Law on Moustakas

by Freneau on Mar 30, 2009 3:10 PM EDT

The man behind RR's millionth-hit talked a little Royals yesterday on the WWL:

Mike Moustakas can look good and bad in the same game. He has a great swing and is very strong, hitting a belt-high fastball out for a long home run to right. Yet in the at-bats before and after that one, he showed poor recognition of off-speed stuff and missed at least one hittable fastball in a fastball count. He wasn't challenged on anything at third base.

Just a little squib, of course, but interesting nonetheless. Not only is said squib about one of our key guys for the future, but it also shows how, in talking about human performers, particularly in the early stages of development, we can see the good and bad.

As for the baseball stuff, isn't a similar problem with off-speed stuff the same thing that's given Gordon trouble pretty much since he reached the Majors?

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I had the same thought about Gordon when I read this.

by djk royal on Mar 30, 2009 3:47 PM EDT reply actions

I think they thought this would be a problem with Moustakas

as he was a high school draftee. I don’t think they envisioned the problem be around so long for Gordon as he was one of the best hitters coming out of college. He will continue to grow and become better no doubt.

by TXroyal on Mar 30, 2009 7:08 PM EDT reply actions

Out of curiosity

Is there any other prospect analyst/evaluator who has such so-so feelings on Moustakas? Certainly none that I’ve read. Looks like he’s an outlier. That doesn’t mean he’s necessarily wrong, but he’s clearly in a small minority.

The immoderate moderator

by Scott McKinney on Mar 30, 2009 7:54 PM EDT reply actions

i think some guys present a spectrum of possibilities more readily in their evaluations

so its hard to pin down just where, exactly, they stand

for example, Goldstein is pretty high on Moose, but also frequently mentions the position issue

by Freneau on Mar 30, 2009 9:00 PM EDT up reply actions

It does seem like

KLaw goes out of his way to relish in being contrarian on Moose.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Mar 30, 2009 9:19 PM EDT up reply actions

There is a wide spectrum of possibilities for every prospect

And Law sees limited upside, significant downside and a mediocre top 100 ranking for Moustakas. From my read of various prospect analysts, Law is much less sanguine about Moustakas’s prospects as a future major leaguer than just about anybody.

The immoderate moderator

by Scott McKinney on Mar 30, 2009 11:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Also the next line of Law's post was about Hosmer

And it was far more complimentary. Here it is:

“Eric Hosmer didn’t hit the big fly on Sunday but hit a few balls hard and showed good plate discipline, working the count consistently and taking a walk rather than forcing an at-bat when he came up with men on in his last at-bat.”

by jsolo on Mar 30, 2009 8:54 PM EDT reply actions