Myrtle Beach and High-A South Bend in the Cubs system in 2022. But while he hit .266 with an .805 OPS, 14 doubles, nine home runs and 30 RBIs in Single-A, he only hit .162 with a .513 OPS, eight extra-base hits and 14 RBIs in his first taste of High-A.

This year, he played 70 games with South Bend to start the season before entering Washington’s system in August. He did a little better, hitting .241 with a .683 OPS, 17 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 35 RBIs. But similar struggles hit him once he joined Wilmington, hitting just .137 with a .424 OPS, four doubles and five RBIs in 22 games.

His defense hardly wavered, though, making all of his appearances at shortstop over 182 ⅔ innings with a .939 fielding percentage and five errors with the Blue Rocks.

2024 outlook: The Nationals are really high on Made’s defensive prowess. As Rizzo said, you can never have too much depth up the middle of the field.

Made is said to be smooth in the field with strong instincts at shortstop, where he can cover ground to both sides and has a well-above-average arm (already scouted as a 65 on a 20-80 scale). His 5-foot-9, 160-pound athletic frame could also put him in a versatile role where he could play almost anywhere on the field.

Where he needs to improve, obviously, is his offensive production. The Nats are confident his bat can develop into at least average, if not slightly above average, results and that his struggles with Wilmington were more a result of him having to get acclimated to a new organization. He has a quick right-handed swing, advanced bat-to-ball skills and a keen eye in the strike zone. His walk rates have increased every year he’s been in the minors, from two percent in 2021 to over 10 percent this year.

Scouting reports also suggest he has projectable strength with the ability to turn on pitches, meaning he could possibly hit 15-20 homers a season once his bat fully develops.

Unfortunately, Made was among the group of prospects who missed out on his first professional campaign due to the canceled 2020 pandemic season. So when he finally made his debut in 2021, the Cubs put him straight at Single-A and quickly promoted him to High-A the following year.

But that early exposure to tougher competition at a young age may help Made in the long run. If he keeps his elite defense and the Nats can develop his bat along the way, he provides excellent depth at a premium position, making the Candelario deal a win for the Nationals.

Made is eligible for this year’s Rule 5 draft, so the Nationals would have to add him to the 40-man roster to protect him.