Freddy Zamora was considered one of the top college shortstop prospects in the country going into the 2020 season.  Zamora’s season was cut short when he tore his ACL in early spring during practice.  Zamora attends the University of Miami.

Zamora was expected to hit third for the highly-ranked Canes.  With three starting pitchers who should hear their name called early in the MLB Draft, one of the top 2021 players starting behind the plate, and an offense that was supposed to be lava hot, the Canes were poised to make a big run this spring in the College World Series.  

Zamora is in the discussion for the top defender in the 2020 Draft Class.  Zamora has a strong throwing arm that can make every throw at every angle needed to play short in professional baseball.  He has really good hands and can make all the plays needed with his glove.  Zamora also has really good range.  One knock on Zamora was that he tended to get lazy on the routines.  We don’t know how that has changed simply because we didn’t get any in game data during the 2020 season.  

In his first two seasons at Miami, Zamora was a .300/.391/.429 hitter.  He hit 6 home runs as a sophomore.  Zamora has reached base on a free pass 65 times compared to 45 strikeouts in his college career.  Once Zamora gets on base, he isn’t helpless or stranded there.  Zamora has stolen 33 bases in his two seasons as well making him a threat to run.  

Zamora is not without his red flags.  To start the 2020 season Zamora was going to serve a suspension levied by the team for breaking an undisclosed team rule.  Zamora has suffered three different injuries that have caused him to miss time in three different seasons.  His freshman year, Zamora made every start for the Canes during the season but he had broken his arm in the fall and missed time.  His sophomore year, Zamora missed time with a sore left arm that affected his swing.  And of course, this spring he tore his ACL and missed all of the spring.  No one is calling Zamora injury plagued or a troubled youth, but it is in the back of the minds of those people making those decisions on draft picks.  

A team that drafts Zamora is drafting his potential to be a plus defender that can hit a little at a premium position.  Zamora makes good contact, finds a way on base, and can make all the plays required of a top of the line major league shortstop.  

Aside from the red flags, he seems to be the kind of shortstop the Royals like.  He could be a solid pick at 41.  It is hard to imagine Zamora being there at 76 but if he is, he should be a really good value.

Make sure you check out the other names we’ve looked at in the 2020 MLB Draft Profile library!

Image taken from Inside the U.  No photo credit was issued.