So I looked up his stats last season, looking for a couple positive things to say. Here’s what I came up with.

His Strikeout Rate was only 21% last season, which isn’t great, but it’s better than Austin, Mier, and Nash (three other guys at Lexington that can be called prospects). And aside from Santana (who only got 76 plate appearances), DeShields was the youngest guy on the team, at 18 years old.

His Walk Rate was a great 9.6%, which was bested by only two guys on the team with more than 300 Plate Appearances (Nash and Burnett). Considering Burnett is an old-for-the-league 22 with an additional year of minor league experience, and that Nash has been in the minors for three years compared to DeShield’s one, I think that’s pretty positive.

Low K rate and High Walk rate indicate that DeShields’ problem may be contact rate (which I don’t have stats for). So his approach appears to be sound, he has not grown his big-boy muscles yet, and his contact rate will likely improve.

I think there’s a lot to like here, but he’s definitely a long way away from the major leagues. If he makes it, it will probably be about the time that Altuve starts getting expensive, so he looks like the natural successor to me.