Kyle Drabek is 28 years old. It’s also important that he throws hard, was a first-round pick, is a Tommy John survivor, and has pitched in the majors for parts of seven seasons, but the most important fact about him is that he’s 28. That’s because the Giants have signed him to be a position player, not a reliever, according to Baseball America. The odds are overwhelmingly against a 28-year-old trying to hit for the first time.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t newsworthy, though. It’s newsworthy because it’s a fascinating experiment. I love those.
Drabek was a top prospect, ranking in the top 30 of Baseball America’s top-100 prospects list for two straight seasons. He was eventually traded to the Blue Jays as a major piece of the Roy Halladay trade, which means he’s technically responsible for a piece of the 2010 World Series. Give him one of the rings that’s kicking around someone’s desk drawer, in my opinion.
Drabek started the season with the Diamondbacks, giving up a run and four walks in two innings in his only appearance. He struck out 41 and walked 33 in 68⅔ innings in Triple-A, with a 6.68 ERA. It was Reno, but still. You can see where he might be convinced to take another path to the majors.
Before the 2008 draft, he was listed as a pitcher and a shortstop. Here were the top prospects in the state of Texas that year:
- Brad Lincoln, rhp, Houston
- Clayton Kershaw, lhp, Highland Park HS
- Luke Hochevar, rhp, Fort Worth Cats (American Association)
- Drew Stubbs, of, Texas
- Kyle Drabek, rhp/ss
- Kyle McCulloch, rhp, Texas
- Jordan Walden, rhp, Mansfield HS
- Aaron Miller, of/lhp, Channelview HS
- Dustin Dickerson, 3b, Midway HS
- Zach Britton, lhp, Weatherford HS
- Brandon Belt, lhp, Hudson HS, Lufkin
That is one fun list!
BA suggested that "(Drabek) could also make a case for being the best high school position player in the draft," so it’s not as if this move is coming out of nowhere. But it’s almost certainly a can’t-hurt kind of move. A scout remembered something about the previous incarnation of Drabek and wondered if he would be amenable to a switch. It probably wasn’t the Giants waiting years for their secret Ankiel, hoping for the right time to pounce.
The Giants have done this before, too. I remembered former Indians top prospect Chuck Lofgren getting a chance to hit with the Giants, so I went to his Wikipedia page to make sure. It did indeed confirm Lofgren’s conversion, citing me as a source for some reason. When someone goes to confirm information and is redirected to something he or she aggregated, that’s known as Double Internet Verification, and there's no way it isn't legit.
And you heard exactly nothing about that grand experiment. Which is probably the salient point, here. Learning to hit at 28 is like setting a goal to win a spelling bee in a foreign language that you speak conversationally. Within the next three or four years, no less. Nothing wrong with trying, and there’s no denying that you have some of the basics down, but it’s probably not gonna happen.
Doesn’t mean we won’t root for him, though. I, for one, would thoroughly enjoy searching through every article for "Doug Drabek" just before publishing. It would mean that the grand, wacky experiment worked. Baseball has been due for one of these. It’s been quiet lately.
Baseball America also noted that this decision isn’t set in stone, and that the Giants could still try him as a pitcher. Considering this is the same arm that I once wanted the Giants to draft instead of Tim Lincecum (don’t ask), it would make a fair amount of sense. Still, I’m excited to get AZL updates on Kyle Drabek, the former first-round pitcher who’s apparently trying his hand as an infielder. It’s going to take a lot of luck and hard work to pay off, but it would be a fantastic and delightfully unlikely story if it does.