Mike Moustakas - Year in Review
by RoyalJHWKR on Sep 8, 2008 1:06 PM EDT
Email
Print
As you all know, Mike Moustakas wrapped up his first year of professional baseball in Burlington, Iowa last week. It is safe to say that Mike got off to an extremely poor start in his first month of pro ball. His April line was a horrid 190/253/226, culminating in a 479 OPS. In addition to his hitting woes, Mike also committed a bevy of errors at SS. He was moved mid season to the hot corner after the Royals acquired SS Juan Rivera from the Dodgers in exchange for former whipping boy, Angel Berroa.
Needless to say it was not the debut that the Royal faithful were anticipating. However, it isn't uncommon for high school guys to have a similar acclimation to the harsh climate of early season baseball in the Midwest League. It is also worth mentioning that Mike was one of the younger players in the entire league, living outside of his native Southern California for the first time.
But in a true display of Ross Gloadian grit, our favorite Greek-American Royal rebounded from his dismal debut. If you throw out his first month Mike's overall season line comes out to a 348 OBP and 498 SLG for an 846 OPS. And even including the first month he earned an 805 OPS. This is especially significant considering the league average was 693. Mike also finished the year with a 291 BABIP, showing that his numbers are likely in line with what they ought to be. Mike also took 43 free passes as opposed to 86 K's. The strikeouts are a tad high, but nothing to be astounded by. It would be great to see a line in Wilmington next year of 60BB/75K's. That would show a good step forward in plate discipline.
However, the most impressive thing that Mike accomplished was his league leading 22 dingers. It is hard not to be thoroughly impressed with a 19 year kid leading the Midwest League in HR's. He looks to have all the power that he was billed with coming out of Chatsworth High.
It is reported that he is settling into the hot corner fairly well. It was written in this months Baseball America that at one point the Royals sent Joe Randa up to Burlington to help Mike get adjusted there. And for what its worth I got one opportunity to see Burlington play this summer and Mike seemed comfortable at third, and boy does he have a cannon for an arm. Mike looked like a prototypical Catcher, but I suppose that is a discussion for another day.
Also, for what its worth Mike excelled in the Midwest League while fellow 2007 draftee Josh Vitters was placed in the Low A Northwest League. To be fair Vitters did post an 863 OPS with 5 HR's there before earning 14 AB promotion to the Midwest League. Also, fellow Chatsworth High Grad Matt Dominguez posted an oustanding 853 OPS with 18 HR's in the slightly more hitting friendly South Atlantic League.
In all, 2008 was a success for the organizations top hitting prospect. He did pretty much anything you would want your top overall pick to do right out of high school. Going forward it would be great to see Mike hit the ground running in Wilmington next year, possibly earning a late promotion to Arkansas sometime in July or so.
"I'm looking at you, Alex Gordon"
50 comments
|
2 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
don't you worry about me, chief
"You’re not the boss of me, Retro. You’re not the king of Moose. I’m the boss of me. I’m the king of me. I’m Michael Moustakas. I’m the star. It’s my big bat and I say when we roll.
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Sep 8, 2008 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
can we roll through the AL Central now Mr. Mous?
Don't forget to send your broken maples to the US Forest Service.
I imagine him thinking to himself
“Looking good Moose. Looking REAL good. Just flex these arms one more time for the ladies. That’s right. Take a peek at the gun show.”
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
by RoyalsRetro on Sep 8, 2008 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
we make say that in fun
but is he really like that?
Don't forget to send your broken maples to the US Forest Service.
nice
Only thing I disagree with is the strikeouts…15.6% K rate is actually pretty darn solid for a power hitter, similar to what Butler did his first minor league season (although to be fair, Butler did it in High-A).
Rowdy Hardy Fan Club member.
Thats true
Thats a good point. I guess what I meant to say is that if he could lower his K% then his overall approach would become even more advanced than it already is.
Alex Gordon in '08
Maybe we should get Gload to go down
and teach him some grit.
Gload
Should become a roving grit instructor. Maybe we can even bring Dougie back and they could hold seminars together.
Alex Gordon in '08
by RoyalJHWKR on Sep 8, 2008 4:35 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
That'd Keep Him
Off the 40-man, right? I’m all for it.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Sep 13, 2008 7:09 PM EDT up reply actions
too bad they are both lefties
Otherwise, that would a hell of a grit-instructor platoon
Grudz!
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Sep 14, 2008 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions
Let's keep it low and slow
As much as I’d like to see the big club get better faster (my screen name is one brief season away from irrelevance), I like that Moose played the whole season in Burlington, and would not mind at all seeing the next three years go something like 2009 in Wilmington, 2010 in Springdale, 2011 in Omaha (at least for 1/2 the season). He’d wind up being in KC by age 23 at the latest, and will have had a chance to get his legs under him against closer to MLB pitching by touching every level. I still wish I could have seen Gordon torch PCL pitching for half a season and debut in KC in the summer. Here’s hoping Moose gets that chance.
Sometimes you just gotta roll the potato.
by CentralChamps2009 on Sep 9, 2008 1:44 AM EDT reply actions
I understand
exactly what you mean. You want your HS guys to have a full year at each level to really acclimate and develop. But, in some ways, an elite hitter like Moustakas might be able to jump “half” a level a la Billy Butler.
In his second full year I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mike have a 280/350/510 line through July 15. IF that were the case I would not be against him seeing 100-150 AB’s in Springdale. He would most definitely start again in AA in 2010, but with hopefully a promotion to AAA in July/August of 2010.
You do not want to force your prospects for sure. But, I would not be surprised if Mike ended up in AA by the end of 2009. The first year of professional ball always seems to present the steepest learning curve. And on top of that, the Midwest League has been a doozy for many a good prospect.
Only time will tell, but in the long run, whether it is 2 1/2 years or as long as 3 1/2 years from now, Mike Moustakas looks to have all of the ability of a future major league hitter.
Alex Gordon in '08
agreed
I understand the idea of letting a prospect go year by year, and in most cases that is the correct path. But an elite hitter like Moustakas should be allowed to set his own pace to the big leagues. If he’s raking through June, I would not hesitate to bump him up to Northwest Arkansas.
I liked that they let him get his feet wet in pro ball by keeping him in Burlington the whole year, but next year it’s time to take the kid gloves off and let him set his own path. If he stumbles a tad, let him stay in Wilmington for a majority of the season, but I wouldn’t at all stand in his way if he hits well.
Rowdy Hardy Fan Club member.
I'm excited for a year of Hosmer as a Bee
Hosmer seems to be on the same track that Moustakas is. I know a lot of people scream for Wieters but I think for us, Moustakas was a better pick. He is a great hitter and a player that will move up with his class (for the most part) and hit the ground running at every level. Now that he has a year of proball behind him, he’ll be even better earlier next season.
Blue Rocks next year will be LOADED!
Don't forget to send your broken maples to the US Forest Service.
Bee's '08
Blue Rocks ‘09
Travellers ’10
O’ Royals ’11…
Looks like 2012 is the year
We always did feel the same, We just saw it from a different point of view, Tangled up in blue.
-Bob Dylan
by Royal Kingdom on Sep 11, 2008 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions
A bunch of bad-body guys who don't have the "good face"
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Sep 11, 2008 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions
Oops, Naturals
for some reason I had Arkansas Travelers on the brain.
We always did feel the same, We just saw it from a different point of view, Tangled up in blue.
-Bob Dylan
by Royal Kingdom on Sep 11, 2008 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Nice update
Moustakas finished strong.
Throwing a bit cold water on this positive evaluation:
This was not exactly Moustakas first year of pro ball. He did play a bit last year. Did he play winter ball?
While Moustakas final line is really very good for the Midwest league, I do not share your bottom line: “In all, 2008 was a success for the organizations top hitting prospect. He did pretty much anything you would want your top overall pick to do right out of high school.” I think that might be true if Moustakas was the 20th or 25th pick in the first round. Given that he was the second overall pick I consider his final line “passable.” More is expected of the second overall pick. With the #2 overall pick you look for dominance, not just really good performance.
I think it also has to be kept in mind that Moustakas already failed out as a shortstop and is now a third-baseman. His value dipped significantly when his position was downgraded. I understand he is projected as a right fielder. At least that is where Baseball America saw him headed if I remember correctly. An .805 OPS looks a lot better at SS than it does at 3B or in RF.
I don’t want to come across as too negative here but I think Royals fans are evaluating Moustakas overly generously. Moustakas had a good overall year and he is on a trajectory to be in the majors by 2011. He hit for good power which is very encouraging given his age. He hit for good average. He might be a good third-baseman. So I like Moustakas fine. He is clearly the best offensive prospect in the organization. But, in truth, after 1+ years of pro ball he is not yet justifying his draft position in my eyes. We’ll see.
www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage
Just to switch on the "hot" tap for minute
I don’t think many expected him to stick at SS. He was simply a good hitting prospect in general. This is taken into account my prospect evaluators who saw him as good.
He was hitting in a pitchers league.
I think OPS is more impressive given the terrible first month or two — shows him improving over the year, revealing his “true” skill level rather than spreadingn an .805 OPS over the whole year. But that’s just me.
I tihnk he projects at RF because Gordon is already at 3B, not necessarily because they don’t think he can play third.
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Sep 10, 2008 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions
You're right
He did play last year in Idaho Falls, for something like 40-50 AB’s. As far as I know he did not play any winter ball.
I think his performance is more than passable. If you throw out his first month his OPS is 846 like I said. And in comparison to the league average OPS of 693 Mike would have a very lofty OPS+ given that he performed well above the average. In that respect I think his 805 OPS is exceptional given how poor his first month was.
Despite the FO posturing, the Royals in my opinion never saw Mike as a SS. If he could have stuck at SS then Boras’ claim of him being the best middle infield prospect since Alex Rodriguez would have been true. Mike would havce been a once in a generation talent. It doesn’t seem likely that anyone past Boras really saw Mike as a SS.
I think Mike will stick at 3B. He seemed to make the transition fairly well, cutting down on his fielding errors. Also, Mike has an outstanding arm at 3B. And you can’t forget Mike won the HR crown in the Midwest League as a 19 year old. That is pretty darn exceptional if you ask me. Mike may not have set the world on fire this year, but I believe he accomplished what you would want a 19 year old in his first full year of pro ball, even as the #2 overall selection.
And I’m gonna come out right now and make a prediction. Next year at Wilmington Mike is going to post a robust line of 280/360/490, possibly earning a promotion to NW Arkansas.
Alex Gordon in '08
Thankfully, prospect analysts disagree with you
I don’t want to come across as too negative here but I think Royals fans are evaluating Moustakas overly generously.
Prospect analysts like Sickels and Goldstein at BP have a much higher opinion of him and his first full season than you do. You are making a mistake by focusing on the overall numbers for the year and saying that he merely “finished strong.” In reality, he started very slowly in his first month and turned it on after that. So, one bad month and the rest were good. As Kevin Goldstein talked about that in a recent chat:
Base (Burque): Is this the type of season Royals’ fans should expect from Moustakas? Medium-well avg w/ well-done power numbers? ( why don’t scouts use steak temperatures as adjectives? Seems natural)
Kevin Goldstein: No. He’s better than the whole of his season. He really took a while to get going, and that’s totally understandable. I think he’s a monster and that the .321/.392/.557 line he put up after the all-star break is more indicative of his true talent.
No, the fact that he moved from SS to 3B has not affected his prospect status. He was not drafted because he was a SS. He was not ranked the #18 prospect by BA because he was a SS. Both the team that drafted him and all of the prospect analysts thought that he wouldn’t stay at SS. He was thought of as an elite prospect because of his hitting and other tools which would likely make him at least a pretty good defensive player at whatever position he ended up at.
But, in truth, after 1+ years of pro ball he is not yet justifying his draft position in my eyes.
Well, his prospect ranking is going to improve from #18 in the next top 100 list, so Royals fans should be pretty happy.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Sep 10, 2008 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Actually, when you think about it,
if he is only ranked as the #18 overall prospect that just reinforces my original point. A player selected #2 overall should be ranked higher than #18 in his second year of pro baseball. If those ranking the prospects put him at #18 then they are in effect saying that they think he is not living up to his lofty draft ranking.
I’m not saying Moustakas is looking like a bust. I’m am saying that we as Royals fans might do well to awknowledge that he is not setting the world on fire and some healthy constructive criticism of Dayton Moore’s draft strategy for offensive players is in order. The Royals are turning golden draft opportunties into mild success stories (Gordon, Hochevar and now Moustakas). Hopefully the Royals will not draft in the top-5 many more times, but when a team picks that early you really hope for more than what the Royals have been getting.
We’ll see were Moustakas falls in prospect rankings this off season. If he is in the top ten it will give me food for thought. I expect he will not be in the top-25 in most lists.
www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage
Well,
Although I think Gordon is going to be a good player (and the main advantage, historically, in drafting in the top-5 is not so much the increased likelyhood of getting a superstar, but rather the increased likelyhood of getting a major league regular, at least as far as I have read), neither he nor Hochevar (as far as we know on Hoch) were on DMGM’s watch.
Moustakas and Hosmer are DMGM’s only two #1 picks so far.
It’s still too early to evaluate Moustakas as a pick. We can evaluate the year he’s had for good or bad, and a bit of projection, but I don’t think that’s enough to say it was good or bad. Sure, I’d rather the Royals have picked Wieters, but if Moustakas “only” becomes an .880 OPS right fielder while Wieters is the new Jorge Posada, I’m not going to say it was bad pick for DMGM. Baseball drafts are hard. How many in the top-10 of any draft ever become league-average players for their position?
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Sep 11, 2008 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions
neither he nor Hochevar (as far as we know on Hoch) were on DMGM’s watch.
That doesn’t make any difference, but it is just too much fun for some people to tear into Dayton Moore. It doesn’t matter if he didn’t have anything to do with those guys being drafted. Blame him!
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Sep 11, 2008 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions
I think you are a little off there
Have you looked at the other stats in the MWL? Moose had a .949 OPS in the second half of the season, I think you would be hard pressed to find someone else that hit that well. He is a 19 year old if you want to make the case that they should’ve taken Wieters then I can give you that (hindsight) but to say he isn’t impressive this year you are a little out there.
You aren’t gonna see him in the Top 10 because most of those spots are held for guys who are closer to making a impact in the bigs. He will definitely be in Baseball America’s Top 25 as they had him on their Second Team All Star team. That is an impressive first full year for any pro let alone a 19 yo in a tough hitters league.
It takes 46 muscles to frown but only 4 to flip 'em the bird.
Also,
won’t any prospect lists from BA include guys from a number of drafts, on all levels?
SO some guys will be college guys a year or two ahead of Moustakas, some guys will be Latin American guys who are 20 who have been in the system for 3-4 years, and so on?
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Sep 11, 2008 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions
You put to much stock into a ranking system.
It’s like ranking teams in HS sports. Just for show.
Don't forget to send your broken maples to the US Forest Service.
I'm talking National rankings, not state rankings
although you could make an argument on the state rankings as well….
Don't forget to send your broken maples to the US Forest Service.
A player selected #2 overall should be ranked higher than #18 in his second year of pro baseball.
- was his ranking going into this season. Before this season, he had all of 41 minor league at bats. So this is essentially his first minor league season. Thankfully he’ll be ranked higher than #18 after his first full minor league season.
If those ranking the prospects put him at #18 then they are in effect saying that they think he is not living up to his lofty draft ranking.
As those rankings were done in the offseason, they aren’t saying anything at all about how Moustakas is living up to his lofty draft ranking.
I’m am saying that we as Royals fans might do well to awknowledge that he is not setting the world on fire
Again, the prospect analysts are impressed with both his tools and his performance this season. He hit extremely well in the power-free Midwest League, and did it at a young age for the league. If people like Goldstein and Sickels are very impressed, why aren’t you?
some healthy constructive criticism of Dayton Moore’s draft strategy for offensive players is in order. The Royals are turning golden draft opportunties into mild success stories (Gordon, Hochevar and now Moustakas).
There is so much bullshit there, I hardly know where to begin. So you are writing Gordon and Hochevar off to “mild success stories”? Don’t you think it is a little early for that? That is just preposterous. And absolutely nothing about Moustakas’s 2008 season says “mild success.”
We’ll see were Moustakas falls in prospect rankings this off season. If he is in the top ten it will give me food for thought. I expect he will not be in the top-25 in most lists.
JQ, do you follow prospects very much? Do you read any of BA, BP, Sickels or Scout.com? It sure doesn’t seem like it, because the prospect analysts love him and his stock has only gone up this season.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Sep 11, 2008 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Even so....
At least we’d have a 3B or OF who could OPS .800.
Don't forget to send your broken maples to the US Forest Service.
Mark it down
Gordon will OPS at least .800 next year. My personal prediction is .833, but at least .800 for sure.
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Sep 11, 2008 9:21 AM EDT up reply actions
I agree
I think Gordon showed some progress(after my rant about him) before going down with injury he OPS .877 in August despite hitting only .268. Good sign he is walking more and more if he keeps that going with a .280-290 BA and we could be looking at a +.900OPS guy. How refreshing would that be.
It takes 46 muscles to frown but only 4 to flip 'em the bird.
All he has to do to get to .800 OPS
is to combine his progress against righties this year with his shitty line against lefties last year (as opposed to this years even shittier one), really.
I know I’ve said this a lot, but if you divide his two seasons into each half, then look at each separately, there is progress from one to the next. That’s encouraging. fangraphs also illstruates progress in almost all categories — OBP, walk rate, BB/K ratio (K rate relatively stable). Line drives and flyballs on the rise, GB% decreasing (al least someone on the Royals is managing this — we’re looking at you, Mr. Butler!**).
It’s even more obvious looking at the splits, where Alex improved in every category (except raw K rate) against righties. He was stable or improving in every category against lefties, too, except for a marked drop in SLG driven by low ISO. Given his improved “knowledge” of the strike zone and overall improvement, I don’t think it’s hard to imagine him improving against lefties next year (and it seems that he did over the year this year), at least enough so that is doesn’t drag his overall line down as much as it did this year.
[I’d make some joke about his improvement showing how awesome Barnett is, but I’m not sure I want to re-open that can of worms. Heh.]
I know his defense has sucked. It was good enough last year that I don’t think he’s necessarilly doomed at third. But that’s another issue, we’re talking about offense here.
I don’t know much about development-by-age and stuff. I guess one thing I think we might disagree about, kccoliny, is AVG. I think he’ll improve overall in AVG, but I don’t see him hitting much above .275-.280 in his prime except maybe in a BABIP-driven lucky season. Too many Ks. I think the improvement OPS-wise will come from the interaction between his patience (increasing his OBP) and increasing power (increased SLG and ISO), which will feed into each other. And I guess that’s better, as long as his OBP goes up. I see him more as a Mike Schmidt-type hitter (not that good, of course) — the whole “next George Brett” thing is understandable, but really unfair to Alex. I know Brett was just trying to help with the “I hope that I’ll be compared to Alex Gordon someday” or whatever he said, and it’s a nice gesture, but, wow, way to take the pressure off, George!
I also predict that, even if he does turn into a regular .850-.900 OPS guy with average defense, Alex will never be properly appreciated by KC fans. He just didn’t come out of the gate fast enough while his contemporaries did (Braun, Longoria, ZImmerman his first year), and fans don’t forget that. It’s like starting the season hot and cooling off as opposed to starting cold and getting hot — the former always “looks” better to fans (unless you’re A-Rod). Career’s are similar. The “next George Brett” thing made that worse. Also, he seems a big shy (this is maybe why he comes off as aloof — I dunno, maybe he is a snob, but that’s how it strikes me). In any case, he isn’t a “lovable” personality like Butler is. He isn’t “funny.” It’s hard to imagine him storming out of the dugout over pine tar. He isn’t eccentric. So, unless he’s the recognized MVP of a pennant-winning club and/or turns into a .930-1.000 OPS guy, he will never be a fan favorite in KC. It’s not fair, but that’s just how fans are, I’m afraid.
** Yeah, I know Billy’s young. Everyone thinks he’s going to turn it around. I just wish he would stop emulating Jose Guillen’s FB/GB/no LD with lots of GDP style, which also includes incompetence against RHP. I’d take a lot more baserunning errors if he’d just start hitting line drives again.
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Sep 11, 2008 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions
is AVG. I think he’ll improve overall in AVG, but I don’t see him hitting much above .275-.280 in his prime
Hmm I don’t think he will ever be a .330 guy but I see his upside as a litter better than you do. I think he will get slightly better against righties and overtime he will get better against lefties. His main problem is with pitches low and away and up and in. Both of those pitches are out of the strikezone type pitches and the more he can lay off of them the better he will be. I think after reviewing his entire season he might be the victim of some bad umpiring.
As far as the George Brett comparisons, I’ve often heard George was an a-hole but winning does wonders for your personality. The more KC wins the better Alex will look to people especially if he is in the 3-hole or 4-hole and at the center of it all.
In the end I see Billy as having the better upside. If he reaches his potential he could definitely be a .330 hitter with not as much pop as Alex but just as patient and an overall better hitter.
It takes 46 muscles to frown but only 4 to flip 'em the bird.
I actually think Alex would be more popular if he were perceived as an a-hole
since, if you don’t throw your teammates under the bus and throw fits in the locker room, you obviously don’t care about winning. [/sarc]
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Sep 11, 2008 11:52 AM EDT up reply actions
I don't mind Guillen that much
I get bored by guys on crappy teams saying the same old shit. Rays of sunshine and bubblegum, you suck admit you suck or someone else on the team sucks and move on. I don’t care for his shots at the fans but who cares if he calls a teammate out if they don’t like it they can always take him out back afterwards and get it handled. Otherwise these guys need to pickup theig game, the same goes for Guillen next year he needs to come in to the season in shape and ready to go or expect someone to call him out.
It takes 46 muscles to frown but only 4 to flip 'em the bird.
Jose Guillen is batshit insane
and I really hope he doesn’t read this and try to come and find me.
Accidentally not thedude925 anymore. I do hate this new name.
by wildthang on Sep 12, 2008 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
IT was
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Sep 10, 2008 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions
More of Goldstein on Moustakas
bsox07 (jay, NY): thoughts on moustakas…..
Kevin Goldstein: Best hitter I saw in the Midwest League this year. Still not sure where he’ll end up defensively, but I don’t think it’s going to matter really. The bat will play anywhere.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
bsox07 asking a question about Moustakas?
Sounds good.
Any reports on how his D looks at third? Anyone heard?
Back on the rankings issue I have a legit question about something I don’ t know about: is it impressived for any young guy of 19 with just one ball year of A-ball to be on anyone’s top 20 (or whatever) list? Or does it depend? Does BA, for example, just judge on upside, or do they give a guy at a higher level a higher rank? Does this question even make sense? Probably not.
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Sep 15, 2008 9:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Any reports on how his D looks at third? Anyone heard?
It looks good. HIs problem at SS was range. But not-quite-good-enough range at SS is genuinely good range at 3B. And he has a shotgun for an arm.
is it impressived for any young guy of 19 with just one ball year of A-ball to be on anyone’s top 20 (or whatever) list? Or does it depend? Does BA, for example, just judge on upside, or do they give a guy at a higher level a higher rank?
Any prospect ranking (BA, BP, Sickels) is mostly about upside potential (and skills determine that upside potential, with stats helping to support the skills evaluation). It is impressive to 19 with one year of A-ball and to be in the top 20. But there are always some of those guys. Typically they are guys like Moustakas who were drafted out of HS, thought to be excellent when drafted and then showed in their first minor league season that they can do it in the pros. In short, some HS players who were drafted out of HS and then have a good first minor league season will be top 20. In this case, Moustakas should move up to the top 15.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Sep 15, 2008 11:01 PM EDT up reply actions
only a shotgun for an arm?
Is that selling him short? I’m thinking of bigger guns.
Don't forget to send your broken maples to the US Forest Service.
Munitions aren't my thing
Probably some type of artillery is better.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Sep 15, 2008 11:16 PM EDT up reply actions
moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose
1. Randa said he looked good at 3B. That’s a good thing.
2. BA looooooooooooooves tools/upside. I think he’ll be top 20 for sure, maybe higher. Who knows.
Rowdy Hardy Fan Club member.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Photo: Padres fan regrets letting mother capture moment with Trevor Hoffman
- Marlins agree to unretire No. 5 for Logan Morrison, who will honor his father’s favorite player
- Weatherman Derek Holland does Dallas TV
- Ask Alex: Will Julio Teheran or Matt Moore win rookie of the year?
- Ku Klux Klan, umpires and bowling: Why the minor leagues tossed out Jim Evans academy
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
