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Ryan Kalish - RF Greenville Drive

A friend of mine scored club level seats to the Greenville Drive at Asheville Tourists game last night. "Club level" is basically nothing more than a bar area directly across from right field. I only mention this to help explain why I was so impressed with what I witnessed.

Star-divide

In the bottom of the first inning one of the Tourists hit a bomb off the top of the fence in deep CF (just missing a homerun). What was astonishing to me is how the CF cleared out of the way when he realized the ball was over his head (granted the ball drifted to RF a little but it was still clearly in the CF's range). Ryan Kalish, the Drive RF, was backing up the play and as the ball came down I watched him plant is left leg, field the ball, wheel and fire a bullet all the way to the third baseman. In my opinion his throw was never more than 15 feet off the ground (OK, maybe 20 at best) and the third baseman, who was setup over his bag like a catcher waiting on a pitch, hardly moved his glove. It was one of the most impressive throws I have ever seen. The Tourist player damned near snapped off both his legs trying to stop after rounding second on a dead run. A wild pitch later, with the runner moving up to third, the batter swatted late at a fastball and poked it down the RF line. Clearly the runner scored as the ball one hopped the fence and the batter tried for second. Kalish barehanded the ball, wheeled and fired to second. The cutoff man moved out of the way, otherwise the ball would have hit him in the face, and the shortstop caught the ball 10 inches of the ground in front of the bag. The runner was out by two and a half steps. There were at least 3 or 4 more balls hit off the RF fence by the Tourists during the game and NONE, not one, of those batters made it past first on the play. I've seen Francoeur make some throws and i've watched a few from Vlady over the years but I have NEVER seen someone throw that hard with as much accuracy as consistently as Kalish did last night. This kid has a golden arm, period! So what is this kids story? Top prospect or under the radar type guy? I knew very little about either team before I went last night but you can bet I will be following this kids career if for nothing more than to track the assists he racks up.

1 recs | Comment 18 comments

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He's gonna be a better leadoff hitter than Ellsbury

Someone who watched him last said he was a lot like Lenny Dykstra in his prime.

by Bravesin07 on Jun 28, 2008 12:45 PM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

awesome! also...

did you like Ashevilles McCormick Park? It is one of my favorites

by nms on Jun 28, 2008 1:14 PM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Very cool park

I grew up in Asheville going to Tourists games and I do like the park. The setup is nice, easy access to concessions/bathrooms/etc… Mostly though I like the offense, although we’re not as “elevated” here as Coors Field the ball still travels a LONG LONG way.

I have to say my favorite park is Joe Riley Stadium in Charleston (River Dogs). It is perfectly located, downtown right on the Marsh, and the views/atmosphere can’t be matched.

by scstrato on Jun 28, 2008 4:05 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Reason no. 9283742

why the slotting system is completely retarded.

Although really you could say that about half the Red Sox farm system, as almost all of their top prospects were acquired through grossly overslot bonuses.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Jun 28, 2008 2:31 PM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Kalish v Ellsbury

According to Keith Law, Kalish projects to a similar player to Ellsbury, with more power upside. Some scouts conisder him the best athlete in the Red Sox system. Broke a hamate bone in his hand last year (?) and there was some concern whether it would affect his swing. He’s not exactly hitting the lights out in the Sally League (.275/.354/.358), but he seems to be hanging in there, and he’s only 20, so he’s got plenty of time to develop. And, btw, any team willing to stick to slot in the draft has no one to blame but themselves.

by sggut95 on Jun 28, 2008 2:44 PM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

I've heard that

his teammate Che-Hsuan Lin is considered the better athlete. Either way, both are really intriguing OF’s that should give the Red Sox some options in a couple years when some pieces are moved.

by toonsterwu on Jun 28, 2008 8:38 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Was a Quarterback in HS

Kalish used to be a quarterback in High School so its not surprising he has a rocket for an arm. Another impressive thing about him was that his senior year in HS he apparently did not swing and miss at a single pitch the entire year, thats pretty impressive. He has been compared to Trot Nixon/Brian Giles type mold so i dont know how he truly compared to Ellsbury. I can see him more as number 2 batter that along with Ellsbury, could provide the future table setters for Lars Anderson.

by Kazmir2657 on Jun 28, 2008 5:04 PM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

article

http://www.redsoxnation.net/forums/?showtopic=22400

RSN: Jason McLeod, the Red Sox scouting director, has said that you didn’t swing and miss all year your senior season. Is that true?

RK: It was true until I got to rookie ball [laughs]. I fouled off balls that I wouldn’t hit solid, but I never swung and missed. I think I struck out once, looking, but you know how high school umpires are.

by pedrophile on Jun 28, 2008 5:39 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Pedroia

might have something to say about who hits in the 2-hole for Boston for years to come.

"My mom always taught me it's better to laugh at yourself than to laugh at others. She was so wrong. ;)" -Pedrophile

by Boxkutter on Jun 28, 2008 7:20 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Ellbury Comp.

I think the comparison with Ellsbury has been that Kalish is supposed to be wicked fast, and is more a doubles hitter than a masher. Kalish’s size and frame projects to more power down the road than Ellsbury, so that might be where the Brian Giles comparisons come in. If he develops, I see him as a nice 5 or 7 hole hitter. I like Pedroia or maybe Lowrie batting second.

by sggut95 on Jun 29, 2008 11:59 AM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

I've never seen Kalish run

so maybe I’m way off, but after seeing Ellsbury run in college and pros I find it VERY hard to believe that Kalish has even 90% of his speed

by nms on Jun 29, 2008 2:29 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Ellsbury is faster

Hes been clocked at 6.3 i believe, think Kalish was around 6.7.

by Kazmir2657 on Jun 29, 2008 3:46 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Boston outfielders?

I haven’t seen either Kalish or Reddick play, but Reddick also racked up a ton of assists last year playing RF in Greenville. I was wondering at first if there is something about the park, but Reddick’s continued this year. In fact, between 2007-2008, he has 34 outfield assists in his last 159 games in the field(!) I’m sort of surprised it’s not talked about more… I remember when Hidalgo was doing the “more assists than walks” thing coming up through the minors, and it was hot news. Reddick is close, with only 40 walks in that span, and he’s at 15:14 (assists:walks) this year, so far.

by BobbyMac on Jun 29, 2008 4:12 AM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

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