That is always the case, it isn't specific to Tucker. Of course he gets the benefit of the doubt, it is all based on whether the tools/ability are there to develop a particular valuable skill.
I think that is his projected upside. He would have to hit in the majors like he did in the minors last year. Yes, Mueller type production would be valuable in the new offense deprived league.
A lot of reasons. He doesn't have a position. His body isn't very good. He is older. He wasn't a big prospect. However at some point you have to just accept that he can hit, and control the zone.
Simply being able to hit is given virtually no respect by scouts, it's kind of funny actually. Tyler White has hit, and shown excellent plate discipline. But with limited power, and sub-par tools across the board that fact is ignored.
I agree with you... I think that the scouts are still in the mindset of the steroid era. The fact is that someone that hits .300 with an .800 OPS is very valuable in this era of baseball. As for White, he does more than just hit for average. He is a master at controlling the zone. For his career he has more walks than strike outs. He also has extra base hit power. He has averaged 40 doubles per 162 games in his career. The more advanced numbers are even more promising. He hits the ball HARD, he has a very high career "hard hit balls" % and is why he has consistently exceeded his BABIP.
this makes me happy: it's crazy to see all that talent that we have lost (he even forgot Springer), yet still have a top system.
Moran has more natural power than he has shown in games. His .840 OPS would be the 2nd best of Mueller's career excluding when he only played 70 games in 2001. One thing to note is, Moran destroyed RHP last season (.332/.396/.530), and has shown a significant split throughout his career.
Wow, a possible 7 top 100 prospects. Jeez Luhnow has found some really good pitchers down in the lower levels. Martes is a top prospect and BA is really high on Paulino saying that his scouting report is glowing (does anyone have a BA subscription? Can they tell us what BA says about him? At least upside-wise? Thanks!)
Weird. After the Astros traded Mark Appel et al. for Ken Giles, people were here saying that their system took a significant hit.
I just wonder if Appel will ever put it together. Sure didn't look like it from his time here. I haven't sweated his loss one bit.
Hey Nook, just wondering where do you find this "hard hit ball %" stat. Out of curiosity compared White's and Moran's stats since they were both discussed. Fun fact BABIP stats basically identical (.001), LD% right about 24% for each which is good for both. White has about 3% less on his K rate, that's the biggest difference in terms on contact between the two unless your HH% shows something too. Moran career AVG - .294 White career AVG - .311 To me White's potential comes from his on-base skills (over .400 career OBP). He won't get credit for it till he proves he can do it at the MLB level. Sort of similar to Matt Duffy (Giants).
I will look for where I got the stat from.... I found it last season and it confirmed what the eye saw.... They divided it into "hard hit line drives".... How do they measure hard hit like drives? You got me. I also ran into Kevin Goldstein in DeKalb (a suburb outside Chicago) at a festival. He spoke to me for a good 15 minutes and indirectly said something similar, that the Astros measure wasted at bats and White had the lowest in the organization... He swings at pitches he should and hits the ball hard.
The system did take a significant hit... The Astros paid a premium for Giles because he is statistically one of the 3-4 best relievers in baseball, a strikeout pitcher, young and under team control for a long time. Systems are very static. So far the Astros have been fortunate that most of their highly regarded prospects have faired very well at the big league level; and those that disapointed (Appel & Santana) were dealt when still valuable. The system won't always be this healthy... Scouts will be poached from other organizations, players will get hurt, the industry will evolve and our picks won't be as high... Seeing the success of players like Martes and Paulino and Reed give me hope that the system will be good for the foreseeable future.
I am traveling but I believe it is from (BIS) which is Baseball Information Services. I know the A's and Astros also track it internally as well as hiring an outside firm to confirm.
