2008 Prospects in Review
by Grant on Dec 1, 2009 2:18 PM PST
138 comments
Quick thoughts after the jump....
- Links to all of the lists: Baseball America; John Sickels; Baseball Prospectus; SF Dugout; the McC community list; my list
- I just don't trust low-A pitchers compared to supposedly fast-rising position players, so my first slot looks good now, but it's not like Bumgarner did anything to prove he wasn't worthy. Posey was much better than I expected, so I can't claim that I was right. I just got lucky.
- I can't believe how many of the lists had Ishikawa. I felt silly for putting him at #12.
- Even though a lot of the lists have the same players, you can tell a lot about the different philosophies by some of the exclusions/inclusions. Obviously, Kevin Goldstein values tools and projection a lot more than SF Dugout, who value performance more than a vague scouting consensus, and the middle road is taken by Sickels and the community list. Not taking sides, just pointing it out.
- Sickels often rates relievers pretty far up his lists, and I remember Joaquin seemed like an unusual pick at the time, but it makes him look pretty good now. Not that Joaquin should be a top-10 prospect this year, but he's definitely someone that the organization is high on.
- I didn't think of Romo as a prospect, and neither did the community list. I thought of him as a fully formed and mustachioed bullpen force. I'd like to think that I would have rated him in the top ten.
- Henry Sosa still baffles me. I can't tell if I'm underrating him now, or if I overrated him last year.
- The first one to tell me that Tim Alderson and Scott Barnes were traded gets banned. Read the title again, you horrible person.
- It's debatable just how much trade value Alderson and Barnes would have now after their late-season struggles, but it's still rough to have them out of the system. With Villalona unlikely to come back any time soon, that's three prospects out of Baseball America's top ten who aren't going to contribute in any fashion.
- I really thought Gillaspie was going to be in Fresno by the end of the season. Whoops.
- I'm still a Noonanite. You should be too, at least until he's traded to Texas for Jermaine Dye in June.
Open Hindsight 'n' Prospects Thread. There should be even a greater disparity between all of the lists this year.
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I’m going to uninite instead.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 1, 2009 2:43 PM PST up reply actions
I'm a dork
God this really confused me until I realized the huge headline said 2008
Nobody likes money
If I recall correctly, their criteria is a bit different from the usual – their rankings are based on actual minor league performance rather than shiny prospect status. Or something like that.
"Why not trade Bumgarner for some banger stud?" - sfgiants.com commenter or online porn ad? You be the judge!
Adopted Giant: the probably soon to be ditched but still awesome Fred Lewis
Well, it’s too bad that there’s no one around from the site to fill us in. We’ll just have to wonder.
I’ve never even heard of the site until today. It’s not mentioned very often around here.
I know you nerds know NOTHING about the real game of baseball, or any other athletic endeavor requiring teamwork under physical stress.
Mr. F! | comics | art | New Nattowear | Unofficial McImage Directory
What the hell is SFDugout.com?
Tommy Joseph is the Dingerzball Wizard
by SoFa King Mike on Dec 1, 2009 2:50 PM PST up reply actions
What’s a website?
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 1, 2009 2:51 PM PST up reply actions
An intersection in the series of tubes, I think.
"Why not trade Bumgarner for some banger stud?" - sfgiants.com commenter or online porn ad? You be the judge!
Adopted Giant: the probably soon to be ditched but still awesome Fred Lewis
Oh.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 1, 2009 2:56 PM PST up reply actions
More like a turnout from one of the tubes so faster tubers can go by.
"The knowledge of the game is inversely proportional to the price of the seat." ---Bill Veeck. •Now you can follow SFDugout.com on Twitter and Facebook!•
by BruteSentiment on Dec 1, 2009 3:11 PM PST up reply actions
That makes a lot more sense.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 1, 2009 3:25 PM PST up reply actions
We combine both...
We try to mix both performance and projection evenly. A lot of very toolsy players never deliver, and we focus on ones who put their tools together on the field. I think a different look ends up holding up well in comparison.
Cowart was someone that we had projected that could come up and work well in relief, with his funky sidearm motion. Throwing the soft-tossing, deceptive sidearmer in after, say, Lincecum, would act as a reliever changeup, and could have been very effective for an inning.
And then the Giants released him before the season began, reportedly due to that he wanted to stay a starter, and the Giants were thinking reliever, so he could go elsewhere.
"The knowledge of the game is inversely proportional to the price of the seat." ---Bill Veeck. •Now you can follow SFDugout.com on Twitter and Facebook!•
by BruteSentiment on Dec 1, 2009 3:10 PM PST up reply actions
It looks like Cowart went with the Wichita Wingnuts of the American Association Independent League. According to Baseball Reference, Dustan Mohr was on the team too.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=41667
We're all basically Pedro Feliz.
Personally..
I like the SF Dugout list. Especially the #9 pick :-)
Matt Downs . The Kevin Frandsen of 2010 !
Grant’s list is holding up rather well.
Nobody likes money
by fwoty oz on Dec 1, 2009 2:31 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
Desirous of Matt Holliday and Dan Uggla since 2009.
by GiantPain on Dec 1, 2009 3:25 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Gillaspie
I was a believer. Now I’m not so sure.
Adopted brother of Jason Jarvis. To pass the time during the offseason I decided to try my hand at blogging about photography and music.
“I used to think that correlation implied causation. Then I took a statistics class, and now I’m not so sure.”
“I guess the class helped then.”
“Yeah, maybe…”
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 1, 2009 2:44 PM PST up reply actions
I probably should have just embedded the image, now that I think about it.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 1, 2009 2:44 PM PST up reply actions
One of my medium-favorite XKCD jokes, and here it is lost in a sea of text.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 1, 2009 4:04 PM PST up reply actions
I’ve never liked the use of the word “implied” there. Correlation IMPLIES causation, but it doesn’t NECESSITATE causation. Big fat difference.
I once took a class in semantics.
Actually, it was more of a course.
by FluLikeSymptoms on Dec 1, 2009 6:47 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Of course it was.
Utter frustration and futility.
by Johnny Disaster on Dec 1, 2009 6:55 PM PST up reply actions
Your boss carries around llama poo?
Tommy Joseph is the Dingerzball Wizard
by SoFa King Mike on Dec 1, 2009 2:41 PM PST up reply actions
This guy sounds cooler and cooler every day.
I know you nerds know NOTHING about the real game of baseball, or any other athletic endeavor requiring teamwork under physical stress.
Mr. F! | comics | art | New Nattowear | Unofficial McImage Directory
who's calling feces?
Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, deserved all-star and hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs
Grant's boss
Utter frustration and futility.
by Johnny Disaster on Dec 1, 2009 6:46 PM PST up reply actions
All those sites suck. What does sfgiantstoday.com think?
The major concern for the Giants and their fans remains their inaccurately implosive natural pitching staff.
Yeah, baby.
WHY IS BOCOCK?!
by Lars The Wanderer on Dec 1, 2009 2:54 PM PST reply actions
The closest thing I could find to a list on there
1) massive numbers of A level prospects; 2) a few AA and AAA can’t miss prospects with strong ceilings; 3) some ninth – sixth year major leaguers that seem ready to revolt their promise? 47 sacrifice bunt in 62. The lodestar are not inspired. 0 IP. Right now, from the looks of things, the Giants are graphically into the rebuilding phase. AA: Connecticut lost.
"Why not trade Bumgarner for some banger stud?" - sfgiants.com commenter or online porn ad? You be the judge!
Adopted Giant: the probably soon to be ditched but still awesome Fred Lewis
LODESTAR!
I know you nerds know NOTHING about the real game of baseball, or any other athletic endeavor requiring teamwork under physical stress.
Mr. F! | comics | art | New Nattowear | Unofficial McImage Directory
MAY THE SCHWARTZ BE WITH YOU
"All I know is right now, you comeback and do you dwell on that? I think you're man enough to take it, you're man enough to chew on it, to spit it out and you learn from it. ... I think winners let it go. I think losers dwell on it and talk about it all week and that screws you up for the next opportunity going forward." - Mike Singletary after the 49ers loss to the Vikings
LOL you said 'lodestar'
Tommy Joseph is the Dingerzball Wizard
by SoFa King Mike on Dec 1, 2009 2:58 PM PST up reply actions
All I have to say is…man I hope one of Noonan or Gillaspie turn it around.
Also, Isn’t everyone so enthused Gillaspie was called up in 2008 (Draft deal or no draft deal)?
Proud adoptive daddy for the Big Unit, who is currently teaching Madison Bumgarner the art of being intimidating.
He got called up because it was part of his signing deal
Tommy Joseph is the Dingerzball Wizard
by SoFa King Mike on Dec 1, 2009 3:00 PM PST up reply actions
I know, I was just mentioning how much that move sucks now
Proud adoptive daddy for the Big Unit, who is currently teaching Madison Bumgarner the art of being intimidating.
by Speedforthewin on Dec 1, 2009 3:02 PM PST up reply actions
Come next April he’ll have burned two of his three options thanks to that stunt.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
Yup
It has the potential to really hurt him, as he’ll have to be rushed even if he’s not ready. Then, he potentially gets to play the Rule 5 game, which probably sucks for the large majority of the people selected in it.
Juan Carlos Perez, please start hitting.
He won’t have to play the Rule 5 game unless they outright him, because he’s already on the 40-Man. It’ll be more an issue with options.
"The knowledge of the game is inversely proportional to the price of the seat." ---Bill Veeck. •Now you can follow SFDugout.com on Twitter and Facebook!•
by BruteSentiment on Dec 1, 2009 9:16 PM PST up reply actions
I think marcello was refering to the whole keeping someone not quite ready on the 25 all year.
say hey nation is the Ralph Nader of McC.-Xanthan
by say hey nation on Dec 1, 2009 9:52 PM PST up reply actions
He should get a fourth option year though shouldn’t he? In which case, whilst I’m not a fan of him being on the 40 man roster i don’t see it being a huge issue. He’s still got 3 more minor league seasons left and if a player with his background isn’t ready for the majors at that stage i doubt he’ll ever be.
Proud parent of Waldis Joaquin!
Also
As ridiculous as that promotion was, he played in more games than Posey did in 2009 after HIS promotion (though Posey had more PAs).
"Why not trade Bumgarner for some banger stud?" - sfgiants.com commenter or online porn ad? You be the judge!
Adopted Giant: the probably soon to be ditched but still awesome Fred Lewis
Yes.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 1, 2009 3:28 PM PST up reply actions
really? damn that sucks
Proud adoptive daddy for the Big Unit, who is currently teaching Madison Bumgarner the art of being intimidating.
by Speedforthewin on Dec 1, 2009 3:08 PM PST up reply actions
Gillaspie: 8 games, 7 PAs
Posey: 7 games, 17 PAs
"Why not trade Bumgarner for some banger stud?" - sfgiants.com commenter or online porn ad? You be the judge!
Adopted Giant: the probably soon to be ditched but still awesome Fred Lewis
great, just great.
Proud adoptive daddy for the Big Unit, who is currently teaching Madison Bumgarner the art of being intimidating.
by Speedforthewin on Dec 1, 2009 3:11 PM PST up reply actions
The Giants will do that.
Utter frustration and futility.
by Johnny Disaster on Dec 1, 2009 6:48 PM PST up reply actions
I have good vibes concerning Gillaspie going into next year. It’s nothing more than a hunch + I like plate discipline, but I think he’s going to be surprisingly good in 2010.
Lethargy
It has me
The last time I saw somebody cite a hunch for thinking that something good was going to happen, the 49ers lost the Packers.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 1, 2009 5:45 PM PST up reply actions
Did they remember where they last left them?
WHY IS BOCOCK?!
by Lars The Wanderer on Dec 1, 2009 5:51 PM PST up reply actions
I can only hope not.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 1, 2009 6:09 PM PST up reply actions
Is it just my browser is there a big gap above comments with no subject line?
say hey nation is the Ralph Nader of McC.-Xanthan
I don’t see it.
I know you nerds know NOTHING about the real game of baseball, or any other athletic endeavor requiring teamwork under physical stress.
Mr. F! | comics | art | New Nattowear | Unofficial McImage Directory
It’s not me. It’s you.
Joe Martinez: You are cool.
When it's all said and done, America will be remembered for three things: The Bill of Rights, jazz, and baseball.
I got nothin’.
Utter frustration and futility.
by Johnny Disaster on Dec 1, 2009 6:51 PM PST up reply actions
Barnes and Alderson
I think are overrated. We should dump them for some mid-level talent mid season.
FIRE BRIAN SABEAN... UNLESS HE KEEPS DRAFTING WELL. .. AND SIGNS UNDERRATED PLAYERS LIKE AFFELDT OR PHELPS. .. OR ALRIGHT WHO'S PLAYING WITH THE ALIEN MIND-SWITCHING RAY?
-------
PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game currently in early planning stages.
Have you seen the ridiculous Purple Row tag line?
Purple Row -A Colorado Rockies Blog that never surrenders purple pinstripe dreams!
Whoever came up with that is definitely a Twilight fan. They probably watch Happy Poney as well.
WHY IS BOCOCK?!
by Lars The Wanderer on Dec 1, 2009 3:40 PM PST reply actions
and I am NOT missing Happy Poney
I don't know anything about minor league players, so I adopted the Coke Bottle, and it's totally grown on me.
'The longer I do this the smarter I get' --Brian Sabean
Wow. They managed to combine three things there:
1) Over-descriptive/obvious: “A Colorado Rockies Blog”
2) Cliché: “that never surrenders”
3) Embarrassingly florid: “purple pinstripe dreams”
Impressive!
"Why not trade Bumgarner for some banger stud?" - sfgiants.com commenter or online porn ad? You be the judge!
Adopted Giant: the probably soon to be ditched but still awesome Fred Lewis
PURPLE PINHEADS
Tommy Joseph is the Dingerzball Wizard
by SoFa King Mike on Dec 1, 2009 3:53 PM PST up reply actions
NOBODY BEATS THE BIZ
Tommy Joseph is the Dingerzball Wizard
by SoFa King Mike on Dec 1, 2009 8:56 PM PST up reply actions
Of course they never surrender purple pinstripe dreams. Nobody wants them. You only have to surrender something is somebody is trying to take it from you.
Also:
4) Bad grammar.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 1, 2009 4:05 PM PST up reply actions
Get me Peggy. I need a rewrite on this copy.
... null, void, invalid, iniquitous, unjust, damnable, reprobate, inane, empty of meaning and effect for all time
The McC list and Grant’s list are very similar, just swapping 1 with 2, 3 with 4, etc. for the first 8. Now who led and who followed?
Osiris, Lord of the Dead, and relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants.
I want to know what groudthink has to say on this.
Joe Martinez: You are cool.
When it's all said and done, America will be remembered for three things: The Bill of Rights, jazz, and baseball.
I thought BA, BP, McCoven and Grant’s lists were all pretty good. Obviously a lot can change in a year.
I’m going to guess that the 2009 McCoven list will also fare well over time.
I’m somewhat disappointed in John Sickels’ list, since I consider him to be a pretty good analyst, and he does seem to put in the effort and elicit the input.
And anyone who is concerned about his A- rating for Mad Bum might be comforted that he also gave Tim Lincecum the same grade three years ago — the difference being that he downgraded Tim from an A, while he is thinking of moving Mad Bum down to a B+.
John is a harsh grader — particularly on players at the lower levels. A “B” from John is a high grade. That he gave a “B” to Wheeler indicates he is quite impressed. I don’t think he would give a “B” even to the Great Grant! (Personally I just give him a “G” for great.)
I thought John was way too low this year on the two shortstop prospects. (At the very least I HOPE he is!) He did seem to solidify our opinions of Thomas Neal.
Remember too that many of these projections are made by observers who ranks the prospects in every one of the 30 organizations. I don’t think it is too difficult to imagine that the broad views of the collective McCoven might be more accurate on GIANTS prospects.
Stupid DMV
#1 threat to America: Pandas
Also, Tim Lincecum
Adopted Father: Tyler Graham
Official McPokeMaster
Registered Velezbian and supporter of Fredemption
B..A..N…A…N…A…S
I AIN"T NO….
say hey nation is the Ralph Nader of McC.-Xanthan
by say hey nation on Dec 1, 2009 4:51 PM PST up reply actions
you did a lot better than me
I had Fairley at 10.
Neal before Zod!
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants
by nostocksjustbonds on Dec 1, 2009 4:41 PM PST reply actions
I really thought Gillaspie was going to be in Fresno by the end of the season. Whoops
I know a lot of people are down on Gillaspie, but I think it’s way to early to give up on him. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he breaks out next year. He showed that he has a great approach at the plate, we all knew already that he wasn’t a power hitter, but he still can be an asset offensively. His defense is an issue, but his errors did seem to go down as the season went on, for what it counts.
Here is an interesting quote from Baggerly’s chat from Baseball America
“Andy Baggarly: Gillaspie has a razor-sharp knowledge of the strike zone that might have worked against him in the Cal League. His manager, Andy Skeels, said Gillaspie knew the zone better than most umps and often got rung up on borderline pitches. Skeels honestly feels that Gillaspie will shine the closer he gets to the major leagues. I expected more from him in the Cal League, too, but hat’s off to a Giants prospect who believes in waiting for his pitch. There ain’t many of those — in the minors or on the big league roster.”
So he’s a soft hitter with questionable defense at third? There aren’t a lot of those guys who do well.
I don't know about that, to the groin.
by howtheyscored on Dec 1, 2009 5:46 PM PST up reply actions
I don’t know what his UZR would be or anything, but his defense seemed good when he was a Giant.
"Why not trade Bumgarner for some banger stud?" - sfgiants.com commenter or online porn ad? You be the judge!
Adopted Giant: the probably soon to be ditched but still awesome Fred Lewis
I always thought of Mueller as a very good defender when he was on the Giants…
by Missing Barry on Dec 1, 2009 7:15 PM PST up reply actions
He was. He was JT-esque at 3B…and unfortunately, worse than J.T. at the plate. Too many Ks and groundouts.
If you can get 3:2 on a headline of "Giants Pitcher Assaults General Manager" at some point this year, take it.
Uh
Mueller’s OPS+ as a Giant:
1996: 121
1997: 110
1998: 110
1999: 96
2000: 87
He dipped at the end, but he had 2 1/2 very solid years as a hitter with us. Even in 1999, he had a .388 OBP, which was better than ANY Giant got in 2009. Including Pablo.
Respective K rates as Giants:
Mueller:
1996: 13%
1997: 18.2%
1998: 15.5%
1999: 12.6%
2000: 11.1%
Snow:
1997: 23.5%
1998: 19.3%
1999: 21.2%
2000: 24.1%
2001: 28.4% (!!!)
2002: 21.3%
2003: 16.7%
2004: 17.6%
2005: 16.6%
In Mueller’s WORST K rate year, he struck out LESS than Snow did it his BEST K rate year.
In his career, Bill Mueller had a 109 OPS+ and a .351 wOBA. J.T. Snow? 105 and .343. Considering J.T. played at the least premium position there is, I think it’s safe to say Mueller was a much more valuable hitter than J.T.
Bill Mueller was a Good Giant…and a good hitter!
"Why not trade Bumgarner for some banger stud?" - sfgiants.com commenter or online porn ad? You be the judge!
Adopted Giant: the probably soon to be ditched but still awesome Fred Lewis
Damn, those stats totally don’t jive with what I remember of Billy. And he was one of my early favorites as a Giants fan, too. Thanks for digging out the numbers.
If you can get 3:2 on a headline of "Giants Pitcher Assaults General Manager" at some point this year, take it.
For some reason, the first time I saw Nate Schierholtz hit it brought to mind the first time I saw Billy hit…
Utter frustration and futility.
by Johnny Disaster on Dec 1, 2009 8:45 PM PST up reply actions
Um... I don't understand.
In Mueller’s WORST K rate year, he struck out LESS than Snow did it his BEST K rate year.
Mueller:
1997: 18.2%
Snow:
2003: 16.7%
2004: 17.6%
2005: 16.6%
What am I missing?
In any case your point stands, Billy wasn’t a strikeout machine. He just had that fantastic broken swing when he chased a breaking pitch, that seemed to last 30 seconds and ended in a terrific SO pose. That might have made an impression.
co-dad w/AfDC of
Ishikawa, the Topps Rookie All Star Team's First baseman. Does he get a chance in 2010?
18.2=15.7
say hey nation is the Ralph Nader of McC.-Xanthan
by say hey nation on Dec 3, 2009 10:45 AM PST up reply actions
Baseball Reference and FanGraphs have different rate stats
15.7% is the SO% from B-R, but then Snow’s lowest years (as a Giant) are 13.9 14.6 and 14.9. He also had lower rates with the Angels and Red Sox.
Which raises another question, since we can agree that Snow struck out more often and more than Mueller – Why are these stats different on Fangraphs and R-R? Fangraphs does K/AB; BR has K/PA. Which is a little weird since they both have BB/PA for BB%.
co-dad w/AfDC of
Ishikawa, the Topps Rookie All Star Team's First baseman. Does he get a chance in 2010?
I guess if your strikeout is “what percentage of the time you struck out when you didn’t walk” Fangraphs makes sense. Maybe they’re trying to make it so high walk guys don’t get an advantage in their K% when you compare them?
by Missing Barry on Dec 3, 2009 11:15 AM PST up reply actions
i've wondered this as well
fangraphs has mueller as average in UZR in the recorded years, and snow as about the same (but with a -12.4 in 2002). this MUST be a symptom of a new stat working out its kinks. it couldn’t possibly have anything to do with me overrating a players range. right?
Brian Sabean figures that if he buys enough bottles, one of them is bound to have lightning in it.
I think it has to do with Snow's lauded ability was recieving.
And that ability isn’t measured by UZR (and the creator, MGL, has concluded that the net effect is on the order of 2 runs a season).
For the record, I always thought Snow had poor range left to right, though he caught everything in his wingspan.
VAE PVTO DEVS FIO
that’s what i was thinking. i remember snow turning the DP pretty well and saving a lot of crappy throws. i guess that would show up on other player’s UZR?
Brian Sabean figures that if he buys enough bottles, one of them is bound to have lightning in it.
Also keep in mind UZR isn’t by any means the be all, end all, and defense statistics in general tend to have a problem with 1B. Things like whether the 1B goes for a ball in the hole or doesn’t (assuming it’s a routine play that either goes 1B-pitcher or 2B-1B, resulting in an out either way) can have an effect on their stats and stuff. That’s one of the reasons for the Fans Scouting Report. The Fans Scouting report has always loved JT so it may be that he was better than UZR credits him with (though these were the first iterations of the Fans Scouting Report, too, so take them with a larger grain of salt than you would the more recent years).
by Missing Barry on Dec 2, 2009 8:21 AM PST up reply actions
Amything in his wingspan
and any pop up on the warm-up mound, the first row of the stands, or the dugout railing.
co-dad w/AfDC of
Ishikawa, the Topps Rookie All Star Team's First baseman. Does he get a chance in 2010?
Hey BA, how can Raffy Rod drop out of the ten?
I don’t get it. Rodriguez gets ranked in the top ten on promise alone. Then he goes all .299/.392/.362 in Rookie Ball at age 16 and now he isn’t on the list?
If a 16 year is projected to be awesome yet raw, and then goes and throws up a 100 point BA/OBP differential, I’m probably going to keep him ranked pretty high
Was his slg really .362?
That’s kinda funny. But I agree- very impressive
Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, deserved all-star and hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs
I agree with both of you, but the .362 slugging is obviously what did it. It doesn’t concern me at all, but it obviously concerned them a little.
Juan Carlos Perez, please start hitting.
I think it's just unusual
Top prospects that young usual hit for more power and struggle with plate discipline, not the other way around. If his entire game is hitting a ground balls and taking walks (which this stat line would suggest) that might make them question how much room he actually has for improvement. Like a control pitcher with a 85 MPH fastball dominating the low minors, mastering “old player skills” in rookie ball might not translate to success at higher levels.
Not that I really buy that, though.
VAE PVTO DEVS FIO
Well isn’t the reasoning that he was “projected” to hit for power when he filled out his frame and stuff? We signed him at 16 and I don’t think he was supposed to have any power then….now he’s 17, and hasn’t grown into his frame yet (understandable since he should be a HS’er)….so it’s still all about projecting him to fill out and gain power, right? It’s not like he’s a 21 year old out of college without power….
by Missing Barry on Dec 2, 2009 6:42 PM PST up reply actions
Word up
If he is doing things like making contact and walking before the power comes in, that’s huge positive.
In an ‘intangibles’ way, it could also show a high baseball maturity, if you believe such a thing exists.
It depends how he's actually hitting.
His stat line suggest it’s a bunch of ground balls, which it’s tough to project turning into power down the road. If he’s hitting a bunch of hot liners (which seems unlikely given his total of 0 3Bs and homers), then it would be much easier to confidently project power development.
Look, Baseball America still puts a lot of weight on tools, and Rodriguez is putting up a line that you’d expect from a savvy veteran with poor tools. That’s all I’m saying.
VAE PVTO DEVS FIO
If he’s hitting a ton of ground there’s a problem with his swing, but I don’t see what it has to do with his natural power.
I was promised lasagna.
I don't see how you could even begin to project "natural power" if his swing isn't producing any.
Just being big and strong has never translated that well to being a power hitter.
VAE PVTO DEVS FIO
Really? Just thinking off the top of my head I can’t think of bigger stronger guys who don’t hit with some power, but I can think of plenty of little skinny dudes who don’t hit for power…
by Missing Barry on Dec 3, 2009 6:46 PM PST up reply actions
Michael Jordan?
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
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