March Draft Update: Harper, Sale, Pomeranz, etc.
by nwroyal on Mar 30, 2010 1:06 AM EDT
in Kansas City Royals Minor Leagues
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PrintSchool has kept me away for awhile but I'm back with an update on draft prospects. The amateur baseball season is in full swing. So I thought we'd give an update on how some of the top prospects are doing.
1. Bryce Harper
Harper would normally be enjoying his junior year of High School but instead he's at Southern Nevada Community College and has led them to a #1 ranking among Junior Colleges. He's hitting 420/515/864. I'm sure the level of pitching he faces is uneven but those are very impressive numbers, even more so considering his league uses wooden bats. His power is just crazy for a 17 year old. I've heard he's played the OF some--not sure if that is just to give him a rest from catching or if there are concerns with his defense. Kevin Goldstein recently indicated that Washington was probably going to pass on Harper (I'm not sure if that was just conjecture or if he had some info that indicated that). It will be very interesting if Harper is available when the Royals pick in June. They have been spending on the draft the past couple of years, but this would take that to a new level.
2. Jameson Taillon
Taillon has lived up to the hype so far this year. He has shown his devastating stuff---mid 90s heat, great breaking ball. He recently threw a 7 inning no hitter with 19k's. He not only has great stuff but has a good idea of how to use it. He's another guy that we would have to pony up huge cash to sign. He has a scholarship to Rice but I just can't imagine that he's going to go there seeing the abuse pitchers there get.
3. Chris Sale
Tall, lanky lefty from Florida Gulf Coast. He's got a very good fastball and slider. Not sure if he uses much of a change. This year, he has a 1.73 ERA is 26ip with 40k/4bb. He hasn't exactly faced top competition this season but he was the best pitcher in the Cape Cod League last summer.
4. AJ Cole
I haven't heard any updates on how he's throwing this spring but, assuming he's showing the same stuff he had last summer, he's still high on my list.
5. Anthony Ranaudo
A tough guy to rank right now. He pitched 5 innings for LSU at the beginning of the season but has been shut down since then with elbow pain. He is now scheduled to pitch Sunday. If he comes back and does well, I'll move him back to number three.
6. Drew Pomeranz
Big left hander at Ole Miss. This year he's got a 1.23 ERA in 29 ip with 49k/9bb. One concern is that he has already given up 3 homers. His fastball is low 90s but he uses it well. His curve and change can be inconsistent. I'm not as high on Pomeranz as some because I think his ceiling is limited.
Others of note:
Deck McGuire-RHP--Georgia Tech--not as him on him as some. Limited ceiling
Manny Machado--SS--HS--rising up boards but for some reason I just don't feel like he's a top 5 guy, yet.
Karsten Whitson--RHP--HS--another hard throwing HS pitcher
Notes:
- I think Harper and Taillon have separated themselves from the pack. I'd put the odds around 50/50 that one of them slips to #4. I've heard the Royals are high on Taillon but haven't heard a peep about what they think of Harper. Ranaudo is the wild card--his health and price tag could affect the whole top of the draft.
- Lavon Washington and Christian Colon have struggled so far this year and their stock is dropping
- If you are looking for a possible player the Royals would give big money to in the later rounds (a la Wil Myers/Tim Melville), perhaps Austin Wilson--a very toolsy outfielder who has a Stanford scholarship. He may slip due to bonus demands and sounds like a player Dayton would like--very toolsy/big upside/kinda raw
- To torture myself, every so often I check in on Jason Esposito--our almost signed 6th round pick from 2 years ago that agreed to a $1.5 million bonus only to change his mind and go to Vandy. Esposito is hitting: 391/462/667 as a sophomore.
- Silver lining to the fact the Royals aren't going to win a lot of games this year: the top of the 2011 draft is loaded. Take, for example, Anthony Rendon--3B--Rice, he's hitting 344/570/813 with 30 walks/9 k's and he's supposed to be very good with the glove.
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I would like the Royals to take Machado if Harper doesn't fall
if they aren’t going young big upside Boras type Pomeranz or McGuire is fine with me. They have limited upsides 2/3 but should be quick movers.
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
I agree on Machado
I’ve heard good things and having some good SS prospects might be nice for once.
by MinnesotaRoyal on Mar 26, 2010 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions
I like Machado too
I think he has great upside, his body projects well… I have my doubts he’ll stick at SS though.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
He probably could at least play 2b or a corner OF spot well
as opposed to Moose who if he doesn’t workout at 3b is probably a 1b/DH/C only. Thankfully he might have a shot at Catcher to fall to.
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
If he is going to go to catcher
He needs to go now. He has no catching experience at all, hell of a lot to learn. Look at Buster Posey. Better bat, been catching for a few years now and he still isn’t ready on the D side.
I Think He
Could still do 2B well enough if his bat is what we hope.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Mar 26, 2010 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions
17?
Sometimes I forget exactly where the curve begins.
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Esposito's a rock star
I’m at Vandy now and go to most of their games. He’s a pretty good player, though he’s not the best on the team. He’ll be one to watch in a couple years, though. Could be a sweet pick.
by MinnesotaRoyal on Mar 26, 2010 11:20 AM EDT reply actions
Is he a rock star worth $1.5 million in the next draft?
Or will he sign for less… or will he hold out and go his senior year, lose all leverage, and sign a $300K contract…
I don’t think he’ll ever get a bonus of what the Royals offered…
Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.
I believe his family is pretty well off if I remember right.
A college degree from Vanderbilt or a buyout to get him to forgo his senior year will probably get him at the 1.5 or above mark.
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
I could see Washington dropping quite a bit
he’s struggling .231/.308/.317 and has said to have slowed and his arm is still weak. Not good for his draft status. Should’ve signed with TB last year
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
oh the mistakes kids make
Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.
like getting on our lawns!!!!!
Zapp Brannigan/Dayton Moore quote of the day: "[my most important sabermetric stats are] runs scored and runs driven in"
by SagehenMacGyver47 on Mar 26, 2010 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions
I would really like the Royals to draft a premium position player
No more of this Moustakas as SS crap. Draft Harper if he’s available, otherwise, go best available (even if that means pitcher). But for once, I wish we could draft a guy that will stick at SS and hit like a stud, instead of guys that will end up at 1B/DH.
Totally agree
the fact that the Royals thought Moustakas could stick at shortstop and now he probably can’t even stick at third says a lot about our scouting.
I don't know that they ever thought he'd stick
but it was mentioned a few times as possibility IIRC.
Are you questioning the wisdom of a guy who says he was somehow involved with the development of Rafael Furcal?
Once you demonstrate a tool, you OWN it.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
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by Matt Klaassen on Mar 29, 2010 7:41 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
They knew he wouldn't stick at SS. Him playing SS in the minors was an agreement the
FO made with Moose and his family.
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
Silver lining to the fact the Royals aren’t going to win a lot of games this year: the top of the 2011 draft is loaded.
Kendall NOW!
+1
Zapp Brannigan/Dayton Moore quote of the day: "[my most important sabermetric stats are] runs scored and runs driven in"
by SagehenMacGyver47 on Mar 26, 2010 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Taylor jungman
JD’s like, "you want some fucking pitching? Here’s all the pitching you can stand. Now choke on it, bitches!"- RCCook
So now I understand why Moore signed Kendall
So we’d finish last and draft first. Scary smart!
unfortunately
this has the markings of a" 72 win/out of the 5 of the draft" season.
Can’t wait to see the Astros go cheap with #1 in 2011,
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
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by Matt Klaassen on Mar 29, 2010 7:43 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Greg Schaum
Wrote he thought Drew Pomeranz, Deck McGuire and AJ Cole would be likely picks for the Royals at #4 and I tend to agree. All seem to profile well for the Royals – tall pitcher with a good fastball and decent secondary stuff with good upside and all three seem fairly polished. I can see McGuire in the bigs pretty quickly.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
Don't get the love for McGuire
He’s an 1st round prospect but I don’t see a high ceiling. I think Seiler is right: he has “Pirates” written all over him.
Good frame (6'6'')
Solid low 90s fastball without max effort, and an arsenal of three average to above average secondary pitches. I don’t think he has Zack Greinke upside, but I think he can be a very solid #2/#3 type pitcher in the bigs, and be there pretty quickly.
OTOH, that profile sounds eerily similar to Kyle Snyder.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
you know what kind of player profiles well for KC?
BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE
I’m not saying those guys wouldn’t necessarily be that, but I hate the idea of KC doing anything else. I don’t think any other strategy works than getting the most talent possible given a draft budget.
I hope to Branyan that Dayton isn’t doing the “waves” thing, since even if it might sometimes be a good idea (and I seriously doubt that), neither the Royals’ major or minor leave talent is close enough that they need to emphasize “guys who are close.”
The Royals need “blue chippers,” and while there are some good prospects in on the farm, I’ve talked to some who sat they Win Myers is the only real “blue chipper” among them.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Mar 29, 2010 7:55 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Oh I agree
I’m just saying what they think the best player is. They like big pitchers.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
by RoyalsRetro on Mar 30, 2010 11:51 AM EDT up reply actions
Any idea what kind of money Harper's gonna cost?
by Your_Moms_Boyfriend on Mar 26, 2010 1:45 PM EDT reply actions
What did Strausburg get?
$15 M? Harper probably gets $8-12. What will be more interesting is if he gets a ML contract. Part of this whole go to junior college thing is to try and hit free agency when 26ish—which means in the bigs by 20.
Harper will get 15M too...He has way more leverage than Stras did
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
How?
Just because he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated? Because he’s a “prodigy”? I’m thinking Billy Beane, this kid hasn’t played real college competition, yet.
Not saying he won’t turn out, I just fail to see his leverage compared to a proven college player.
It's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog.
- Mark Twain
He's playing college ball now
And frankly, he’s dominating.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
Junior College =/= College
It's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog.
- Mark Twain
So if college ball = High A to AA
then JuCo is somewhere between Low A to HIgh A? I’d buy that, but there’s some pretty good JuCo players that can’t hack the big schools due to grades I would think.
there's no way that any college ball is equivalent to hi-a or AA....
even on the best teams, lots of guys arent good enough to even be drafted…let alone be drafted and not ever make it to AA
Fire Everyone
by billybeingbilly on Mar 30, 2010 1:45 AM EDT up reply actions
It would probably be more accurately described as the promotion after college
Isn’t that where most college players start their minor league careers?
Well the fact that he is 17 dominating a high level Juco wood bat league
could play another year of juco ball, division 1 ball or hell even go to indy league I believe. He has a lotta lotta leverage. Stras was a college senior his only leverage was going to indy ball and while the age isn’t a big difference it still matters.
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
Seiler has Austin Wates falling to the 2nd rd
I doubt that happens but he would be a good value pick there.
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
Guys I like for the second round
And granted I’ve only read into a few of these guys
TaJuan Walker – tall HS pitcher with gangly limbs. I love how he just whips the ball like Pedro did. Admittedly, this makes him an injury risk. He’s also been inconsistent.
Chevez Clarke – speedy, terrific defensive high school CF with some pop. Seems to rising up some boards.
Cam Bedrosian – Steve’s kid. Possibly a top 15 talent that could fall due to signabiltiy concerns.
Kyle Blair/Sammy Solis/AJ Griffin – I love all three pitchers at U of San Diego. They all seem fairly polished and strike-throwers.
Michael Choice – dude is just pounding the ball at UT-Arlington this year. Great power and athleticism.
Peter Tago – pretty polished arm for a HS pitcher
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
I think I would pee a little if we got Harper
It would cost a ton to sign him of course, but think of all the money we would make from increased jersey/ticket sales. Plus the big bump in publicity might help in free agency. If he falls to us, I would be sick if we passed on him due to signability concerns.
Here’s an encouraging sign from the SI article on him from last year:
Before he hits, Harper lays his bat down in the batter’s box, takes two steps toward the pitcher, bends over, scoops up dirt in his bare hands (batting gloves? Hah!), rubs it between his palms and then returns to grab his bat and take his place in the box. “He’s got this thing for dirt,” Sheri says. It looks like an act of defiance, a marking of territory—in this case, home plate—as his alone.
He’s LITERALLY GRITTY.
by Soria's Unibrow on Mar 26, 2010 3:02 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
He hit a 570 foot home run.
570 feet. That’s almost 2 football fields. He is barely old enough to drive.
by Soria's Unibrow on Mar 26, 2010 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Bryce Harper Facts:
Harper’s birth was strange, as it took three storks to carry him as an infant (ordinarily, one stork could carry several babies and drop them off at their parents’ homes).
When he was old enough to clap and laugh, the vibration broke every window in the house.
When he was seven months old, he sawed the legs off his parent’s bed in the middle of the night to make bats.
Bryce and Babe the Blue Ox, his pet and companion, dug the Grand Canyon when they walked through Arizona on his way to a tournament and Bryce dragged his bat behind him.
Bryce created Mount Hood with the batter’s box dirt that fell out when he rubbed it between his hands.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Mar 26, 2010 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
More facts
Bryce eats baseballs and craps a 92 MPH slider.
Bryce once stole home from first base.
He can throw a baseball over them mountains.
Bryce Harper was the inspiration for that Looney Tunes episode where Bugs plays all 9 positions at once.
His apartment has many leatherbound books and smells of rich mahogany.
One game, to make things fair for everyone, Bryce decided to walk on his hands while hitting and fielding with his feet. He went 4-for-5 with two doubles and a home run, two stolen bases, and ended the game with a spectacular leaping catch over the wall.
The comet that killed the dinosaurs was actually a home run that Bryce Harper hit from Mars. The reason there is no life on Mars? Bryce Harper.
The world will end in 2012 when Bryce Harper connects with a Stephen Strasburg fastball.
by Soria's Unibrow on Mar 26, 2010 3:42 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
He has scored six times off wild pitches... from 2nd base.
These sound like Chuck Norris facts, but they are true. I know it’s impossible to have a sure thing in the draft, but I would be completely blown away if he ended up a bust. Scouts love him, and so do stats. Sure he’s never faced high level competition, but surely most of these skills will translate.
I said Lebron James would never live up to the hype and would be the biggest bust of all time. I don’t intend to be that wrong again.
by Soria's Unibrow on Mar 26, 2010 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions
I would hate to see them pick harper
no matter what the talent level. Why use the pick and the millions to get a few years out of a kid that has clearly stated that the team that drafts him is just a temporary stop on his way to the yankees.
Yeah, i know it’s too often true, but usually they fake it for 4 or 5 years in the majors before they show they won’t even consider resigning. Not while they are a sophmore in HS
~~~ you might have been thinking it, but I actually said it.
I see what you're saying
But I disagree. It’s defeatist to think that signing a lesser player is a better idea because he might stay with the team longer. If we get Harper, he’ll be ready to go in a couple of years, when a lot of our young minor league talent is supposed to come up. He could help legitimize baseball in KC again. And yeah he’s going to leave when he’s 25 to sign a deal for a swimming pool full of gold dubloons, but why shouldn’t we be the team that benefits from those first six years? That’s more than half a decade of exciting young talent that would help energize the fanbase and get people talking about the Royals again without it being a joke about how terrible we are.
We just aren’t going to get back to respectability without a couple of marquee players like Harper. The successful small market teams have superstar players, such as Hanley Ramirez in Florida. I guess I want us to be relevant again, to get to be the team that drafts a kid that becomes a consensus top 25 prospect the minute he signs a contract.
Of course all of this discussion is moot if he can’t translate it to the majors. But he’s playing college ball right now. Here’s his line so far this season: .420/.514/.864, 13 doubles and 8 HR in 88 ABs, an 18/19 BB/K ratio, and he’s 6 for 8 in base stealing attempts. Tell me you don’t want to see a player like that in Royal blue.
by Soria's Unibrow on Mar 26, 2010 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions
I dunno
Six years of an elite level talent is not too shabby
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
and/or trade him to NY early on for two or three high-level prospects
Zapp Brannigan/Dayton Moore quote of the day: "Yes, comets! The icebergs of the sky. By jackknifing from one to the next at breakneck speed, we might just get some kinda gravity boost". and also "Kif old friend, I don't know which disgusts me more. Your cowardice or your stupidity! We'll simply set a new course for that empty region over there. Near that black-ish hole-ish thing."
by SagehenMacGyver47 on Mar 26, 2010 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions
no question
about the talent, marquee player, respectablity etc….
but I worry that the guy will think of this stop as an inconvenience keeping him from his “real” career.
Yes, most players are gone after 6 years if not before… but the fact that the kid was already planning that before he finished high school, that sounds pretty cancerous to me.
~~~ you might have been thinking it, but I actually said it.
You never know
Harper might actually like KC. And even if he thinks right now that his life won’t be complete until he plays for the Yankees, a lot can change a person’s mindset between age 17 and age 23. Besides, what difference does it make if he’s already decided he wants to play in NYC now, or if he makes that decision as he’s nearing his walk year (as many other KC-drafted players have)? I highly doubt he would purposely tank his performance until then—that’s not the way you get traded to a contender, and it’s certainly not the way you’d get yourself a huge FA deal.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Mar 26, 2010 5:07 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't worry about tanking
Obviously he will do what he can to put up numbers….. and yes, lots of players over the years have fallen in love with the city.
I’m more concerned about his affect on other players and the organization. “. I won’t be here long guys, I’m way too good to play here. Not like the rest of you guys”
When Johnny Damon (and others ) came up he was thrilled to in the majors and be a ROYAL. … at least for a while. Do you see Harper being that way? Or do you see him thinking… “I’m not like the rest of you guys, i’m REALLY a yankee, but I’ll humor you for a little while.”
If’s one thing if they develop that attitude after 4 or 5 years… but arriving in town that way scares me.
Think of all the rent a players that get traded at the deadline to a contender. Yeah they love playing meaningful games, being part of a playoff team.. yeah thats great for 3 months… ..now take that rent a player & trade him to a non-contender for 6 years.
~~~ you might have been thinking it, but I actually said it.
gimme the guy who has his sights set on the largest FA contract ever from the yankees....
and i’ll be glad to let them have him…that means we got a kickass player for 6 years.
Fire Everyone
by billybeingbilly on Mar 26, 2010 7:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Yea
I mean look, if he’s good enough that the Yankees are going to want him, that means he’s probably going to give us six pretty productive years.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
not me
I’m sorry Carlos Beltran was ever a Royal
what a waste of time
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
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by Matt Klaassen on Mar 29, 2010 7:59 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Timely article on Harper from Mayo
Article here.
I’m impressed with this kid and would love to see him slide to us, but after reading the article, I’m realizing things like that don’t happen to Royals fans.
haha, scout says power is a 90
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
ridiculous
actually, every time I see stuff on Harper, it sort of makes me mad the Royals decided to win just enough to not be able to draft him
batter nine you sucky
Things like this do happen to the Royals
But other things happen like:
a) He falls to the Royals and they PASS on him for Buster McBusterson from Giant Bust HS.
or
b) The Royals take Harper and realize a few years later his name is Buster McBusterson.
I think they'd pass on him
I really do.
Dayton (probably rightly, I dunno) would rather give multiple guys who slide million $ bonuses then spunk his entire budget (and it would be) on one player.
by kcbottom9th on Mar 27, 2010 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions
But we all agree that it would be dumb to pass on him because of money, right?
He’d get about half of what the Royals have paid Jose Guillen for 3 years, he’d be with the Royals for 6 years.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
I would sign him
If I had the chance.
But if the choice is 2 or 3 Tim Melville/Wil Myer types plus the actual 1st rounder we take, or Bryce Harper and a load of scrub low bonus guys, then I am not sure passing is as bad a decision as it would be made out to be. I’d disagree with it, but not vehemently so.
It’s all moot anyway. I’d be shocked if he was still there when the Royals pick.
by kcbottom9th on Mar 27, 2010 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Harper with a big weekend
He’s now hitting:
431/528/931
12HR 35 RBI 22W 21K in 102 AB
I want Harper so bad. Damn Royals had to mess it up with a good September.
12 homers in 100 ABs… The Royals will be lucky to have 12 team homers by the time they get their first 100 ABs for each starter.
yeah...no shit....
the guy is mashing…at a high level of competition…with wood bats…with a ton of pressure…as a 17 year old….guys that are this hyped rarely miss…it might be the last straw if he’s available and we dont take him.
Fire Everyone
by billybeingbilly on Mar 29, 2010 8:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Would someone be willing to
update RR readers of the 2009 draftees’ progress in the Royals system. Maybe just the first 10 – 15 guys taken or something. A friend of mine, Buddy Baumann was drafted by the Royals and I think it would be cool to read about him for the first time. I don’t know how he projects, but it would still be interesting. I’m not minor-league-savvy enough to write something up, but I know there are guys who frequent the RR blog that are capable of something like this. Thanks!
by i before e except after Grrr on Mar 26, 2010 9:24 PM EDT reply actions
I don't know about all of them
But I know that two of the picks from that draft have already retired.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
I'm not in love with any of the pitchers
I’m in the tank for Austin Wilson or Josh Sale.
"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain
Tell me about em
I don’t know much about either. This seems to be a pretty good draft for HS pitchers – which should play into Dayton’s fetish.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
Briefly
Sale is a hitting savant, the best present mix of contact and power among high schoolers this year. He has a really, really advanced eye at the plate. And he’s a big weightlifter. Not THE most athletic guy, but should be a decent defensive corner outfielder. Kind of a bat-first guy in the mold of Butler, Snider, Fielder, but with a better glove.
Wilson is the scouts’ darling among high school guys as he is a good player now, but profiles as a premium two-way right fielder with big power potential. Think Francoeur/Heyward/Hicks. Andy Seiler and Keith Law have both been pretty bullish on him.
Both of them have video online. I love Sale and his swing. It’s prettier than a high schooler’s swing ever has the right to be. Scouts see him more as a mid-first round guy because he doesn’t have the projection of a Donovan Tate, but it seems to me that every time somebody with this description goes in that range, it becomes quickly obvious that he should have been taken higher and he moves quickly.
I’m still trying to get a handle on what Wilson’s actual batting eye/pitch recognition abilities are right now and what kind of contact rate he is likely to have. He has a ton of power both present and future, but I have no idea where he is in relation to HS bats with that kind of power projection like Moustakas, Hosmer, Heyward, and Jay Bruce.
"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain
by JM Barten on Mar 28, 2010 5:09 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Francoeur-esque, eh?
That kid will be a Royal
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Mar 29, 2010 8:04 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
well....
as I mentioned, I really don’t have a handle on his ability to determine strikes from balls or sliders from fastballs.
In the general physical sense, Francoeur fits in the general description with great size and athleticism, a good swing, and a good amateur record.
"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain
Don't worry
I really don’t have a handle on his ability to determine strikes from balls or sliders from fastballs.
Dayton doesn’t really care about this anyway.
I really wish I would have known my life as a fan would peak in October 1985. Savor the moment, kids.
by chiefstatnut on Mar 30, 2010 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions
To be fair...
The early returns on Hosmer and Myers show solid abilities in this area. And while Moustakas has been poor here, he wasn’t generally thought of as a hacker going into the draft.
And I’m not really one to criticize given that I shadow drafted Josh Vitters, who hasn’t developed any kind of plate discipline at this point because he can put any pitch into play that is within 14 feet of the plate.
"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain
+ 1 on Sale
good article about him in newest BA.
by gordonrules on Mar 27, 2010 10:13 PM EDT up reply actions
It was good.
They were talking about him long before that though.
"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain
Anthony Ranaudo
finally pitched this weekend: 2 perfect innings, 1 K. I assume he was slated for a short outing and wasn’t removed because his elbow was hurting.
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