John Klima | February 21, 2010
Virgil Hill waited out the draft through three cycles before he found an organization that thought his athletic ability outweighed what other clubs told him was a lack of baseball experience. Originally drafted by the Florida Marlins as a shortstop in the 28th round of the 2007 draft, Hill had been a starting free safety, a starting point guard, and a sprinter in track and field at Valencia (Calif.) HS.
Hill went to Los Angeles Mission College and saw his stock slip in the 2008 draft to the Oakland A’s in the 35th round. Finally, in 2009, he signed with the Cardinals as a sixth round pick and began his pro career and started in the Gulf Coast League. Baseball Beginnings caught up recently with Hill, who might one day find himself patrolling center field for the Cardinals and following in a long line of guys who could flat-out run.
Like Vince Coleman or Lou Brock before him, Hill is a young athlete who can run, and will set out to show in the minor leagues that he can hit well enough to play every day in the majors, and that what he gained in other sports before focusing on baseball gives him some tools that single-sport baseball players don’t acquire as amateurs.
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Category: 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: St. Louis Cardinals, Virgil Hill
John Klima | February 13, 2010
Clearing out the scouting notebook, here’s a look at some of the pitchers from the 2009 Arizona Fall League. Disclosure: I did not see all of the clubs, but every pitcher’s comment here comes from first-hand work in the trenches. Every pitcher has a pro-adjusted OFP, so consult Scouting 101 to follow along with what I think will be that guy’s ML role.
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Category: 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: Arizona Fall League
John Klima | January 22, 2010
Ryan Wheeler proved that he is a major league prospect in 2009, lighting up Northwest League pitching with a rookie season that earned him the Arizona Diamondbacks Organizational Player of the Year.
Short-A is still a long way from the big leagues, but Wheeler’s first steps in pro ball showed that he has a chance to make it. His 1.002 OPS jumps off the stat sheet, as does more walks than strikeouts and 21 doubles.
From the scouting side, Wheeler brought the fast hands and projectable body into pro ball. He showed signs that he was a better athlete than given credit for by playing good first base defense and showing stamina and consistency throughout the hot and isolated Yakima summer.
Baseball Beginnings caught up with Wheeler recently for this Q&A, where he discusses his newly discovered professional approach and how it sparked his confidence. He also fondly recalls his favorite play of the summer, which wasn’t achieved with his bat, but with his arm.
Wheeler also discussed his work in Instructional League, and how some of those solitary fall ball days hint at a future where the Diamondbacks are going to find a place for his bat.
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Category: '09 Meet the Player, 2009 Draft, 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, LMU, Ryan Wheeler
John Klima | January 17, 2010
I thought Daryl Jones had some of the better hands I saw in the Arizona Fall League, enough to make me think that he’s going to have a little bit more power than his 5-11, 180 frame suggests he will.
Batting practice in Arizona always has to be taken with a grain of salt because of the thin air. But the left-handed hitting Jones showed a little bit of power to right-center, which is a good sign. Power won’t be his ticket, but it won’t hurt if he’s viewed at the major league level as an occasional threat. I think his hands are going to allow him to develop that. I can’t stress that enough. From a scouting perspective, I want guys who can generate bat speed and wait for a pitch to get deep. I think Jones can do that. I think he’s aggressive and he’s developing a feel for discipline. He’s an above-average athlete, with quick muscle actions. I liked the guy as a Whitey Herzog type of ballplayer with a little less height and a little more pop.
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Category: 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: Daryl Jones, St. Louis Cardinals
John Klima | January 16, 2010
You have to like Jemile Weeks for what he is – a switch-hitting slap hitter who can run and pick it enough at second. Weeks’s best tool, by far, is his speed. After that, it’s the ability to spray the ball from both sides of the plate.
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Category: 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: Jemile Weeks, Oakland A's
John Klima | January 10, 2010
Reds fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of first baseman Yonder Alonso, who stopped in the Arizona Fall League on the way to supplying some much needed punch in Cincinnati. The former Miami first baseman, who was a college masher, doesn’t strike me as a pure power bat. Rather, I felt Alonso will become a professional hitter with gap power and about 20-home run potential.
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Category: 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: Cincinnati Reds, Yonder Alonso
John Klima | January 9, 2010
The immediate comparison for Indians right-hander Connor Graham is White Sox closer Bobby Jenks. Graham is a big body with a big arm, a power closer two-pitch type with a fastball, split, and an average curveball. In the brief look I had, Graham struck me as a potential closer who needs to watch his body, improve his fastball command in the strike zone, and keep his composure. Big league hitters tend to smell blood against frustrated young pitchers who throw their gloves against the side of the dugout wall.
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Category: 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: Cleveland Indians, Connor Graham
John Klima | January 7, 2010
I had my second look of 2009 at Giants catcher Buster Posey in the Arizona Fall League. I first picked up Posey at the California-Carolina League All-Star game in July and picked him up again at the Fall League’s All-Star game in October.
I believe the reason Posey was still in the Fall League through the end of the season was not for the at-bats, but because he needs to catch. And I don’t think he becomes the everyday catcher until he proves that he can be a reliable everyday defender. A converted college infielder as everyone knows, Posey is pretty much the only guy who can block Posey.
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Category: 2009 Minor Leagues, Baseball Beginnings Exclusives |
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Tags: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
John Klima | January 3, 2010
We pause now from looking at the distant future to look into the more immediate future. Cameron Maybin will turn 22 during the 2010 season in which he figures to begin the season playing center field once again for the Florida Marlins.
Marlins fans know what Maybin did in 2009; the good signs (a .727 OPS, four home runs) and the bad (51 strikeouts in 54 games). It’s easier for a tools-heavy young player to develop in the small-market South, and if the Marlins are going to catch lightning in a bottle (baseball’s version of win before the talent gets too expensive), Maybin is going to be a big part of it. We captured this video in Triple-A before Maybin returned to the big leagues last summer. Have a look and then we’ll talk.
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Category: 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: Cameron Maybin, Florida Marlins
John Klima | January 1, 2010
Right-hander Matt Hobgood hasn’t spent the winter sitting on the couch watching Norco High graduate Toby Gerhart of Stanford make a run at the Heisman Trophy. Instead, Hobgood committed himself to a new off-season workout routine that he believes will help him progress as a new professional. Today Baseball Beginnings presents the conclusion of our exclusive Matt Hobgood interview.
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Category: '09 Meet the Player, 2009 Draft, 2009 Minor Leagues, Baseball Beginnings Exclusives |
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Tags: Baltimore Orioles, Matt Hobgood
