OF Grant Desme (OAK)

by Dewey Finn on Aug 4, 2009 6:03 PM EDT

I was hoping to get community thoughts on this kid. I was sorting through some minor league stats while at work this afternoon and came across Grant Desme's numbers. On the surface, they look pretty impressive. A significant weakness seems to be the strikeouts, however, he has missed a lot of development time the past 2 seasons due to various injuries. Has Desme been on anyone's radar? Kevin Goldstein made an Eric Byrnes comp a couple of months ago. I think he might have better speed and power. His ability to control the strikezone will determine what kind of role he will have for the Athletics in the future. For now, he appears to be a proming power/speed threat.

What are your thoughts on Grant Desme?

2009 Stats:

Low A (MWL) - .274/.334/.490, 259 ABs, 19 2Bs, 11 HRs, 21 BB, 81 K, 24 for 24 SBs

High A (CAL) - .277/.368/.631, 141 ABs, 8 2Bs, 12 HRs, 19 BB, 46 K, 10 for 13 SBs

*The K% staying pretty much the same (28%), but the BB% improved from 7.3% to 11.7%.

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Byrnes seems like a decent comp...

upside of Mike Cameron… downside of “hurt all the time”…

His K rate is disturbingly high, but maybe if he can stay on the field he can cut that down somewhat. He does hit the ball hard (BABIP of .458, .359, .325 in his stops so far).

He’s actually quite similar to Corey Brown, another A’s prospect taken in the same year, except with a slightly higher risk and a slightly lower ceiling, IMO. His tools were considered to be first-round quality coming out of college, but he had a preexisting wrist injury that caused him to fall to the second round.

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

by PaulThomas on Aug 4, 2009 6:30 PM EDT reply actions

I like Brown and Desme.

If one of them pan out we got a pretty nice player in our OF for 6 years. Both have a chance of becoming pretty nice players.

"Their Triple-A rotation, led by Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson, could be better than some big-league rotations; Michael Ynoa is the best Latin American prospect of the decade; 2008 draftees Jemile Weeks and Rashun Dixon bring much-needed tools to an advanced group of hitters." - BaseballProspectus.com

by Syphon on Aug 4, 2009 7:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't think there are 6 years of major league service between the two

Though Brown might end up being an ok defensive outfielder. I just don’t have faith in either guy hitting the ball at high levels. Desme still could change my mind, but I’ll honestly just not be convinced by Brown until he’s actually succeeding in a major league uniform. Nothing he does in the minors will convince me he’s patched the massive holes in his swing (and, from what I’ve seen, a poor approach that was masked by immense athletic ability at lower levels).

by thejd44 on Aug 4, 2009 9:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Brown has hit every stop in the minors.

Im at the point where i dont care how often someone Ks if they put up 850 OPS.

by Syphon on Aug 4, 2009 9:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Chances are you wont put up an 850 OPS in the majors

If your K rate is ridiculously high in the minors.

Solace: Law says he's a fourth OFer
PaulThomas: I think Keith Law is only a fourth analyst

by hero66 on Aug 4, 2009 10:16 PM EDT up reply actions

True.

But it hasnt hurt him so far.

by Syphon on Aug 4, 2009 10:23 PM EDT up reply actions

not yet

But I think it will as he moves up. Especially when he reaches the majors. I still have high hopes for Brown, because he has improved his k rate this year, but I also still have reservations. I could easily see him turning into Russell Branyan.

by ozzman99 on Aug 4, 2009 11:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Russell Branyan would be really valuable in center field

All the time, I mean, not just when he’s on a fluky hot streak like this season.

He has a career OPS of 823. If he was an average defensive center fielder, he’d be worth close to 4 wins above replacement a season.

by PaulThomas on Aug 5, 2009 1:06 AM EDT up reply actions

Desme has decent strikezone judgement. The strikeout rate is high because he is a fastball hitter who doesn’t adjust his swing in two-strike situations, and he’s had trouble hitting off-speed pitches. That he has missed two years is significant though. This is his first season of pro ball, and he’s on pace to hit 30 HRs. I’d say there is a significant chance the strikeout rate will improve in time, though at best he is still going to be a 2.5:1 so:bb guy. His power and defense are legit though, and will translate into upper levels. For me, he profiles as an eventual big-league corner OF starter.

by StickRat on Aug 4, 2009 7:15 PM EDT reply actions

I've seen him quite a few times now

Dude’s got impressive tools, no doubt, but he can’t recognize or hit breaking balls to save his life. And his discipline is as bad as his K rate suggests.

Solace: Law says he's a fourth OFer
PaulThomas: I think Keith Law is only a fourth analyst

by hero66 on Aug 4, 2009 7:49 PM EDT up reply actions

I disagree about his plate discipline. He works counts and has a pretty discerning eye when he has an idea of what’s coming. The biggest problem he has, which you alluded to, is pitch recognition.

by StickRat on Aug 4, 2009 8:22 PM EDT up reply actions

don't discipline and recognition go, at least somewhat, hand in hand?

baseball rules.

by doublestix on Aug 4, 2009 8:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes...

Plate discipline is basically “not swinging at pitches you can’t hit.” If you can’t recognize a pitch, you’ll have a hard time figuring out whether you can hit it or not.

The flipside is “swinging at pitches you CAN hit,” which I’m not sure what to call, but that’s also influenced by pitch recognition.

by PaulThomas on Aug 4, 2009 8:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Pitch recognition (like strikezone judgement and swing adjustments) is a subset of plate discipline. To say someone has bad plate discipline says one of two things: 1) The person lacks all the fundamentals of plate discipline, or; 2) The person lacks one, or many, of the fundamentals of plate discipline, and that this renders the other fundamentals as non-factors of poor performance.

Desme’s plate discipline isn’t bad. He is prone to strikeouts, but his plate performance has still been strong. The reason is that while his plate discipline has holes in it, the biggest being pitch recognition, he has good strikezone judgement, and a decent ability to work counts.

by StickRat on Aug 5, 2009 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I think what you're talking about is better described as "strike zone judgment"

Are strike zone judgment and plate discipline the same thing? Not sure. I’d think based on PaulThomas’ definition of plate discipline, no.

by thejd44 on Aug 4, 2009 9:29 PM EDT up reply actions

See above. (Thanks for the response.)

by StickRat on Aug 5, 2009 6:04 PM EDT up reply actions

I think a good comp would be Chris Young

If you look at their stats, they’re very, very similar. Desme appears to be a better hitter and a better baserunner, but he strikes out a little more. And when you strike out more than Chris Young, you have holes in your swing. But ultimately, I think that’s what he could become. Good defense, some pop, stolen base threat. That’s a useful player, just not a star.

by NateHST on Aug 5, 2009 4:28 PM EDT reply actions