Adam Jones called up to play CF

by ebbnflow on Jul 12, 2006 5:29 PM EDT

http://ussmariner.com/2006/07/12/adam-jones-to-the-majors/#comments

Seems a bit rushed, as he's only 20 years old, and has been a CF for all of about 4 months (including the AZ Fall League).

Still, he's been making tremendous strides with the bat - take note of the May and June numbers courtesy of the ussmariner site:

April: .268/.286/.512, 82 AB, 22 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 1 BB, 20 K
May: .208/.263/.368, 106 AB, 22 H, 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 8 BB, 23 K
June: .342/.405/.482, 114 AB, 39 H, 7 2B, 3 HR, 11 BB, 23 K
May: .308/.419/.692, 26 AB, 8 H, 1 2B, 3 HR, 5 BB, 1 K

Good pop, extremely athletic, and raw (though note the bump in eye ratios, however modest...there -is- a notable improvement there...)

I share some of the concerns that this may be too soon for him to be pushed up to the Show, but hopefully he's able to translate his progress into some MLB success. Thoughts?

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wow

didn't see that coming. this is probably one of those deals where they're telling him, "don't sweat your hitting, just catch the ball and we're happy."

by wily mo on Jul 12, 2006 5:31 PM EDT reply actions

re: wow

Yeah - I think the Mariners' hands were forced a bit here. With Reed having gone down with a hand injury, they tried Shin Soo Choo out in center, but he had a very difficult time tracking flyballs, and with that 80% all flyball staff (Felix sorta excluded), they needed to improve there, somehow.

(So much so that the Mariner blogs, particularly Prospect Insider (http://prospectinsider.wordpress.com/), were hearing buzz about a possible move last week.)

And when your alternative is dropping Willie Bloomquist smack dab in the center of your outfield, I can see why they would want to take a peak behind what was behind "door #3."

So hopefully he fares okay. He's a classic "tools" prospect moreso than anything, so there's a good chance that he'll struggle, at least initially...

by ebbnflow on Jul 12, 2006 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Exciting

Sure it might be a bit too soon but this move makes the rest of the season just a little more exciting. Face it, the M's are not going to make a run at the division. If we do...we wont make it far. We need to let the kids play and see what we have for next season. Jones in CF will not hurt. Heck, he just might be the sparkplug this team needs.

by Hotwheelz on Jul 12, 2006 5:45 PM EDT reply actions

maybe ......

the Drays will take notice of this and follow suit.

"Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical" - Yogi Berra

by the pinstripes on Jul 12, 2006 5:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Maybe

Rocco Baldelli will get injured again...

Otherwise, I don't see Upton playing in center for the Rays. I'm guessing they'll trade him before putting him in the outfield full time.

"If there wasn't nine guys out in the field, I'd have a hit every time except when I strike out." - Delmon Young

by Brickhaus on Jul 12, 2006 5:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Big time rush job

He's had one good month of ABs, cant play a good CF yet, and the USSmariner article points even further to his approach at the plate. Doesnt seem smart not letting Choo show what he has first (or Snelling)

by PooNani on Jul 12, 2006 5:46 PM EDT reply actions

Snelling

Really good analysis by Dave Cameron on Jones' approach at the plate. His updating of that post gives me a little more worry in regards to Adam's ability to weather the blizzard of breaking balls that will follow him around after the scouting reports get around...

I agree, though - too bad about Choo. He just doesn't seem to be a great fit for the M's - lefty bat (with Ichiro, Ibanez, Snelling, and Reed already in the fold), not really enough pop to fit at a corner OF with some combo of the above four (Ibanez being the "slugger" of the 5, if you can imagine ~that~) and an inability to cleanly track balls off of the bat (which is death in CF). Choo's trade bait, I think.

Snelling should be up soon enough, though. Everett has just about overstayed his welcome, so there will be a nice cozy spot for him at DH soon, hopefully...

by ebbnflow on Jul 12, 2006 5:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Absolutely seems rushed....

...but I've followed Adam Jones for awhile, and he comes across as being pretty mature for his age. Still though, it seems like he really needed a full year to refine his skills in AAA, so hopefully this doesn't set him back, as he certainly seemed to be putting things together over the past month (especially in terms of drawing walks/cutting down on strikeouts). One other (possible) item of concern: Jones is just 9-70 (.129 ba) this year vs. lefties...no idea as to why, as he's a natural righthanded hitter, and has done fine vs. lefties prior to this year...could just be a small sample size fluke. Regardless, I'm excited to watch him in person, and I guess hope for the best.

by southboundpachyderm on Jul 12, 2006 7:36 PM EDT reply actions

Choo that bad?

Was Choo really that bad defensively? He has always had a pretty good reputation defensively? And on the offense I know he didn't produce, but, my goodness, it was only 11 at bats. I presume that this squeezes Choo completely out of the Mariners plans (I don't count that this cleared space for him at AAA). I would think that he would be very available in any deals the Mariners might consider and I still think he could help the right time in some meaninful role even if not as the every day starter.

by BERSMR on Jul 13, 2006 7:11 PM EDT reply actions