Community Prospect List #43
by free f.p. #14 on Jan 31, 2012 7:50 PM PST
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PrintDerek Law wins. Here's the list for #43. Only 2 more to go! This poll will remain open until 8pm PST tomorrow, February 1st.
Please do not rec these posts. We don't want them to clutter up the recommended FanPosts section.
The list so far:
1. Gary Brown
2. Joe Panik
3. Tommy Joseph
4a. Eric Surkamp
4b. Heath Hembree
7. Andrew Susac
9. Kyle Crick
10. Ehire Adrianza
11. Josh Osich
12. Clayton Blackburn
13. Adalberto Mejia
14. Adam Duvall
15. Conor Gillaspie
16. Ricky Oropesa
17. Jarrett Parker
18a. Chuckie Jones
18b. Mike Kickham
20. Kendry Flores
21. Jacob Dunnington
22. Angel Villalona
23. Charlie Culberson
24. Jesus Galindo
25. Seth Rosin
26. Chris Dominguez
27. Brett Bochy
28. Ryan Cavan
29. Shawn Payne
30. Hector Correa
31. Lorenzo Mendoza
32. Joan Gregorio
33. Rafael Rodriguez
34. Chris Marlowe
35. Enmanuel De Jesus
36. Demondre Arnold
37. Kelby Tomlinson
38. Roger Kieschnick
39. Dan Otero
40. Leonardo Fuentes
41. Chris Heston
42. Derek Law
The player's first name links to his Baseball Cube profile page, and his last name links to his Fangraphs profile page.
Jean Delgado (His first name is his BB-Ref profile, his BC profile only showed fielding stats.)
Kentrell Hill
Travious Relaford
Carlos (Eric) Valdez
If you want to see any names added to the poll, mention them in the comments. Vote away!
This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.
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The same guys as my last vote
Law , Delgado, Heston and Valdez.
I'm a Giants Fan, but I'll always be rooting for Matt Downs
Adopted Son:Dan Burkhart , Future Backup To Buster Posey.
Hill - for his potential 5 plus tools and plus athleticism
Upside is the key with Hill and his tools are quite eye-popping.
Hill has been clocked in 4.47 for the 40 and a 6.46 for the 60. Hill is a dangerous baserunner and has incredible range in CF. Kentrell also sports a plus arm, being clocked above 90 mph from the mound and the outfield. During his last season of college ball (as a sophomore), Hill posted an OPS over 1.100, with 11 home runs, and ended up with more BBs than Ks in 179 at-bats. He also stole 35 base in 39 attempts. Hill turned down a scholarship offer from perennial Division I baseball powerhouse Oral Roberts Univ. to sign with the Giants for a reported $100K.
Here’s what BaseballAmerica wrote about him just before the draft:
[He] has a shot to sneak into the first 10 rounds thanks to his loud tools. While Hill is raw at the plate, he has made adjustments to use his hands more and showed improvement. His power will be the last tool to come. The rest of his tools and his makeup earn plenty of praise. He’s an above-average runner who has turned in 6.5-second times over 60 yards, and he has an above-average arm as well. Hill has the speed to cover center field and a solid 6-foot, 185-pound frame. His work ethic and aptitude earn high marks as well. He could be a summer follow, as he’s slated to play in the wood-bat Coastal Plain League this summer. He’s an Oral Roberts recruit if he doesn’t sign.
Finally, here’s how one area scout for an unnamed National League Central team described Hill near the end of his college career:
“(He is a) plus runner with a plus arm; two tools that are very hard to find. His power has increased over the last two years, while also improving at the plate with his discipline. He is still a very raw baseball player but his potential is very high. (If he does not sign professionally), Oral Roberts got one of the most talented junior college players in the country.”
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
That’s all quite exciting and you might have swayed me. Though I do pause at the notion that the tools they talk the most about (speed and arm) are the least important and the one they don’t talk about at all (hit tool) is the most important.
Hmm. You’re reading that a bit differently than I did. I read that they were saying that the arm and speed are plus, the defense and hit tool are currently very good with the potential to be well above-average, buth that his power tool, while showing great potential, is currently the most iffy of the 5. Also, isn’t the power tool the most important in the majors?
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
No the hit tool is the foundation. Lack of a hit tool will undermine all the other tools. We have a fine example of a plus power tool with below average hit tool in Chris Dominguez.
by Roger on Feb 1, 2012 9:40 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I understand the logic behind that, but the practical application of it appears to be different, IMO. Teams will keep a guy with a proven power tool around for a lot longer than a guy with only a proven hit tool – and pay him a lot more money – unless he can play good defense at premium position like SS, C, or CF. A guy that has no other tools except the hit tool isn’t likely to find a continuing starting spot in the majors – even as a DH. If there isn’t some power to go with the hitting then they’re pretty much relegated to a PH role at the end of the bench if they get lucky enough to latch on with the right team. On the other hand, there are numerous examples throughout the 100+ years of pro ball of a guy that only has the power tool being given plenty of starts in the minors and majors.
To use your specific example, Chris Dominguez will get likely get plenty of opportunities to prove himself in the majors at 3B, 1B or DH during his career, while a guy only a from his same draft class and age that has shown a consistent hit tool in college and the minors (but no power), Nick Liles, has trouble even getting consistent starts in the minors. I doubt that Liles will ever sniff the major leagues.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
But I’d say that the vast majority of major league starters (minus SS and some C and CF) have 55-60 or better hit tools (or had at their peak). It’s really difficult to function in the majors without an above average hit tool. You really need to be a very very strong defensive player up the middle, or be on a bad team, to manage it.
Someone have ths scoop on Relaford handy?
Bye Travis and thanks for 2010! Good luck with the Brewers!
Travious Relaford, SS, RHH, Hinds CC, Georgia (5’11", 160) (DOB=5/13/92)
A very good value pick in the 44th round. He only just completed his freshman year, so he’s got plenty of time to improve and physically grow. Relaford has enough tools and defensive talent at SS that Perfect Game was predicting him as a guy that should be drafted before the end of the 10th round. Relaford was also a very good basketball player at his HS in the state of Georgia. Heading into the 2011 college season, Baseball America named Relaford as the best defensive JuCo SS in the entire nation. PerfectGame.com had him rated as the 11th best prospect in the state of Mississippi at the end of May 2011, and had this to say about him:
Slick-fielding Hines CC shortstop Travious Relaford, just a freshman, is one player who could play almost anywhere in the country and he is a legitimate candidate for the first 10 rounds. [He] has 3 + tools (range at SS, arm strength, speed); contact hitter only at this stage.
Relafords 2011 stats for Hinds CC:
.280/.410/.350/.760 with AB=100, 2B=7, 3B=0, HR=0, BB=19 (15.3%), K=7 (5.6%), SB=8 of 8, 18 errors in 88 attempts (.884)
VIDEO: Feb 2011 – Travious Relaford competes in a cone drill as part of his college training program: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_usa0jgaqds
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Absolutely zero power at this point but you have to like a 3:1 BB:K ratio.
by BestHyperboleEver on Feb 1, 2012 11:44 AM PST up reply actions
thanks, FP and prospect fans. Since about #30 it’s been all about learning.
At this stage, a confident blurb like Florida’s gets my vote. Hill is the new Romney!
Marvin Barrios, come on I'll show you your bedroom. Don't stay on the phone too long to Panama, please.
by foothillsfan on Feb 1, 2012 9:04 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
I am going to rec this for truth. I think I said thank you at about #25, but it can’t be said enough. Very nice job FP and all the real prospect hounds. I gathered an awful lot of information.
I'm a Giants Fan, but I'll always be rooting for Matt Downs
Adopted Son:Dan Burkhart , Future Backup To Buster Posey.
do we need an honorable mentions grab bag?
or just talk during the minor league season about guys like Mike Murray, who’s interviewed in fanshots
Marvin Barrios, come on I'll show you your bedroom. Don't stay on the phone too long to Panama, please.
Went with Delgado
Mainly because he’s two years younger than Hill and plays a more valuable defensive position. Where do people see him in 2012? S-K probably, right?
Also, do we know what’s up with Bucardo? Tommy John?
The whisper that I remember stated that it was his shoulder. Whatever the injury, we should see him pitching again at some point during this season – unless he has a relapse.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Shoulders are tricky business, though. His brother Wilbur essentially never pitched again after his shoulder trouble started.
Agreed. I didn’t mean to imply that Jorge will be what he was pre-injury. But, the vast majority of young guys that hurt their shoulders do come back and give it another try for at least one more season. Even Wilber came back and made 16 appearances for S-K last year, and for the early part of the season he was their only halfway reliable arm out of the pen.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Voted for Dunning
While I do like what was posted about Hill, I usually feel the Giants are more able to develop pitching better than hitting. If its just plain ability then I give the edge to Hill, but looking into the future the Giants, I think they will be able to do more with Dunning so I think he is the better Giants prospect.
I’m going for Dunning too. He’s a converted SS with a live arm who is still learning to pitch. He got burned by a high BABIP this year (.367). He had a K-rate of 17.2% & 18.9% in April & May, then it jumped to 25.8%, 26.5% & 24.3% in June – August. Likewise, his BB-rate was 9.7% & 9.5% in April/May and 3.2%/8.2%/5.3% in June-Aug. Got much better as the year went on. Still holding out some pretty high hope that he’ll transition well to AA/AAA next year.
"When the Giants call up a 21-year-old Venezuelan catcher who started the year in San Jose, was hitting well with poor plate discipline, but wasn't on Baseball America's preseason list of the organization's 30 best prospects, only good things can happen."
Congratulations, Hector!
Was he moved from starter to reliever after May?
@legaleagle88
I'm not crazy. My mother had me tested.
by kdl on Feb 1, 2012 2:52 PM PST up reply actions
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