Highschool hitting prospects from '08

by OldProspects on Apr 7, 2009 10:34 AM EDT Comment 10 comments

There were, in the last draft, a whole slew of interesting high school hitting prospects, which is a little rare considering the difficulties many of them face in actually fulfilling their potential. By my count, 5 made both the BA and BP top 100, giving them almost an infield (Skipworth at catcher, Hosmer at first, Tim Beckham at SS, Aaron Hicks in center, and Brett Lawrie playing everywhere else). We've spoken a reasonable amount about Beckham and Hosmer, and a little about Hicks, but very little about the other two. So I'm curious - how would you rate these five? Who's the strongest, the weakest, who's the most likely to fulfil their potential, and who won't?

I'm particularly curious as to what you guys think about Brett Lawrie - to me, the accounts of his bat remind me a little of how people were speaking about Moustakas last year, with the exception of the concerns about his glove. From a fantasy perspective, though, Lawrie's glove is a big-risk/big-reward situation. He might be forced to the OF, or even 1B, but if he proves to be a decent 2B as some seem to think he might, well, a power hitting 2B is a valuable thing. Could this happen?

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Lawrie

I’d rank ’em:

1. Hosmer 1B
2. Beckham SS
3. Lawrie 2B
4. Hicks CF
5. Skipworth C

I feel Hosmer will end up being the best hitter in the draft, in the long run.

I’m a big believer in Lawrie bat, as I think it will play anywhere. I honestly think future Hall-of-Famer Craig Biggio is a good comp for Lawrie, as scouts have loved his hard nose, gritty style, passion and feel for the intangibles of the game. I think his bat will carry him to a long and successful career and I believe that he can AND will stay at 2B.

Beckham, to me, has the highest ceiling, but also a low floor. He has superstar potential for sure.

I project Hicks to be a solid, everyday major leaguer and broaderline star.

I think Skipworth is the most likely of the bunch to be a potential bust, but also has a high ceiling, with the potential of a young Joe Mauer-type, behind the dish.

"In 1962 I was named Minor League Player of the Year. It was my second season in the Bigs." - Mr. Baseball, Bob Uecker

by prince of power on Apr 7, 2009 2:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Except for the position switch

Biggio doesn’t seem like a great comp. He’s much faster than Lawrie is, and with significantly less power.

Why is Beckham’s ceiling higher than Hicks’? They seem like roughly similar players solid power, excellent speed, very good eye, though Hicks has managed to show it in 180 ABs in R ball at least, while Beckham didn’t, for the little that that is worth, and that one is a SS and one is a CF, which isn’t a huge difference.

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by OldProspects on Apr 7, 2009 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Lawrie

If someone did rankings JUST on offensive potential, Lawrie would probably rank notably higher than he currently does on general lists. And he is already a top 100 guy on those. He likely gets knocked down quite a bit due to defensive concerns.

by rdf8585 on Apr 7, 2009 4:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

In that case

(And I don’t disagree), then for fantasy options, isn’t Lawrie an awfully good prospect (one of the best hitting prospects who could very well qualify at second)?

TheSouthWing.com - A Magazine of essays, prose and poems

by OldProspects on Apr 7, 2009 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

I’d certainly say so. As someone else said, Lawrie’s bat will play no matter what position he finally ends up at. I forgot where I saw it, but this one line said Lawrie’s best position is in the batters box.

Because of the bat, I’d say Lawrie is better fantasy prospect than a guy like Alcides Escobar, whose defense is what fuels him being ranked so high.

by rdf8585 on Apr 7, 2009 5:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Out of curiosity, how would you compare Lawrie to Moustakas?

The reports seem to be roughly similar – outstanding power, solid batting ,etc

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by OldProspects on Apr 7, 2009 6:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

RE

As much as I like Lawrie, I don’t think you can take him over Moustakas. Have to see what Lawrie does, though what he does could be very good. Moustakas has proven more and he really caught fire in the 2nd half last year.

by rdf8585 on Apr 7, 2009 6:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Order

I’d rank them in the order they were drafted, with possibly Hicks and Skipworth flipped.

by aCone419 on Apr 7, 2009 4:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ranking

1.) Hicks
2.) Hosmer
3.) Beckham
4.) Lawrie
5.) Skipworth

But, I’m irrationally high on Hicks.

by RedSoxFaithful on Apr 7, 2009 9:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Don't sleep on Decker...

Decker wasn’t drafted higher because he isn’t built like a greek Adonis, but he might end up being one of the top 5 high school hitter draftees from the ’08 class (especially with Lawrie no longer playing catcher).

by pffriberg on Apr 9, 2009 4:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs