Lol yea I was about half drunk when I heard that, which made it even funnier than it should have been
He has a LOT of tools. He is faster than people realize as well. The fact that Dana Brown saw him fly balls for 20 minutes and declared him good enough to play a corner outfield spot is all I needed to know. Tool wise he reminds me of Cliff Floyd pre-injury.
Well - I will say this, watching him against big leaguers really explains why the Astros have been so patient with him. He just oozes physical skills and talent. He is elite from a speed and quickness perspective. He also has very good instincts as a base runner. With speed on the bases finally becoming a priority again - he can easily steal 60+ bases if he gets on base. He has a strong and accurate arm and can cover all three outfield positions very well. So the floor for him is so high - and when you add in likely power - his requirements from a getting on base perspective is so low compared to almost all other players.
"Easily steal 60+" may be hyperbole. One guy got there last year. Five in the past decade. I do like his speed but you can't steal first base. Arm is great, cover skills are there, but his route running and positioning could use work. I feel like Cam's ahead at the moment in those areas. Which is unexpected given how long Melton's been an OF compared to Cam. Hopefully Melton can learn from Meyers, who excels in those areas.
Less hyperbole than you think. As I said, he has to get on base - and he will need the plate appearances, but he could easily steal 60 bags if he started a full year and wasn't useless with his bat. He is very fast, but more importantly, he is a very good base runner. He has stolen roughly 75 bags in his last 200 games between 23 and 24. Agree on his route running being inconsistent - he is still raw for a player his age, the same is true for Brice Matthews. I have no idea if he will hit well enough, but with his glove, position, base running - power and ability to draw walks, his actual batting average doesn't have to be very high for him to accumulate a lot of WAR and be a starter in the league. The strikeouts are still the concern - but his margin for error is huge.
I just think we yada yada the whole hitting thing sometimes like it's a minor skill that isn't part of the equation. His walk rate isn't anything special, his power is middling above A ball, he's striking out 40% of the time so far in the bigs. Melton stole half of his career SB in about 80 games in A+ ball in 2023. He's been less impressive at AA and AAA. Still good, but like 45 steal / 162 games good. Which is, to be fair, still great. His stolen base success rate is super impressive. I'm not down on his prospect status, I'm just saying I don't think he's ready. The promotion feels forced and premature.
He had an 8% swstr rate at AAA before his callup. So I don’t think making contact is the main cause of his strikeouts. I think he watches too many strikes.
Let's hope he figures it out because he has all the other tools. Power and speed can be a deadly combo
Strike % Swinging: 26.8 Looking: 30.5 Foul: 24.4 In play: 18.3 I have no idea what these numbers really mean, if anything. Just for fun, here's Paredes and Pena S: 10.2 24.9 L: 32.6 18.1 F: 30.1 22.2 IP: 27.1 34.8
His EV as of late really speaks volumes to his future potential. As said earlier, they'll work on the launch angle and you'll see a ton of future HR's.
There are some mega fast prospects on the horizon with Simpson, Crawford, and Bradfield. People in the know are watching now that we are nearing 80%.
I can't believe how good his glove is already. Even being a slightly below average hitter thus far he's on pace for a 2-3 WAR season because his defensive value has been elite...at a position he started a few months ago.
He got a couple of really good swings in down 0-2 the other night Might throw my advanced approach comment down the drain Or he was giga brain Or just great contact skills
Probably growing into the role and feeling himself a little bit at the moment. That, or he's still buoyed by his performance as head of medical the other day. He's got a tough job: rebuild the farm without high picks, keep the team competitive while remaining below the CBT (with dead money due to Abreu and Montero), and navigating through a bunch of injured pitchers. Hopefully he will add to the collective this deadline and help position another long run. Tied for the 2nd largest division lead at the moment. Let's keep it going!!
