Baseball America releases their top-10 Braves prospects
by gondeee on Nov 2, 2009 3:37 PM EST
in Braves Prospect Reviews
Email
PrintWe get the second list this off-season of Atlanta Braves prospects, this one from Baseball America:
- Jason Heyward, of
- Freddie Freeman, 1b
- Julio Teheran, rhp
- Mike Minor, lhp
- Craig Kimbrel, rhp
- Christian Bethancourt, c
- Randall Delgado, rhp
- Zeke Spruill, rhp
- Cody Johnson, of
- Adam Milligan, of
Nice list. Unlike John Sickels, who gave us our first list this off-season, Baseball America ranks Cody Johnson appropriately, and not completely off the board. I also like the top-10 love their giving Adam Milligan -- I really like him and I think he has a good chance to be an impact prospect. Overall, this was a solid list.
96 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Yeah. The writeup on him actually says he profiles as a “middle of the rotation” starter, as opposed to many of the draft reports which pegged him as a “back of the rotation” starter. My favorite comp for him comes from Wren who said he profiles as a Cole Hamels type pitcher. I’ll take a chance on that in the draft any day.
Unless Purke, Matzek, Turner, or Miller reach the 80th percentile of their ceilings. Then we are the idiots who passed up a front of the rotation horse to save a million bucks.
"Four of us wolves, running around the desert together in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine..."
by jeg on Nov 2, 2009 7:00 PM EST up reply actions
Put bethancourt at #10 and move everyone else up
And this list gets a thumbs up from me.
hohohhohohoh its the offseason, time to rosterbate in public places
by esadb on Nov 2, 2009 4:19 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Interesting: They have Mycal penciled in as their 2013 3B. I guess they profile him to be a Figgins?
more to do with us
having absolutely nothing behind Chipper at third. Not sure if it’s an endorsement of Jones that much.
R.I.P Jazz #6
Making that even more interesting is that his weak arm has many believing that he’ll eventually move to 2B. It would have made more sense to have seen Hicks at 3B on that list again or Prado at 3B and Jones at 2B.
IIRC
when he was drafted the word on him was that he had an average arm for short. It wouldn’t be ideal for third but it would play there if that’s the case.
R.I.P Jazz #6
Johnson should be somewhere in between this list and Sickels'
With those strikeouts he shouldn’t be this high. Top 20 but definitely not top ten imo
R.I.P Jazz #6
-1
"Are you tryin to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?"
by Scott Coleman on Nov 2, 2009 7:39 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
-1
hohohhohohoh its the offseason, time to rosterbate in public places
by esadb on Nov 2, 2009 8:44 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
-1
"Hey Fat Kid...the monster is right behind you! RUNNNN!!" -The Host
by bwellnjonesco on Nov 3, 2009 8:16 AM EST up reply actions
Our minors have a lot of promise but most of it is in the low minors. Only Heyward, Minor, and Kimbrel should see action in Atlanta this year. Freeman should be our 1B in 2011 and maybe late next year.
I think that Johnson could be one of those players who take forever to make it to the majors but something finally clicks and he becomes a power hitter who will never hit for a high average or walk a lot but is above average.
I think he meant of the guys on the Top 10 list.
Of course, from last year’s list, only three guys in the top 10 saw action in the Majors in 2009, Hanson, Schafer, and Medlen and only three from the previous year’s list, Jurrjens,Brandon Jones, and Lillibridge saw action in 2008, so I don’t know why it’s that big of a deal.
"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com
Cody Johnson
I wouldn’t say he’s ranked appropriately. Sure, he should be on the top 25 but I think it’s a stretch to think he’s a top 10 prospect.
The guy is the best raw power prospect in Minor League baseball, with Mike Stanton being the only other one who even comes close. That alone should at least put him in the top 10 in his own organization.
"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com
f'ing this.
i don’t get how you can’t include CJ on a top10. he has unlimited power and is still young. ryan howard didnt debut until he was 25 and mark reynolds and prince fielder didnt debut until they were 24. give Cody 3 more seasons to improve (hes made great improvements since being drafted) and i think we could have a helluva power hitter on our hands
"Are you tryin to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?"
by Scott Coleman on Nov 2, 2009 7:46 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
ryan howard is fair but Reynolds and Fielder not quite the best comp’s i’ve seen
by McCann's the Man on Nov 2, 2009 7:58 PM EST up reply actions
i wasn't comparing the 3 players talents and abilities to CJ's
just that they’re all great power hitters that strike out a lot, and that they didn’t come into the league until they were a little older.
"Are you tryin to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?"
by Scott Coleman on Nov 2, 2009 8:14 PM EST up reply actions
the same reason
those long drive competition guys aren’t on the PGA tour. Sure, one part of their game is incredible, but other parts of their game are so bad that they can’t, and CJ almost certainly won’t, be good enough overall players to play at the top level (at least more than a bench guy).
R.I.P Jazz #6
did you really just compare baseball to golf?
"Are you tryin to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?"
by Scott Coleman on Nov 2, 2009 8:31 PM EST up reply actions
that’s like comparing hockey to “professional” bowling.
in baseball, you play every day.
in golf, you play competitively 4 (or maybe only 2) days a week, every couple of weeks.
in baseball, you have one shot to hit the ball, with one bat. you also have less than 1 second to decide if you wanna swing or not.
in golf, you have to hit 3 or 4 times, with a whole variety of clubs to swing. the guys take 5 minutes before they hit the ball, and have a caddy right next to them suggesting what club to use.
in baseball, there’s balls in the gap that have to be ran down, grounders to dive for and long throws to make.
in golf, you swing once, walk, swing again, walk, swing again, walk, and putt.
there’s absolutely no comparisons between golf and baseball.
"Are you tryin to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?"
by Scott Coleman on Nov 2, 2009 8:43 PM EST up reply actions
wow, go back and read the comparrison
because it seems like it was about ten feet over your head. I’m not saying the two are the same, I’m not saying you need the same skills, I’m not saying any of what you are ranting about.
Both golf and baseball take huge amounts of skill to compete at the highest level. My point is that being able to drive the ball a long way in Golf is a big plus, but these guys that compete in long drive competitions aren’t in the PGA because they have so many other flaws in their game.
How is that different than Johnson? Sure, when he connects he can hit the ball a mile and has probably the most raw power in the minors, but his flaws are so huge he’s extremely unlikely to ever be a factor in the majors. We’re talking about a guy who struck out over 40% of the time in A-ball. I don’t even want to imagine what’s going to happen when he faces more advanced pitchers (and especially breaking pitches) in AA and AAA.
R.I.P Jazz #6
still tho, the 2 sports are 180 degrees opposites of eachother. i dont think you should compare driving a golfball to hitting a baseball, but maybe that’s just me.
CJ just turned 21. It’s not like he’s working on borrowed time here. He was one of the most improved players in the organization in 2009 and there’s absolutely no reason to believe he won’t improve in 2010 and beyond.
"Are you tryin to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?"
by Scott Coleman on Nov 2, 2009 9:15 PM EST up reply actions
It's not about hitting the ball!!!
It’s about doing one thing really well but not enough to cover up the rest of their enormous flaws. I can compare him to Jamarcus Russell if that helps. Pick any sport and I can make a comparison (real sports, no soccer).
I know he’s young and I hope to god that he figures everything out and becomes a perennial superstar for this team, but none of his improvement matters if the strikeouts don’t improve because that is going to be by far his biggest obstacle to being a productive major leaguer.
R.I.P Jazz #6
I love how you can say that Cody “almost certainly won’t” be good enough to be anymore than a bench guy. Love it.
"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com
It's not that I can say that
It’s that almost everyone who isn’t a Braves fan says that. That tiny chance of him fixing that strikeout problem exists, but what chance do you think there is of that? Seriously, give me a % here. Better yet, find me a power hitter who has struck out over 40% as a 20 year old in A ball and gone on to major league success.
Cust, Howard, Reynolds, Dunn… These guys don’t even come close to the kind of strikeout numbers CJ has had so far. Not even the same ballpark.
R.I.P Jazz #6
First of all, he’s never struck out over 40%. Last year he struck out in 35% of his plate appearances. It’s already a huge number, there’s no reason to embellish it.
Cust, as a 20 year old struck out in 26% of his plate appearances and his OPS was 1.100, so clearly he was better than Cody. He was also aided by the hitter friendly Cal League, but that’s sort of beside the point.
Dunn struck out in 19% of his plate appearnaces as a 20 year old, but he was playing a level below Cody. Who’s to say what he would have done at the higher level.
Reynolds struck out in 24% of his plate appearances as a 20 year old, but, like Dunn, he spent most of the year at a lower level, 2 levels below in fact, playing just 4 games at the same A ball level that Cody played at this year. Again, who knows what he would have done?
And Howard didn’t even begin his professional career until he was 21, when he struck out in 27% of his plate appearances playing 2 levels below where Cody played this year, a level he wouldn’t play at until he was 23. Again, who’s to say that he wouldn’t have struck out in 35% of his plate appearances had he spent his 20 year old season in High A. In Howard’s case, even more than the others, it’s seems entirely plausible, if not likely.
My point is, you can’t absolutely discount the guy. It’s going to be hard for him, but it’s hard for anyone.
"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com
well I'm using K/AB
so he did strikeout over 40% (40.5% to be exact).
Again, I’m not saying there’s absolutely no chance of him ever being a useful major leaguer, but the chances of him doing so are tiny. Do you disagree with that statement?
R.I.P Jazz #6
But you could make that statement about anyone! That’s the reality of the minor leagues and professional baseball, there’s nothing inherent to Cody’s situation in that. it’s not some great insight into his ability or skill set, it’s just a fact of the sport.
"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com
that's severely oversimplifying things
hitting prospects with major league tools and without huge strikeout problems have a far greater shot of making it than a guy like Cody Johnson does. Certainly there’s nothing guaranteed in this business but having enormous holes in your swing and massive strikeout problems in A ball make the likelihood of being a productive major leaguer minuscule.
R.I.P Jazz #6
I am really enjoying your point-blank, absolutist statements based apparently on nothing more than the unerring accuracy of your own learned opinions.
you mean the absolutist statements like...
“I’m not saying there’s absolutely no chance of him ever being a useful major leaguer, but the chances of him doing so are tiny”. I’m pretty sure I haven’t made one absolute statement this entire time but I’m glad to know you’re enjoying yourself. Would you appreciate this more?
Cody Johnson strikes out a lot but he’s probably going to get over that and if he doesn’t he’ll still be able to hit 50 homers and be an all-star player. Do you not want me to discuss negatives of a prospect? Should I just be an eternal optimist? Should I still be expecting Scott Thorman to be a great player?
R.I.P Jazz #6
I meant using terms like "definitely not ", “almost certainly”, “always”, “tiny” and “minuisule” (correctly spelled: minuscule).
A player in AA ball with only a “tiny” chance to be a “useful” major leaguer is neither a top 10 nor a top 20 prospect.
On the other hand, if the player in question is a 20 year old considered by many professional talent evaluators as the top power hitting prospect in the entire minor leagues, who incidently was leading his high A league in HR, RBI and SLG prior to a late season promotion, then it also seems fairly ignorant to proclaim he has only a “tiny” chance to be a “useful” major leaguer.
or you can look at it this way
Mark Reynolds had the highest strikeout rate of any major leaguer last year. He set a major league record for single season strikeout… and he struck out 2% less than Cody Johnson did against A-ball pitchers this season.
R.I.P Jazz #6
Mark Reynolds has been playing professional baseball in the minors and majors for 5 more seasons than CJ has. You gotta think CJ is gonna improve tremendously over the next 5 seasons after seeing him improve so much in 2009.
"Are you tryin to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?"
by Scott Coleman on Nov 2, 2009 9:34 PM EST up reply actions
strikeouts are very difficult to improve on
guys like Cody almost always end up bouncing around in the minors as AAAA sluggers who sometimes make it as bench players or flame out completely. And strikeouts this high and this level are almost a sure sign that he’s going to struggle even more once he starts to see some semblance of advanced pitching. Just think about that for a second. He’s striking out at a higher percentage than any major leaguer and he rarely faces guys who have major league potential or advanced secondary pitches. I don’t want to be this pessimistic but realistically, it’s just so unlikely.
R.I.P Jazz #6
and buddy
this isn’t exactly a controversial statement to say that players with holes in their swings and strikeout issues in the low minors are very prone to getting abused by advanced pitching, so I’m not exactly sure why you’re up in arms about it.
R.I.P Jazz #6
I’m not your buddy and I’m not up in arms.
but I am amused by your self-righteous, belligerent insistence that your predictions of the future are so clearly dead on the money.
here’s the deal: we will all be watching Cody Johnson and seeing how he actually performs on the field of play over the next few years. as soon as we see how he does, we will have a better idea.
Of course he’s still young. Everyone being considered for the top 10 is still young. It’s called a prospect list. I like the other guys chances a lot better due to the horrendous track record of players with similar career paths as Cody Johnson. It doesn’t help that just about every one of his tools other than power have been criticized (hit, defense, baserunning). It’s fine to be optimistic but let’s not pretend that he has a decent chance of realizing his potential at the major league level. He’s just got too many flaws.
+1
thank you. Why is it against the rules to look at their negatives as well as their positives?
R.I.P Jazz #6
Cause you already have it in your mind that CJ is a failure, and usually come up with dumb, heavily loaded statements to validate your point.
"Hey Fat Kid...the monster is right behind you! RUNNNN!!" -The Host
by bwellnjonesco on Nov 3, 2009 8:24 AM EST up reply actions
I’m not building my arguments off of blind thinking that he won’t fail, that would be absolutely ridiculous. I’m saying that there’s a tiny chance of him succeeding off of what he has done in the minors and the history of prospects like him. And where exactly are my “dumb, heavily loaded statements”? Is it saying that he strikes out a ton and with that in mind will almost certainly struggle more against higher level pitching? Is that ridiculous in your mind?
I’ve desperately looked for even one power hitter playing the game today who has even a close minor league record as CJ and can’t do it. Russell Branyan is about as close as I can find and even he isn’t really all that close and isn’t a great example of a success story.
R.I.P Jazz #6
You wanted an example of your dumb, heavily loaded statements
CJ almost certainly won’t, be good enough overall players to play at the top level (at least more than a bench guy).
"Hey Fat Kid...the monster is right behind you! RUNNNN!!" -The Host
by bwellnjonesco on Nov 3, 2009 11:20 AM EST up reply actions
That statement is based on history. I would say it’s historically accurate to say players similar to Cody Johnson almost never make it in the bigs. You may not like it but it doesn’t change the facts and it doesn’t make it dumb.
Saying a 20 year old prospect in AA almost certainly won’t be good is a dumb statement. Just being a 20 year old already in AA means that you are pretty damn good. We wouldn’t be moving up if we thought he wouldn’t be able to adjust, and hes gonna have ALOT (again hes just 20) of time to adjust…
"Hey Fat Kid...the monster is right behind you! RUNNNN!!" -The Host
by bwellnjonesco on Nov 3, 2009 12:44 PM EST up reply actions
The only support you ever give is this: He struke out over 40%, he struke out over 40%, booboo gahgah. That’s not even a correct statement. Just cause I feel bad for you, it should say this: CJ struke out 40% of his official at bats, 35% of the times he came to the plate.
I’ve desperately looked for even one power hitter playing the game today who has even a close minor league record as CJ and can’t do it. Russell Branyan is about as close as I can find and even he isn’t really all that close and isn’t a great example of a success story.
You should go work for Sickels, considering he came up with that comparison a couple of weeks ago…
"Hey Fat Kid...the monster is right behind you! RUNNNN!!" -The Host
by bwellnjonesco on Nov 3, 2009 11:30 AM EST up reply actions
And, like I pointed out with the other guys, the Branyan comp isn’t even accurate, since in his 20 year old season he played a level below where Cody played this year and struck out in 31% of his plate appearances. Again, if he played at the same level as Cody at the same age, there’s a fairly good chance he would have struck out in 35% of his plate appearances as well, if not more.
"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com
That's my point!
That’s what makes him a decent comp. Let’s assume he would have struck out the same amount as CJ. He’s probably the best major league power hitter who did that. Russell Branyan… whose career has been that of a AAAA/sometimes bench player is the best outcome in the game today for that kind of track record.
R.I.P Jazz #6
by was385 on Nov 3, 2009 12:43 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
And my point is that we haven’t found anyone aside from Cust who is even an accurate comp, because all of them were older than Cody when they finally reached the same level. He’s so young that almost anybody you can name was older when they faced the same competition. The fact that his strikeouts stayed basically the same from last year to this, 34% to 35%, while all his other numbers increased, to me, is a pretty good sign that he’s improving.
"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com
I’ll give you that. Those guys were a level below him. But one of two things needs to happen next year depending on where he plays before I can see him making an impact in the majors at some point.
1) He needs to decrease his K-rate by a good 10% at MB.
2) Keep his K-rate steady after the most difficult jump in the minors from A to AA.
I’m not optimistic that either one of the scenarios will play out but I hope they do.
Well, he’s probably not going back to MB, so that first one probably won’t even be on the table, and, for the second one, he’s kept it in check two years in a row, so, at this point, it’s only speculation to say that he won’t be able to maintain it. The stats suggest that he’s going to be able to. We’ll just have to see.
"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com
that's very debatable
that stats suggest he will maintain his strikeout rate.
If you go by K/AB (which I like because it isn’t skewed by things like HBP and IBB — of which CJ had 11 more this year than last year — and pitchers generally pitching around a player which I’d bet CJ had a lot more of this year than last year) his K rate jumped a bit last year. But it’s pretty difficult in any scenario to say that a player with big holes in his swing won’t see an increase in strikeouts from A to AA. I hope I’m wrong, but I’d bet quite a bit that CJ will have at least one very poor year in AA.
R.I.P Jazz #6
Define very poor and then I might take you up on that bet.
"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com
I’m talking like dismal average, big jump in strikeouts, still power but not near what he did this year. I think he’ll probably hit below .220 with a much worse OBP and SLG than he had this year. I think you’re going to see him struggle enough that pitchers aren’t going to have to be careful with him nearly as much and the BB’s are going to drop significantly.
R.I.P Jazz #6
HBP...
I’ll give you as an inconstant, unreliable variable. But intentional base on balls, when you’re talking about a big bopper like Johnson is part of the game. There is a reason they’ll ALWAYS have more than say Joel Campusano or Matt Young.
no doubt
but that has nothing to do with his ability to make contact. It has nothing to do with his ability or selectiveness because he knows that he’s not going to swing at any of the pitches.
R.I.P Jazz #6
No, but it still ends up with him reaching base...
and that counts for something. The predetermination of the stances on the Cody issue is astounding, for a kid who’s about to spend his first full year in AA at 21.
I’m not saying we should just not count it at all, but it does skew his strikeout rate because it’s an at-bat where his plate discipline or judgement has nothing to do with the outcome.
And how does saying that this skews his strikeout numbers count as predetermination?
R.I.P Jazz #6
Two seperate points...
Intentional walks are giving only to guys you are afraid will beat you ina given situation., They reflect a players ability at the plate, or opponents fear of their ability, and I don’t think skew a thing. And IMO it does have a bit to do with their plate discipline or judgment. Do you see Andruw or Francouer getting many intentional walks when an opponent can just throw well low and outside since there is a good chance they chase it? Cody earns IBBs by his performance in other at bats. To disregard them would be disregarding an obvious, intentional decision by the opposition to avoid his bat and plate discipline.
And the predetermination comment refers to the entire points. As said below, some here think he’ll fail and are looking for reasons to prove their theory. Those who think he’ll succeed are looking for reasons to prove their theory. Ultimately, it’s all theory and will be decided on the field, but how one looks at his numbers seems entirely predetermined by whether they subscribe to the theory that he will or will not become a successful major leaguer.
Dude, chill out with all this predetermination of stances crap. Nobody is making any absolute statements like “he definitely will be a bust” or “he definitely will be awesome”. We are just arguing the likelihood that he’ll reach his immense potential. By looking at historical comps, which I think is a more solid measurement than “this guy is soo young!!”, I don’t see how you can responsibly predict that he’ll reach that potential.
And is there an apples to apples comp?...
when talking about minor league players, age and level matter. So find me a comp that wasn’t several years older, or levels below, and then it’ll be a bit more comparable.
And I still think people are looking at his stats one way or another based on whether they think he ultimately makes it or not. Right now, they are just numbers, but people seem pretty sure of their opinions, especially on the negative side, when in reality very few people have takent the same path, at the same age, as Johnson is currently on.
True, but even if I give you the fact that Johnson is taking a brand new path, then the unpredictability of this new path should make you decrease his chances of reaching his potential, not increase them. Then couple that with the red flags on his scouting report and that’s where I come to my conclusion.
Cody’s 2008-2009 stretch is not all that dissimilar to Ryan Howard’s 2002-2003 stretch at A and high A ball. Being that Howard was 22 and 23 at the same levels and played in a homer friendly park and league in the FSL, while Cody was 19 and 20 while spending a season at Myrtle Beach.
"Four of us wolves, running around the desert together in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine..."
by jeg on Nov 3, 2009 6:08 PM EST up reply actions
hahahahaha
the strikeouts are all that matter at this point! That’s it. He can’t make contact against A-ball pitchers, most of whom will never even come close to sniffing the majors and have mediocre secondary offerings. How is that difficult for you to understand? How is it illogical to think that if he can’t make contact against these guys, he’s going to struggle much more against the much more advanced pitching he’s going to see in AA and AAA. You tell me my statements are ridiculous but your reasoning seems to be blind faith with absolutely nothing substantial. All you come across as is a Braves fan with rose colored glasses who can’t see any further than the uniform on CJ’s chest.
R.I.P Jazz #6
He can’t make contact against A-ball pitchers
Yet he hits 32 home runs…
Let me ask you this, How is it illogical to think that a really young guy can’t make adjustments and improve. Oh yeah, cause Branyan didn’t…
"Hey Fat Kid...the monster is right behind you! RUNNNN!!" -The Host
by bwellnjonesco on Nov 3, 2009 1:06 PM EST up reply actions
and has a K% of 40.5%
I’m not saying he can’t make adjustments or that he won’t improve, I’m just saying it’s very unlikely that he improves enough to be a useful major leaguer. It’s not that Branyan didn’t make adjustments, it’s the exact opposite, it’s that he’s the best example of someone who did, which is a scary thought. The rest of the guys like CJ almost all flame out or end up as minor league power hitters. Branyan is the relative success story, which is what shows how small the chances of CJ becoming a good major leaguer are.
R.I.P Jazz #6
I think it’s pretty strong support when even the worst strikeout offenders in baseball history didn’t even strike out as much as Johnson did when they were in the minors. The likes of Reynolds, Howard, and Dunn all started with high strikeout rates that have increased at every level to the point where they strike out a ton at the majors but offset that with their power. Well Cody Johnson is starting with a ton of strikeouts so when you increase that from level to level, I think you know what happens next. You just don’t want to admit it.
Your not giving him the opportunity to learn and improve.
What were you doing when you were 20 years old? I was throwing bottle rockets at homeless people in the worst part of town at 2am on Sat. night, getting drunk with people that want to draw on me, listening to Ludacris, having fun…3 years later and I’m sitting in an office for 40 hours a week and being partly responsible. Point is, Cody’s 20 years old and trying to become a professional ball player, hes got ALOT of learning and growing up to do. I’m not saying that his focus is outside of baseball, just that he’s got alot going on right now. Imagine being a baseball player and all the hot chicks at Myrtle Beach…
"Hey Fat Kid...the monster is right behind you! RUNNNN!!" -The Host
by bwellnjonesco on Nov 3, 2009 1:00 PM EST up reply actions
That's why
We’re not saying he’ll never amount to anything, just that it’s very unlikely. There’s always a chance he puts it all together and thy would be fantastic but history shows that’s not remotely likely and that’s absolutely something you have to take into account when evaluating him as a prospect.
R.I.P Jazz #6
by was385 on Nov 3, 2009 1:04 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I do take history (only slightly), and the Ks, into account, notice I never said anything about Cody ever playing a game in the MLB. I just think it is unfair that ya’ll are giving him almost NO chance of succeeding. He’s a young guy, he might compare to Andre Either in 3 years, you just don’t know…
"Hey Fat Kid...the monster is right behind you! RUNNNN!!" -The Host
by bwellnjonesco on Nov 3, 2009 1:22 PM EST up reply actions
We are talking about placement on a prospect list, not whether or not he has potential. Of course he has potential but when compiling a list of top prospects, the likelihood that he’ll reach that potential has to be taken into account. History says he probably won’t make it. Your gut says he has a better chance than that. I’ll take history over someone’s gut feeling anytime.
Of course players improve but obscene strikeout rates rarely, if ever, improve when you’re talking about a guy striking out 35% of the time in single-A. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a major leaguer who ever had that much trouble making contact in single-A.
Like I said earlier, even his most optimistic comps saw their strikeout rates increase at every level. That’s what happens. What makes Cody Johnson different?
Cody’s K rate didn’t really increase from A- to A+…
However, the jump from A+ to AA is much tougher than A- to A+, however, he’s only 20, he’s got soo much time…
"Hey Fat Kid...the monster is right behind you! RUNNNN!!" -The Host
by bwellnjonesco on Nov 3, 2009 1:50 PM EST up reply actions
while they didn't strike out as much...
as cbwilk has pointed out, they were also at lower levels than Johnson age wise.
Point is, the guy is still a project in the making. Those who think he will fail will point out reasons for that (and they have plenty fo point out). Those who think he will succeed will point out reasons for that (and they also have plenty of point at). Either way, none of you will know the answer one way or the other for at least 2 or 3, if not 5 years. So let’s just sit back and see if Cody Johnson the prospect can become Cody Johnson the player.
MInor
Did anyone notice that BA said Egar Osuna changeup is the best, I expected to see Minnor with that award.
Cody Johnson
This whole discussion just really tickles me . . . because one day you will all be saying “I knew he was great all along” . . . that is when I am going to say “I told you so”!
Bethancourt?
I know all about the other guys on the top 10, but who is this Christian Bethancourt? Can someone give me a scouting report?
Catcher...
17 years old or something. Played in the Rookie League this year and was pretty freakin’ good. Considering he’s 17 and has TONS of projection, people think he’s going to be a top-5 prospect in all of baseball in a few years.
by apoxonbothyourhouses on Nov 3, 2009 12:42 AM EST up reply actions
Writeup on him here:
http://www.talkingchop.com/2009/10/9/1076955/braves-top-5-catching-prospect
Picture of him here:
"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com
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
- Shane Victorino lands role on ‘Hawaii Five-0′
- Have you criticized Hanley Ramirez on Twitter? Your name may be on his bat!
- U.S. senator cries foul over Nationals plans to take back park from Phillies fans
- Photo: Comerica Park readies itself for Hockeytown
- Podcast: Dirk Hayhurst talks about Italy, the reality of the big leagues and his new book
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.
