Robbie Grossman: A Hidden Gem in Pittsburgh's Future?

One thing that is important to note is that even though Grossman was drafted in the sixth-round in 2008, he signed for $1M, a total found in the late-first to supplemental rounds. Grossman/Marte isn’t a stats/scouting debate, because Grossman actually had some pretty great scouting reports early on, even if they’re overshadowed by performance now.

I still prefer Marte because of defense and because I think he might have some untapped potential at the plate, but Grossman could very well end up being the better player. Like Law said, I wish he moved to AA late in the season—he was wasting his time at A+.

Alex Presley.

I can see why the Pirates were being conservative about promoting Grossman. McCutchen has yet to reach his arbitration years. Tabata has long-term contract at reasonable salaries. Presley looked good in his first MLB at-bats. And then there’s Marte lurking in the not-too-distant future.

It is important to note he would have been a college junior and draft-eligible in 2011. Given this performance, he very well could have been a 1st rounder, and if he put up a similar performance in a High-A cup of coffee, he would be highly thought of.

what kind of player is Brett Jackson supposed to be?

prospect, but still a ways to go. There was some chatter about slipping into the back-end of some top 100 lists, but realistically I’d say the back-end of some a top 200 list would be a more accurate landing spot, and that’s still being somewhat optimistic.

The curious thing about Grossman is the large divide on his tools. Comparing him to Brett Jackson, as Law did, would apparently indicate he has good tools across the board. Maybe one or two is plus, but even if that’s not the case you’re talking about several above-average tools. Combine that with his work ethic (as a Pirates fan, I can attest that all reports indicate it is excellent) and plate discipline and he could become a very good major league outfielder.

At the same time, you have the Callis’s opinion, pointed out above, that sees his tools as average across the board, and his contact tool may not even be there, with maybe one or two above-average tools. That scouting report, even with the plate discipline, is more indicative of a 4th outfielder.

Seeing Grossman in person a few times myself, I’m more inclined to agree with Law’s assessment, as I saw an above-average (although maybe a 55, not 60) arm, above-average to plus baserunning skills, and a swing that could generate above-average or better contact and power. He did have problems taking routes to balls in the outfield a few times when I saw him.

I will add a caveat though. This was back in 2009, while he was in West Virginia, I was much less experienced in terms of understanding how to scout a baseball player, and admittedly I may have been looking/hoping for a positive scouting report, so bias may have bumped up his scouting report by a 5 or 10 points (on the 20-80 scale) on each tool.

I guess only time will tell.

I like Grossman a great deal. Repeated his league? Sure…but he was not old for the FSL.

I don’t have the season splits in front of me, but I recall that Grossman was much better over the season’s second half—-particularly better at converting his selectivity at the dish into power.

So what we have is an age-appropriate outfielder with an OPS 150+ points above his league, and an outstanding BB/K/AB ratio, who was even better than that over the final two months. .

There are some other minor points in his favor, as well. Grossman’s a switch-hitter, rendering platoon issues mostly (if not entirely) irrelevent.

At 6’ 1" and 190, he’s neither big nor small, which I tend to like in hitting prospects (i.e., enough size to generate good pop, but not so tall that the swing tends to become elongated).

Grossman may also be an outstanding baserunner; 127 tallies in 134 games, especially in the FSL, is pretty darn amazing, and even the two previous seasons showed Grossman a guy who scores lots of runs even when the OBP is merely OK, rather than dominant.

Finally, the K’s keep coming down, year by year, so the young man seems to be adapting and improving—-especially if his 2nd-half surge was mostly for real.

Add it all up, and I see an eventual above-average regular, with a non-trivial chance to play in a couple of Midsummer Classics. That’s top 50 stuff.

and Mesa recordwise is not good but one should consider Grossman as an early AFL MVP candidate (if they hand out such award)

Today he hit a leadoff homer in the 1st (4th of the season) and laced an RBI single in the 2nd.

This kid reminds me a lot of Brian Giles. It took Giles a long time before he got his power swing in full form and we are starting to see that in Grossman.

He and Marte are gonna end up forcing the likes of McCutchen out the door.

His platoon split favors his right hand. This might not be a great problem if it weren’t for the fact that he’s a switch hitter who mostly faces righthanded pitchers.