Five Prospects to Watch (KC Star)

Sort of arbitrary, but whatever.

1. Dan Cortes
2. Dan Gutierrez
3. Derrick Robinson
4. Jeff Bianchi (?!)
5. Greg Holland

8 months ago raefzilla 8 comments 0 recs |

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Robinson?

Yes, watch to see if he can become a poor man’s Wily Taveras!

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by RoyalsRetro on Mar 9, 2009 11:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It's a little early to pigeon hole him

…given his age and experience. Toolsy guys like him often don’t start out with great stats (see Carlos Beltran, among others).

The immoderate moderator

by NYRoyal on Mar 9, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Beltran will still slugging way better than DRob’s .314 career SLG. And Carlos already had good OBA skills. I’d agree with you if DRob at least displayed decent doubles power or could hit for a bit of average or something, but c’mon, he isn’t that young anymore, and the only skill he has developed is that he is really really fast!

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by RoyalsRetro on Mar 9, 2009 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

By the same point in his professional career (by both age and level), Beltran had a low OBP and low SLG. Perhaps a bit better than Robinson, but not by much. It’s not like all or even most prospects blossom by age 20 in A-ball. And no I don’t think he’s going to be a power hitting CFer. But he could develop into a decent hitting CFer with great defense. That’s pretty valuable. Or he could end up being a complete failure. But I think it is a mistake to make judgments about a prospect’s future based solely or even primarily on his statistical record from ages 18-20.

The immoderate moderator

by NYRoyal on Mar 9, 2009 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agree to disagree

I’m not totally giving up on the guy, but I don’t really get why he’s considered one of our best hitting prospects by many. Eventually tools have to translate into results, and he hasn’t had much of any results in three seasons.

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by RoyalsRetro on Mar 9, 2009 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I get Bianchi

as a “to watch” guy. He’s talented, moved positions, and injured. I’m not prospet maven, but given all that, it woudn’t be totally shocking for him to come out and kick ass this year, right?

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by devil_fingers on Mar 9, 2009 12:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I dunno

I don’t follow it close enough, but my perception was that he just dropped off the map the last few seasons. I was totally surprised to even hear his name mentioned, but I don’t actually know whether he should be or not.

by raefzilla on Mar 9, 2009 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He's a "to watch" guy because he is a former high draft pick

If he had been signed as an international free agent instead of drafted but had the same minor league career so far, he would not be on anyone’s “to watch” list.

That said, a guy like Bianchi is the reason teams get at least four years to develop a player before they are subject to the Rule 5 draft and six years before they become minor league free agents. He still might breakout (or not), but the Royals have one more season to evaluate him before they need to make a decision about him.

by Gopherballs on Mar 9, 2009 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs