You might have heard of Jon Weber. He is a player who had an incredible spring training this year for the Yankees, but didn't make the team. That's been the story of his entire career- just missed.
Jon Weber was signed by the Reds in 1999 as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech University. He just missed being drafted. He started out in the Reds' Rookie ball team, the Billings Mustangs. He hit .238 with 6 doubles, 5 homers, 17 RBI, 16 runs, and a .365 OBP in 22 games. He showed an ability to be a good run producer, but his .238 average was too low. In 2000, he hit just .221 in 1087 games with the Low-A Clinton Lumber Kings, with 14 doubles, 6 homers, 34 RBI, 8 SB, 60 runs, and a .333 OBP. His run producing ability was his only good sign in '99, but he couldn't even do that in 2000, so the Reds released him. Weber signed with the Canton Crocodiles of the independent Frontier League. He did much better with Canton in '01, hitting .307 with 15 doubles, 18 homers, 69 RBI, 16 SB, 60 runs, and a .382 OBP in 82 games. For some reason, no major league team signed him and instead he signed with the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks of the independent Northern League. In '02 with the Redhawks, Weber hit .296 with 30 doubles, 13 homers, 52 RBI, 11 SB, and a .356 OBP in 90 games. No major league team signed Weber again. I find it really amazing that he didn't give up right at this point and pursue another career, but he kept persevering and kept playing.
In '03, Weber started the year with the Redhawks once again, hitting .309 with 8 doubles, 11 homers, 48 RBI, 14 SB, 46 runs, and a .408 OBP in 52 games. Finally, Weber was signed by a major league team, the Oakland A's, and he was assigned to the High-A Modesto A's. He did very well in 35 games with Modesto, hitting .361 with 10 doubles, 7 homers, 38 RBI, 2 SB (Oakland's philosophy is Moneyball), 28 runs, and a .394 OBP. He averaged over 1 RBI per game with Modesto, which is very good. The next year in '04, Weber was assigned to the Double-A Midland RockHounds to start the year. He hit .280 in 111 games at Midland, with 24 doubles, 15 homers, 68 RBI, 10 SB, 64 runs, and a .356 OBP. He then was promoted to the Triple-A Sacremento River Cats and hit .341 with 4 doubles, 2 homers, 12 RBI, 9 runs, and a .383 OBP in 19 games. Still, the A's got rid of him and he signed with the Dodgers. He was assigned to the Double-A Jacksonville Suns. In '05 with the Suns, he hit .300 with 27 doubles, 11 homers, 68 RBI, 10 SB, 81 runs, and a .369 OBP in 117 games. He also made his first career appearance on the mound, giving up 1 run on no hits and 3 walks in .2 innings for a 13.50 ERA. Weber promoted to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51's in '06, but he hit just .258 with 18 doubles, 2 homers, 31 RBI, 9 SB, 39 runs, and a .333 OBP in 82 games. He was released, and he signed with the Diamondbacks organization. He played much better with the Tuscon Sidewinders, Arizona's Triple-A franchise than he did with the 51's. He hit .321 with 18 doubles, 5 homers, 27 RBI, 26 runs, and a .374 OBP in 46 games. He was not retained by the D-backs, and he returned to the independent Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks for the '07 season. Weber was on the Triple-A teams of 3 different major league franchises in a span of 3 years, but he still wasn't called up to the majors. He just missed again.
In '07 with the Redhawks, Weber hit .283 with 5 doubles, 1 homer, 10 RBI, 2 SB, 10 runs, and a .371 OBP in 16 games before being signed by the Rangers and being assigned to their High-A team, the Bakersfield Blaze. Weber hit .356 with the Blaze with 14 doubles, 5 homers, 25 RBI, 9 SB, 34 runs, and a .416 OBP in 37 games before being traded to the Devil Rays for cash and assigned to their Triple-A franchise, the Durham Bulls. Weber hit .265 as a member of the Bulls, with 5 doubles, 3 homers, 21 RBI, 20 runs, and a .360 OBP in 39 games. Weber, who was 30 years old at that time, was retained by the Rays organization after the year (they had just changed their name). In '08 with Durham, Weber once again hit .265, but this time with 24 doubles, 13 homers, 51 RBI, 11 SB, 58 runs, and a .354 OBP in 108 games. Still, the Rays kept Weber for the '09 season. In '09, Weber had his best year since '04, hitting .302 with 46 doubles, 14 homers, 69 RBI, 63 runs, and a .382 OBP. Despite his great year, he was not called up to the majors. After the year he signed a minor league contract with the Yankees.
Weber had a spring training to remember in '10. He hit .452 with 4 doubles and 6 RBI in 18 games. He even won the James P. Dawson award for the best Yankee rookie (remember, Weber still hasn't made the majors) at spring training. But, being a left handed hitter, he didn't make the team. Just missed.
One day. I hope that day comes for him. He also wasn't called up after Curtis Granderson was injured, giving way to Greg Golson. So far in '10 with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees, Weber has hit .258 with 7 doubles, 0 homers, 11 RBI, 18 runs, and a .333 OBP in 47 games.
"Best time in my life and my career that I've ever had. I made it to the final week with the New York Yankees. I'm not righthanded, I'm lefthanded. I have to stay positive, stay focused and hopefully one day I'll get the call."- Jon Weber on his amazing 2010 spring training
One day. I hope that one day comes for him. It won't be with the Yankees- he was released on June 2nd.
Showing posts with label Minor League Baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minor League Baseball. Show all posts
Monday, June 7, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The future of the Yankees: David Phelps
Before my recent post "Are there any impact players waiting in the NYY minors?", I had never heard of David Phelps. But, now I have a feeling that David Phelps will be the next Phil Hughes.
Let's start the comparisons: Hughes is 6'5, while Phelps is 6'3. Obviously those 2 inches make a difference, but it's close. Hughes had a 2.37 minor league ERA, while Phelps has a 2.41 minor league ERA. Hughes had a .795 winning % in the minors, while Phelps has an .800 winning %. Hughes had a 2.2 career BB/9 in the minors, while Phelps has a 2.1 career BB/9 in the minors. Hughes had a 0.3 HR/9 in the minors while Phelps has a 0.5 HR/9. The list goes on.
Obviously there ae some differences. Hughes is a much bigger man than Phelps, weighing 230 pounds compared to 190 and is much more of a power pitcher. He had a 10.0 career K/9 in the minors compared to Phelps' 7.1. Also, Hughes has allowed much fewer hits than Phelps, posting a 6.0 H/9 compared to 8.2 by Phelps. But, Phelps has improved that to 6.0 in '10.
So, I've compared him with Phil Hughes, but just who is David Phelps?
David Phelps was a 14th round draft pick by the Yankees in 2008 out of Notre Dame. He was assigned to the Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees, and started off with a bang. He went 8-2 with a 2.72 ERA and 52 K's in 15 starts and 72.2 IP. In '09, Phelps did even better, going 13-4 with a 2.38 ERA and 122 K's in 26 starts and 151 IP between the Low-A Charleston Riverdogs and the High-A Tampa Yankees.
Phelps has outdone himself once again in '10. He has gone 3-0 with a 2.13 ERA and 52 K's in 10 starts and 63.1 IP for the Double-A Trenton Thunder. He just keeps getting better and better.
After posting an untouchable 0.00 ERA in 3 games from the GCL Yankees in '04, Phil Hughes had a 2.19 ERA in '05, a 2.16 ERA in '06, and a 1.91 ERA in '07. Obviously Phelps isn't as good of a prospect as Hughes was since Hughes was a 1st round pick and Phelps was a 14th round pick, but Phelps' ERA dropping every year has to remind you a little bit of Hughes.
The one thing that might be going against David Phelps: his age. He's only 23 years old, but he's less than 4 months younger than Hughes. But, that might be a blessing in disguise. When he reaches the majors, he'll be more developed than Hughes was when he was called up at age 21, as evidenced by his horrendous '08 (0-4, 6.62 ERA) in what was supposed to be his first full major league season. But, will Phelps be anywhere near as good as Hughes? I think he has a shot to perform at a similar level as Hughes at the major league level.
If Phelps finishes off his great '10 in Double-A and then starts out well at Triple-A in 2011, I think he will be called up to the majors, probably as a reliever. We'll have to see what happens.
Let's start the comparisons: Hughes is 6'5, while Phelps is 6'3. Obviously those 2 inches make a difference, but it's close. Hughes had a 2.37 minor league ERA, while Phelps has a 2.41 minor league ERA. Hughes had a .795 winning % in the minors, while Phelps has an .800 winning %. Hughes had a 2.2 career BB/9 in the minors, while Phelps has a 2.1 career BB/9 in the minors. Hughes had a 0.3 HR/9 in the minors while Phelps has a 0.5 HR/9. The list goes on.
Obviously there ae some differences. Hughes is a much bigger man than Phelps, weighing 230 pounds compared to 190 and is much more of a power pitcher. He had a 10.0 career K/9 in the minors compared to Phelps' 7.1. Also, Hughes has allowed much fewer hits than Phelps, posting a 6.0 H/9 compared to 8.2 by Phelps. But, Phelps has improved that to 6.0 in '10.
So, I've compared him with Phil Hughes, but just who is David Phelps?
David Phelps was a 14th round draft pick by the Yankees in 2008 out of Notre Dame. He was assigned to the Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees, and started off with a bang. He went 8-2 with a 2.72 ERA and 52 K's in 15 starts and 72.2 IP. In '09, Phelps did even better, going 13-4 with a 2.38 ERA and 122 K's in 26 starts and 151 IP between the Low-A Charleston Riverdogs and the High-A Tampa Yankees.
Phelps has outdone himself once again in '10. He has gone 3-0 with a 2.13 ERA and 52 K's in 10 starts and 63.1 IP for the Double-A Trenton Thunder. He just keeps getting better and better.
After posting an untouchable 0.00 ERA in 3 games from the GCL Yankees in '04, Phil Hughes had a 2.19 ERA in '05, a 2.16 ERA in '06, and a 1.91 ERA in '07. Obviously Phelps isn't as good of a prospect as Hughes was since Hughes was a 1st round pick and Phelps was a 14th round pick, but Phelps' ERA dropping every year has to remind you a little bit of Hughes.
The one thing that might be going against David Phelps: his age. He's only 23 years old, but he's less than 4 months younger than Hughes. But, that might be a blessing in disguise. When he reaches the majors, he'll be more developed than Hughes was when he was called up at age 21, as evidenced by his horrendous '08 (0-4, 6.62 ERA) in what was supposed to be his first full major league season. But, will Phelps be anywhere near as good as Hughes? I think he has a shot to perform at a similar level as Hughes at the major league level.
If Phelps finishes off his great '10 in Double-A and then starts out well at Triple-A in 2011, I think he will be called up to the majors, probably as a reliever. We'll have to see what happens.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Are there any under-the-radar impact players waiting in the minors for the Yanks?
This year Kevin Russo came out of nowhere from the minors and has made an impact. Last year, Francisco Cervelli came out of nowhere to make a big impact with Posada hurt and has carried his great play into this year with Posada hurt again. Are there any other players like that waiting in the Yankee minor league system that will make an impact like that in 2011? I'm going to name 5 guys. Chances are, at least 4 of them will still be nobodies after the 2011 season. But, hopefully one of these players will make an impact in 2011. I'm not talking about players who will come out of nowhere to win a Rookie of the Year next year- I'm talking about bench players who could make an impact like Russo has had this year because Granderson was hurt and Winn played so badly that he was designated for assignment.
No, I'm not going to mention guys like Jesus Montero or Austin Romine who if you know anything about the players in the Yankee minor league system, you should already recognize. I mentioned many of those kind of players in my "The future of the Yankees" posts or other posts that talk about the future of the Yankees (you can go to the "all posts link on the right to read those posts). Instead I'm going to mention players who you may have seen in spring training or something, but who you probably don't recognize. I'm going to put the players in order of likelihood of making an impact in 2011, in my opinion.
1. Eduardo Nunez: 23 year old infielder Eduardo Nunez is hitting .311 at Triple-A Scranton with 10 doubles, 2 homers, 22 RBI, 12 SB (3 CS), and a .353 OBP in 49 games. He hit .322 with 26 doubles, 9 homers, 55 RBI, 19 SB (7 CS), and a .349 OBP at Double-A in '09, so he is really showing signs of improvement. He has posted a very good .980 Fld% at SS so far in '10. He also has some experience at 2B and 3B, but so far in '10 he has just a .800 Fld% at 3B and a .889 Fld% at 2B. He needs to work on those 2 positions. Maybe he could be a utility infielder in 2011. Keep in mind that Ramiro Pena is hitting just .190 right now.
2. Tim Norton: 27 year old RHP Tim Norton impressed so much at High-A Tampa in '10 that he bypassed Double-A Trenton and went straight to Triple-A Scranton. At High-A Tampa, Norton went 0-0 with a 1.23 ERA, 17 K's, just 4 walks, and 1 save in 8 relief appearances and 14.2 IP. Since being promoted to Triple-A Scranton, Norton has appeared in one game, and he threw a scoreless inning. In '09, Norton went 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA, 30 K's, and 9 walks in 23 relief appearances and 36 IP. Norton was really set back when he underwent rotator cuff surgery in '07 and missed most of that season and all of '08. If he hadn't gotten hurt, he maybe could have been in the Yankee bullpen right now. Norton has an impressive 9.7 career K/9 in the minors, so I have to think that he has a chance to be a member of the Yankee bullpen in 2011. His career BB/9 is just 2.1, so he also has great control. He also has allowed just 0.1 homers per 9 innings. Obviously we'll have to see how Norton does the rest of the season at Triple-A, but if he does well, he will have an opportunity to make an impact as a reliever in 2011.
(You would expect the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees to have more players on this list, but really don't have any other players who jump out from the stats besides Ivan Nova and Zack McAllister who I've talked about in my "future of the Yankees" posts, and Boone Logan, Mark Melancon, Jonathan Albaladejo, and Royce Ring who all have major league experience.)
3. David Phelps: Even I've never heard of 23 year old RHP David Phelps before I did this post, but he's really good. He has gone 3-0 at Double-A Trenton with a 2.40 ERA, 45 K's, and just 16 walks in 9 starts and 56.1 IP. In '09, he went 13-4 with a 2.38 ERA, 122 K's, and just 31 walks in 27 starts and 151 IP. He really has great minor league numbers. If he continues his great '10 and starts out well in 2011 at Triple-A Scranton, the Yankees will definitely have to consider calling him up to the majors. But, he has never been used as a reliever in the minors. Still, when you have an ERA under 2.80 every year in the minors, you definitely deserve a look by the major league club. I think Phelps has a good chance to make an impact as a starter in 2011 if someone gets hurt, or as a reliever.
4. Josh Schmidt: 27 year old RHP Josh Schmidt went 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA at Double-A Trenton, with 26 K's, and 14 walks in 19 relief appearances and 27 IP before being promoted to Triple-A. Schmidt is a similar kind of player as Norton. He is another right-handed reliever with a very good career strikeout rate. But, although Schmidt has done pretty well in '10, his strikeout rate is not as high as Norton. He also walks may more batters. Schmidt has made 2 relief appearances since being promoted to Triple-A Scranton and has not done well, going 1-0 with a 7.20 ERA, 3 K's, and 2 walks in 2 relief appearances and 5 IP. Schmidt will defintiely have improve a lot on that 7.20 ERA to be in the Yankees bullpen in 2011.
5. Brandon Laird: 22 year old Brandon Laird, brother of Tigers catcher Gerald Laird, is hitting .316 at Double-A Trenton with 11 doubles, 10 homers, 50 RBI, and a .362 OBP in 49 games. Laird is putting up these numbers the year after hitting just .266 with 13 homers and 75 RBI in a disappointing '09 at High-A Tampa. In '08, he hit .273 with 23 homers and 86 RBI at Low-A Charleston. Laird's 50 RBI in '10 in 49 games is an average of over 1 RBI per game- no major leaguer with enough at-bats to qualify has an average of 1 RBI per game or better in his career. To put that into perspective, Albert Pujols has averaged under .8 RBI per game for his career and has not had a single season where he has averaged 1 or more RBI per game. (In fact, since 2000, Manny Ramirez is the only player to have averaged 1 RBI per game in a season in which he played 25 or more games by driving in 122 runs in 118 games. The other 8 players who have done it since 2000 all played in less than 25 games.) The problem with Laird is fielding. Laird started out as a 3rd baseman, then was switched to 1st, and now is back at 3rd. He has a decent .991 career Fld% at first base, but he has just a .936 career Fld% at 3rd base. He will need to make strides defensively at 3rd base to be promoted to the majors. The Yankees have only let Laird play 3B so far in '10 (2 appearances at DH), but he has posted just a .935 Fld%. Still, I can see Laird having a Juan Miranda-type impact in 2011. But, one problem with that: Juan Miranda will probably still be on the team unless top prospect Jesus Montero has already taken away his roster spot, so it will be tough for Laird to make the team.
In case you're wondering, switch-pitcher Pat Venditte did not make this list because he's only in Tampa right now and has only posted a 3.08 ERA so far so he won't be called up to Double-A in the near future.
Just like for Russo, injury or complete failure by role players might be needed for one of these guys to get called up. But, it's bound to happen to someone, and I think that these 5 players have a shot to be called up to the majors and make an impact.
No, I'm not going to mention guys like Jesus Montero or Austin Romine who if you know anything about the players in the Yankee minor league system, you should already recognize. I mentioned many of those kind of players in my "The future of the Yankees" posts or other posts that talk about the future of the Yankees (you can go to the "all posts link on the right to read those posts). Instead I'm going to mention players who you may have seen in spring training or something, but who you probably don't recognize. I'm going to put the players in order of likelihood of making an impact in 2011, in my opinion.
1. Eduardo Nunez: 23 year old infielder Eduardo Nunez is hitting .311 at Triple-A Scranton with 10 doubles, 2 homers, 22 RBI, 12 SB (3 CS), and a .353 OBP in 49 games. He hit .322 with 26 doubles, 9 homers, 55 RBI, 19 SB (7 CS), and a .349 OBP at Double-A in '09, so he is really showing signs of improvement. He has posted a very good .980 Fld% at SS so far in '10. He also has some experience at 2B and 3B, but so far in '10 he has just a .800 Fld% at 3B and a .889 Fld% at 2B. He needs to work on those 2 positions. Maybe he could be a utility infielder in 2011. Keep in mind that Ramiro Pena is hitting just .190 right now.
2. Tim Norton: 27 year old RHP Tim Norton impressed so much at High-A Tampa in '10 that he bypassed Double-A Trenton and went straight to Triple-A Scranton. At High-A Tampa, Norton went 0-0 with a 1.23 ERA, 17 K's, just 4 walks, and 1 save in 8 relief appearances and 14.2 IP. Since being promoted to Triple-A Scranton, Norton has appeared in one game, and he threw a scoreless inning. In '09, Norton went 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA, 30 K's, and 9 walks in 23 relief appearances and 36 IP. Norton was really set back when he underwent rotator cuff surgery in '07 and missed most of that season and all of '08. If he hadn't gotten hurt, he maybe could have been in the Yankee bullpen right now. Norton has an impressive 9.7 career K/9 in the minors, so I have to think that he has a chance to be a member of the Yankee bullpen in 2011. His career BB/9 is just 2.1, so he also has great control. He also has allowed just 0.1 homers per 9 innings. Obviously we'll have to see how Norton does the rest of the season at Triple-A, but if he does well, he will have an opportunity to make an impact as a reliever in 2011.
(You would expect the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees to have more players on this list, but really don't have any other players who jump out from the stats besides Ivan Nova and Zack McAllister who I've talked about in my "future of the Yankees" posts, and Boone Logan, Mark Melancon, Jonathan Albaladejo, and Royce Ring who all have major league experience.)
3. David Phelps: Even I've never heard of 23 year old RHP David Phelps before I did this post, but he's really good. He has gone 3-0 at Double-A Trenton with a 2.40 ERA, 45 K's, and just 16 walks in 9 starts and 56.1 IP. In '09, he went 13-4 with a 2.38 ERA, 122 K's, and just 31 walks in 27 starts and 151 IP. He really has great minor league numbers. If he continues his great '10 and starts out well in 2011 at Triple-A Scranton, the Yankees will definitely have to consider calling him up to the majors. But, he has never been used as a reliever in the minors. Still, when you have an ERA under 2.80 every year in the minors, you definitely deserve a look by the major league club. I think Phelps has a good chance to make an impact as a starter in 2011 if someone gets hurt, or as a reliever.
4. Josh Schmidt: 27 year old RHP Josh Schmidt went 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA at Double-A Trenton, with 26 K's, and 14 walks in 19 relief appearances and 27 IP before being promoted to Triple-A. Schmidt is a similar kind of player as Norton. He is another right-handed reliever with a very good career strikeout rate. But, although Schmidt has done pretty well in '10, his strikeout rate is not as high as Norton. He also walks may more batters. Schmidt has made 2 relief appearances since being promoted to Triple-A Scranton and has not done well, going 1-0 with a 7.20 ERA, 3 K's, and 2 walks in 2 relief appearances and 5 IP. Schmidt will defintiely have improve a lot on that 7.20 ERA to be in the Yankees bullpen in 2011.
5. Brandon Laird: 22 year old Brandon Laird, brother of Tigers catcher Gerald Laird, is hitting .316 at Double-A Trenton with 11 doubles, 10 homers, 50 RBI, and a .362 OBP in 49 games. Laird is putting up these numbers the year after hitting just .266 with 13 homers and 75 RBI in a disappointing '09 at High-A Tampa. In '08, he hit .273 with 23 homers and 86 RBI at Low-A Charleston. Laird's 50 RBI in '10 in 49 games is an average of over 1 RBI per game- no major leaguer with enough at-bats to qualify has an average of 1 RBI per game or better in his career. To put that into perspective, Albert Pujols has averaged under .8 RBI per game for his career and has not had a single season where he has averaged 1 or more RBI per game. (In fact, since 2000, Manny Ramirez is the only player to have averaged 1 RBI per game in a season in which he played 25 or more games by driving in 122 runs in 118 games. The other 8 players who have done it since 2000 all played in less than 25 games.) The problem with Laird is fielding. Laird started out as a 3rd baseman, then was switched to 1st, and now is back at 3rd. He has a decent .991 career Fld% at first base, but he has just a .936 career Fld% at 3rd base. He will need to make strides defensively at 3rd base to be promoted to the majors. The Yankees have only let Laird play 3B so far in '10 (2 appearances at DH), but he has posted just a .935 Fld%. Still, I can see Laird having a Juan Miranda-type impact in 2011. But, one problem with that: Juan Miranda will probably still be on the team unless top prospect Jesus Montero has already taken away his roster spot, so it will be tough for Laird to make the team.
In case you're wondering, switch-pitcher Pat Venditte did not make this list because he's only in Tampa right now and has only posted a 3.08 ERA so far so he won't be called up to Double-A in the near future.
Just like for Russo, injury or complete failure by role players might be needed for one of these guys to get called up. But, it's bound to happen to someone, and I think that these 5 players have a shot to be called up to the majors and make an impact.
Is Marlins prospect Mike Stanton ready for the majors?
In this post I will answer 2 questions: Is Marlins outfield prospect Mike Stanton ready for the majors right now? and How great of a slugger has he been so far in his minor league career?
Stanton has really gotten off to a great start in Double-A Jacksonville. He has hit .301 with 11 doubles, 18 homers, 48 RBI, 34 runs, and a .431 OBP in 47 games. Stanton has led the minors in homers most of the year. Also, he's averaging over 1 RBI per game, which is amazing. In addition, he has posted a perfect 1.000 Fld% in the outfield. He has primarily played RF, but he has also played 2 games in LF.
The question with Stanton is his contact rate. As evidenced by Stanton's just 11 doubles compared to his 18 homers, Stanton really doesn't make a lot of contact, but when he does make contact, he very often hits homers. He is 52 hits so far in '10 and he has 18 homers. So, 35% of his hits are homers. Also, Stanton has homered at a rate of once every 9.6 at-bats, a very good rate. Stanton really has the potential to be a great power hitter in the majors, but will he make enough contact to maintain a good BA?
For his minor league career, 27% of Stanton's hits have been homers and he has homered at a rate of once every 13.7 at-bats. Let's compare those numbers to the numbers of some major league sluggers. During his major league career, 29% of Ryan Howard's hits have been homers and he has homered at a rate of once every 12.6 at-bats. For Prince Fielder, 23% of his hits have been homers, and he has homered at a rate of once every 15.4 at-bats. For Alex Rodriguez (not including his juiced years of '01 to '03), 22% of his hits have been homers, and he has homered at a rate of once every 15.3 at-bats. (Unrelated note: A-rod has 434 career homers without steroids, so in my opinion, he will need to reach 500 homers without steroids to be a legitimate Hall of Famer. He currently has 590 homers including steroids, so in my opinion, homer number 656 will be the homer that makes him a Hall of Famer.) For Albert Pujols, 21% of his hits have been homers and he has homered at a rate of once every 14.1 at-bats. For Ken Griffey Jr., 23% of his hits in his career have been homers, and he has homered at a rate of once every 15.6 at-bats. Stanton seems to be most similar to Ryan Howard, but maybe a few homers worse. Howard has averaged 44 homers per full season, so maybe Stanton could average 42 homers per full season. Still, that's a lot of homers and if he's anywhere near as good as Howard, he'll be a great player.
We'll have to see what the Marlins do. Stanton has great numberts so far in Double-A, but the Marlins might want to move him up to Triple-A first. Whether he is called up within a couple of months from now this season or callled up next year, he will show great power in the majors and be a Rookie of the Year candidate. The only question with him is his contact rate.
Stanton has really gotten off to a great start in Double-A Jacksonville. He has hit .301 with 11 doubles, 18 homers, 48 RBI, 34 runs, and a .431 OBP in 47 games. Stanton has led the minors in homers most of the year. Also, he's averaging over 1 RBI per game, which is amazing. In addition, he has posted a perfect 1.000 Fld% in the outfield. He has primarily played RF, but he has also played 2 games in LF.
The question with Stanton is his contact rate. As evidenced by Stanton's just 11 doubles compared to his 18 homers, Stanton really doesn't make a lot of contact, but when he does make contact, he very often hits homers. He is 52 hits so far in '10 and he has 18 homers. So, 35% of his hits are homers. Also, Stanton has homered at a rate of once every 9.6 at-bats, a very good rate. Stanton really has the potential to be a great power hitter in the majors, but will he make enough contact to maintain a good BA?
For his minor league career, 27% of Stanton's hits have been homers and he has homered at a rate of once every 13.7 at-bats. Let's compare those numbers to the numbers of some major league sluggers. During his major league career, 29% of Ryan Howard's hits have been homers and he has homered at a rate of once every 12.6 at-bats. For Prince Fielder, 23% of his hits have been homers, and he has homered at a rate of once every 15.4 at-bats. For Alex Rodriguez (not including his juiced years of '01 to '03), 22% of his hits have been homers, and he has homered at a rate of once every 15.3 at-bats. (Unrelated note: A-rod has 434 career homers without steroids, so in my opinion, he will need to reach 500 homers without steroids to be a legitimate Hall of Famer. He currently has 590 homers including steroids, so in my opinion, homer number 656 will be the homer that makes him a Hall of Famer.) For Albert Pujols, 21% of his hits have been homers and he has homered at a rate of once every 14.1 at-bats. For Ken Griffey Jr., 23% of his hits in his career have been homers, and he has homered at a rate of once every 15.6 at-bats. Stanton seems to be most similar to Ryan Howard, but maybe a few homers worse. Howard has averaged 44 homers per full season, so maybe Stanton could average 42 homers per full season. Still, that's a lot of homers and if he's anywhere near as good as Howard, he'll be a great player.
We'll have to see what the Marlins do. Stanton has great numberts so far in Double-A, but the Marlins might want to move him up to Triple-A first. Whether he is called up within a couple of months from now this season or callled up next year, he will show great power in the majors and be a Rookie of the Year candidate. The only question with him is his contact rate.
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