Alex Cintron
A year after the Diamondbacks took Junior Spivey in the 36th round of the MLB draft, the D-Backs would take Alex Cintron in the same round in 1997. Cintron would become one of the D-Backs’ best prospects, and after a few brief looks in the big leagues in ‘01 and ‘02, he would get an extended shot at playing time in 2003.
Cintron definitely capitalized on his first long look in the big leagues, as he slashed .308/.359/.489 through 487 plate appearances. Cintron rarely walked with a BB% of just 6%. However, he rarely struck out as well, with a K% clocking in at 6.8%. Cintron hit for some decent pop, going yard 13 times with a .172 isolated slugging percentage. While he hit well, Cintron’s defense at shortstop was lackluster, with -3 DRS and and a -16.8 UZR/150 remark.
After 2003, however, Cintron never posted a wRC+ above 80 again. His final 1633 plate appearances, which spanned from 2004 through 2009, saw him bat just .265/.299/.370 with a .291 wOBA and 67 wRC+. He appeared in contests with the Chicago White Sox (‘06-’07), the Baltimore Orioles (‘08), and Nationals (‘09) before bouncing around foreign and leagues for the next handful of years until he retired in 2012. Since 2018, he has served as a coach for the Houston Astros.