Eric Hosmer

by deezle on May 23, 2008 1:08 PM EDT Comment 16 comments

According to Jonathan Mayo, the Royals are leaning towards taking Eric Hosmer at #3 despite the rumors of his bonus demands. From reading various scouting reports, he seems to be the total package as a hitter and is a stud defender at 1st base. I've also heard rumors that some teams may try him as a corner OF because he's actually very athletic and has some wheels for a kid of his size (16/16 on SB this season).

PG Crosschecker wrote a glowing report on him earlier this year, comparing his bat at this stage of his development to ARod and Josh Hamilton and saying he's one of the best prep players of the last 20 years.

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/2007/columnists/davidrawnsley/weeklycolumn/hosmer_special_hitter.aspx

Has anyone here seen him play?

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I Have

I’ve seen him in 3 showcase games. Not a lot but enough for me to get a feel for him. He’s got a nice looking, smoooth,lefty swing but has been handled pretty well on inside pitches and I also do NOT see A-Rod or Hamilton’s pure strength in his swing myself. He also looks smooth around the bag a first and is a nice looking athlete. All the more reason why i kinda dislike how overrated he is right now. Yonder Alonso and Brett Wallace might not look as good in a swimsuit or whatever (not that i would know..lol) or be as good with the glove but, i don’t think Hosmer’s upside with the bat is as good as either of them.

Personally, asside from possibly Posey and Alvarez I think Wallace and Alonso are the best baseball players I have seen in this draft and should be selected in the top 4 but they wont. I really have no idea why they are considered below some of the other guys other than the phenomenon of people not really looking or seeing the actual player they are looking at but looking at a TEMPLATE of a player. Yes, in general, you should select a player at a premium position but not if the 1b (Alonso) has a word class batting eye, great hands, very solid and rapidly developing power, and looks like he could be a future OBP leader in the bigs and the SS looks like the next Gary Templeton.

Alonso is and will always be a better baseball player than Tim Beckham but that won’t stop a team from taking beckham first. Seems like a good move for dumbass team like say, the Pirates or Orioles.

by casejud on May 23, 2008 5:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

“Alonso is and will always be a better baseball player than Tim Beckham but that won’t stop a team from taking beckham first. Seems like a good move for dumbass team like say, the Pirates or Orioles.”

Wow… that is a heck of a statement. He will “always be a better baseball player”? I’m not a Beckham fan but the simple fact he is athletic enough with defense that will play at SS gives him a pretty big advantage on the defensive side of the ball. Perhaps Alonso will be an all around better hitter in the end but there is more to the game. I’m not saying you are wrong or it wont happen but that is a heck of a statement to make if you aren’t related to him.

by jfish26101 on May 23, 2008 6:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hmmm

Peractically every SS in the big leagues is a better one than Lance Berkman but that still doesnt give them an advantage as a baseball player except maybe one or two…by a hair.

It might be a heck of a statement but a lot of people have a heck of a time projecting somebody to be a great hitter from a non-premium positionaround here and in the real draft. I see it as a very, very likely outcome. Alonso becomes a LOT, LOT better hitter than Tim Beckham and enough to overcome a postion difference. Believe me, I understand the value of a great offensive and defensive SS but I don’t see that in Beckham. I’ll be the first to admit if I’m wrong a few years down the road but, I’ve heard enough questions about Beckham’s bat and to me, the more I see Alonso…the great, great, eye…the great hands through the zone…the power to all fields… I have NO questions about his bat.

by casejud on May 24, 2008 12:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

must be nice to be so sure of everything

want to tell me what next weeks lotto numbers will be?

by nms on May 23, 2008 7:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

LOL

Sure…13, 25, 36, 48, 52, 63 are some good ones. By that same token NMS, why can’t it be asked why EVERYBODY, literally every single mock draft I have read is basically saying they think Beckham is a better talent? Why can’t I be the one guy who says he isn’t? The main reason that I am so empatic about it and why it usually seems to T’off people over the years is that it seems OBVIOUS to me. Just watch him bat. We’ve been over this i think but If i was a team like the Pirates I wouldn’t let a player like Alonso get by me. Of course they wouldn’t be the Pirates if they made good decisions.

It is just so annoying to me. A guy like Hosmer is considered a beeter prospect than Alonso now and they mention athletic ability and defense??? Hosmer player freaking 1b so if he is going to better than Mr. Yoner he is going to have to OUTHIT HIM. I don’t care if he is freaking Keith Hernandez with the glove and can run like a young Kenny Lofton. A little mantra for some of you out there…Yonder Alonso has a TON of upside and remeber i told you so okay? :-)

by casejud on May 24, 2008 12:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You totally screwed that up

Everybody knows that the numbers are 4 8 15 16 23 42.

"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain

by JM Barten on May 24, 2008 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ok...

I’ve heard Jeter and Larkin comps for Beckham. I’d take that over Alonso, who I THINK will be a good hitter, but not some ungodly awesome hitter. Something like Nick Johnson, which is still very good.

Rowdy Hardy Fan Club member.

by doublestix on May 23, 2008 8:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just my opinion

...but I originally compared Yonder to Nick J myself. lately though I think he will have a very similar batting eye to Nick but a quicker and more powerful swing. I really think he will be better than that. I think he will be “ungodly awesome” actually….closer to a guy like Berkman.

by casejud on May 24, 2008 1:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What Showcases?

Just wondering, because I saw him at last year’s WWBA and he was simply outstanding. He crushed elite pitchers using a wood bat and was name the MVP. He flashed power to all fields and was basically doing whatever he wanted in the batters box. Last I checked there were a few YouTube clips of him hitting some monster shots, and you can really get a good look at his advanced approach at the plate.

It seems like the people that actually watch him play are higher on him than pundits that simply look at “high school 1st baseman” and knock him down a few notches.

Founder of the Rowdy Hardy Fan Club

by eazyb81 on May 23, 2008 9:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can't remember

There were 2 of them within a month that I saw on TV. One in which Tim Alderson pitched well and hit a homer (I was impressed). I wasn’t unimpressed with Hosmer. I saw a good looking lefty swing but I have watched and read everything I can on the kid and I have heard he isn’t great with inside pitches, he has a opposite field approach which is praised in him and used somehow of a criticism of Yonder Alonso, and an okay athlete. The biggest one foor me was that I didnt see a kid in Hosmer that controls the strikezone like Alonso. You want to talk about an advanced appraoch?? There is none better in this draft or most drafts. I’d have to see a LOT more from Hosmer to take him over Alonso, who is freaking TOWERING over the ACC with that bat right now. Anybody see the two laser, moon shots he hit the other night? Anybody care to quit questioning his power?

by casejud on May 24, 2008 1:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why do you keep comparing him to Alonso?

First, this is a Hosmer thread, not an Alonso thread. Second, why would anyone expect Hosmer to be as polished as Alonso is right now? Alonso is three years older and has three years of D1 experience under his belt. Seems like a silly comparison.

by deezle on May 24, 2008 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thats what drafting is

Just by mentioning him it brings up the comparison to somebody in his draft class…who bats left… who plays the same postion. i’m not expecting him to be as polished but, I also wouldn’t take Hosmer ahead of him, thats all. Besides, i didn’t hijack the thing. i gave a answer to the question of whether i had seen Hosmer play and what I thought as well. I was first line to do so as well pal. I admit I may be wrong as well. I was going on memory of what I have seen and after watching every clip on Hosmer I could find his power and strength looks quite impressive but, I admit I am real partial to players who are great at controlling the strikezone and Yonder is such a hardworking kid that I root for him. I admit he’s my favorite player in this years draft.

by casejud on May 25, 2008 3:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hosmer v. Alonso

I would take Hosmer at this point over him easily. Consider this, if Hosmer goes to Arizona State would he turn in a better career than Alonso? Or would they both be at the same point at age 21 or 22 or whatever Alonso is? The answer is that I think in 3 years Hosmer will be much better than Alonso is now.

by jsmall404 on May 25, 2008 2:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hmm, okay.

Certainly possible. I appreciate you going WAY out on a limb there though. In order for Hosmer to be “Way Better” than Alonso he would have to have some combination of a way better batting average than Alonso’s .393 …which would be what? .450 or so? Or hit way more home rune than Yonder’s 21 this year (actually 23…he hit 2 in a game that was rained out) which would be what? 27-28? Or have a way better command of the strikzone than Yonders 64BBs and 28 Ks which would what? 70 to 15 or…Actually, my bad, ...toatlly freaking impossible!

We’ll probably never know but he’d have to be something else to be WAY better than Mr. Alonso who just turned 21 in April.

Also, if this is the case Hosmer should be the first player taken.

by casejud on May 25, 2008 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

your mistake is

that you are just going by numbers when evaluating Alonso. I feel perfectly safe in saying Hosmer would have a better career in college than Alonso did – including better power numbers in the Cape and he would probably play for Team USA at some point.

However, Hosmer ALREADY projects to hit for more power than Alonso. Let alone what he would project as when he is 21. He might be in the majors by the time he is 21.

If you think Alonso projects to hit 30+ HR in the majors because he put up good power numbers in college, you are sadly mistaken.

There is a reason teams like Hosmer more than Alonso, even with Alonso having 3 more years of experience.

by jsmall404 on May 25, 2008 6:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

No, Im not

But you were talking about him being a better college PLAYER than Alonso and in we evealuate those kind of thing in NUMBERS around here sometimes right? What I REALLY think…from watching Alonso play a LOT, is that his batting eye and hitting skills are so good that despite supposed “question marks” about his defense (its pretty good) and his power (also pretty damned good) that his real potential in the big leagues is that of a batting titleist who also leads in OBP.His power power kinda reminds me of a guy like Edgar Martinez, who’s eye and hiting skills maximzed his raw power. For neither was/is it the biggest strength of thier game.

Also, one last thing. The last comment about experience? Give me a LITTLE credit man, If I picked every college guy over HS guys because of experience I would NEVER like a HS player. THe HS guys are going to get to 21 eventually, obviously. I think it is trickier to evaluate them though. The hitters and pitchers they face arent as good for one.

I actually agree with you that Hosmer has more power potential and raw power than Alonso but that ain’t everything.

I respect thte fact that you are so high on Hosmer though and would pose a question for YOU… If you think he could hit .500 with 27-28 Homers at ASU would you consider taking him #1 overall if were in charge of the Rays? Personally I see taking a guy like Aaron Crow or Tim Beckham, who just doesnt look like a hitter to me, ahead of guys with a real likelyhood of putting runs on the scoreboard is kinda strange but it happens every draft…mistakes, that is.

Back to Yonder, I guess my main gripe about the general talk about him here is the suggestion that he is a player who has maxed his skills or doesnt have upside because he is old or something…21.He’s improved steadily…was real good at the Cape btw… and to me he is exactly the kind of player who can get a LOT better than he already is. To me I see a TON of upside.

by casejud on May 26, 2008 4:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs