Hit and Run
by John Sickels on May 4, 2009 12:23 PM EDT
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Hit-And-Run
**Indians catching prospect Carlos Santana is up to .250/.404/.574 for Double-A Akron, with six homers, 18 walks, and 13 strikeouts in 68 at-bats. His batting average was low to begin the season, but has been creeping up lately, and he's continued to produce power and terrific strike zone judgment while transitioning to Double-A.. I'm not sure he gets as much attention as he deserves: he's an excellent prospect, and will battle Buster Posey for "best catching prospect" plaudits once Matt Wieters graduates to the majors.
**No, I'm not worried about Wieters, off to a slow start at .270/.373/.365 for Triple-A Norfolk.
**A very deep sleeper prospect is Cincinnati outfield prospect Byron Wiley. Drafted in the 22nd round out of Kansas State last year, Wiley is quite toolsy but had a horrible college season. He rebounded to hit .323/.427/.635 in the Pioneer League after signing, and is off to a .294/.377/.373 starts for Class A Dayton this year. He needs to improve his contact rate and plate discipline, but he has power and speed potential, and a greater upside than your average college 22nd round pick. He's worth keeping an eye on.
**It looks like strike zone judgment IS going to be a problem for Dayan Viciedo. The White Sox Cuban investment is hitting .224/.233/.318 with two walks and 24 strikeouts in 85 at-bats for Double-A Birmingham, obviously unacceptable. It's still early in the season, but he clearly has some adjustments to make, and one has to wonder if asking him to get used to North America while playing Double-A at age 20 is in his best interests. Right now he would be a very long shot to help at the major league level in '09.
**Freddie Freeman has been disappointing in the batting average and OBP departments for Class A Myrtle Beach, hitting .238/.319/.450 so far. He's hit five doubles and four homers, so the power has been there, but his other numbers are weaker and he's hit just .158 in his last ten games. Most of his problems have been against left-handed pitching (.161/.278/.290); he's killing right-handers at .286/.345/.551. Again, it is still early enough in the season that anything can happen here, and I'm not really worried about him at this point.
**Dominic Brown's breakout is in progress. The Phillies outfield prospect is hitting .318/.400/.576 with four homers and seven steals for Class A Clearwater, showing strong plate discipline, speed, and improved power production. He had made major progress last year, needing only better power to complete the package, and right now it looks like that is happening. You really need to pay close attention to this guy; I think he's the real deal, a tools guy who is developing his skills rapidly.
**Also in the tools department, Seattle outfielder Greg Hallman is hitting .211/.258/.544 for Double-A West Tennessee. He's seen enough fastballs to hit nine homers already, but his 5/39 BB/K ratio in 90 at-bats is horrendous, and unless he learns to do something other than swing at everything, he'll be hard-pressed to produce in the majors. He simply can't handle breaking stuff right now.
**Until I get a dedicated graphic for the Hit-And-Run posts, I will just post baseball cards of some of my favorite players of all time. First up, Tony Oliva.
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No dedicated graphic please
John, leave the cards.
I love the throwback cards, reminds me of when I was little and people actually cared about baseball cards. I had a shoebox or two that were like my own personal baseball-reference.com back before the internet.
+1
agreed
"If you hit .440 with 20 bombs, you don't have to do s---. You don't have to bring a glove to practice, just hit and leave whenever you want. You can bring a 40 and smoke a cigarette and call me from the parking lot asking me what time the game is, and I'll tell you. You can even say 'F--- you, Steve!' Actually, don't say that, that wouldn't be very nice." -Steve Friend, Head Coach, Chabot College Gladiators Baseball
Cards
As a kid of the 50s and 60s, I love looking at the old cards. Thanks for the decision to keep them.
Card Recommendations:
Eric Plunk
Oil Can Boyd
Billy Ripken
+1
Phenomenal Recommendation of players!!
by ChalupaCabrera on May 4, 2009 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I hope I'm not the only one to get this
But I was thinking the same thing.
by thejd44 on May 7, 2009 5:01 AM EDT up reply actions
Cards Cards Cards
Could never get a Mantle or a Koufax, so I had to settle for Wilbur Wood and Smoky Burgess as “go-to guys” “back in the day.”
by Caballero Guapo on May 5, 2009 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Dominic Brown
this guy might be a star…if his power continues to develop look out! The Phills also have Michael Taylor who looks like he is the real deal as well…combine them with Knapp and Drabek and it looks like us Mets fans will be living in misery for quite some time.
Brown started off a little slow this year, but he really sizzled last week. By the numbers, he looks like a yougn Bobby Abreu; other than the height differential that is. I’d be interested to read peoples thoughts on that comp.
brown
thats not a bad comp, except of course for the body type…i have read darryl strawberry comps from a few places but to expect THAT much power from this kid might be a little far fetched?
I really like these pieces
thanks
"The House That Ruth Built, 85 years old, goes out as The House That Hamilton Knocked Down"
I love the Hit and Run
It’s good to hear a good mix of guys I expect to hear about with some sleepers mixed in.
It’s also good to hear about a guy you might have forgotten about. It’s very cool and honestly much more interesting to me than a prospect retro or a crystal ball. Those are nice, but this is better.
I know he isn’t playing baseball right now and I even made a FanPost about him, but can you give an update on Aaron Hicks? He is playing in extended spring training, but when will he start playing if the Twins don’t send him to Beloit at all. Is it really with Elizabethtown and not until June 24?
Big Fan of Hit and Run
As a kid before the internet was mainstream, I used to read all of the mini recaps and short write-ups on major/minor league players in the local newspaper and USA Today. This is kind of a throwback to those days.
Burgess
This is kind of random, but is anybody else a little, um, impressed by what Michael Burgess has done so far. I know his batting average is below .200 and his OPS barely beats .700, and that it’s less than 100 PAs, but he has reduced his strikeouts enough that he no longer strikes out a horrific 30% of his plate appearances, and now a simply bad 23%. Meanwhile, he’s walking a little bit more, stealing a few bases (5 steals already without any caught), and a slightly better home-run stroke. I was beginning to lose faith in him, but I’m at least paying attention now
TheSouthWing.com - A Magazine of essays, prose and poems
Losing faith in him?
At the ripe age of 20? Plenty of good prospects don’t hit until they’re into their 3rd or 4th pro season/3rd or 4th year of college . . .and very few of them have the raw physical tools that Burgess does. That guy could do jack until he’s 23, suddenly start to hit, and be a pretty dang good prospect. That’s he’s done this much so far in his pro career is a mild surprise.
Oh I'm not defending myself
I’m just saying I was beginning to wonder what would happen, but his K rates are encouraging me more.
TheSouthWing.com - A Magazine of essays, prose and poems
by OldProspects on May 4, 2009 10:50 PM EDT up reply actions
I think you're right on
His BABIP is a JJ Hardy-ian .189. Neutralize his line for luck on Minor League Splits and you get .302/.400/.565.
"I didn't realize his velocity was that high," said Macha, noting that radar readings aren't flashed during exhibition games.
Freddie Freeman luck-neutralized
.306/.383/.535
"I didn't realize his velocity was that high," said Macha, noting that radar readings aren't flashed during exhibition games.
E. Young Jr.?
I’d love it if at some point you could comment on the prospects (no pun intended) of Eric Young Jr. He doesn’t get much press but he’s off to a hot start this year and the Rockies aren’t really settled at 2B.
Greg Halman's line is astounding
I’ve never seen a player who was so utterly reliant on home runs for every ounce of value he provides.
Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving
there is a seldom used college OF
whose career line.. after 3 years.. is something like 10-40 with 6 homers, 3 doubles and a single with 10 walks and 15-20 Ks or something
by nms on May 6, 2009 2:25 AM EDT up reply actions
You've gotta wonder if a guy like that would cut down on the Ks if he, you know, played more.
He seems to have too much good (walks/power) to not play him to see if he can improve on the contact. I could even see a guy like that getting drafted late by a team.
by thejd44 on May 7, 2009 5:04 AM EDT up reply actions
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