Future Redbirds

I always find myself rooting for the little guy, I have the Eckstein t-shirt jersey in my closet to prove it. I guess I like rooting for the hustling scrub like most Cardinal fans, perhaps it stems back to when I was in the 8th grade and the high school basketball coach told me I was too small and had a funny jump shot, despite the fact that I outscored all of my peers that spring. It’s fun to root for guys who overachieve in spite of their physical limitations, even if they are unorthodox. That brings me the subject of this profile: 5′9″, 165 pound center fielder Shane Robinson.

Robinson was the team’s 5th round draft pick this past June and came with a pretty impressive college resume from Florida State. In 2005 he was named Collegiate Baseball’s Player of the Year , hitting .427/.532/.605 and stealing 49 bases in 56 tries as a sophomore. During that season he had a 40 game hitting streak, a school record. He finished the season ranked in the top five nationally for hits (122), runs (96), on base percentage (.532), doubles (25), steals, and games started (73) and was the only player in America to finish in the top five in hits, runs, doubles and stolen bases. He also ranked in the top 10 nationally for walks (57), total bases (173), and batting average.

It’s hard to top that type of season, his junior season Robinson hit .361/.445/.517. Robinson started every game in his 3 year college career. He made an immediate impact for the Swing of the Quad Cities, where he had a 21 game hitting streak and he hit .372 in his first 32 games. After hitting .307 his June and July, he hit only .242 the rest of the season. He finished the season with a park-adjusted .291/.357/.343 line as the Swing’s lead-off man. I don’t know if you can get much more Eckstein then that, whether you think that’s a good thing or not.

Robinson’s pros:

• Good batting eye, he walked as much as he struck out (20/20). In college he walked 119 times compared to 83 strikeouts. He struck out in only 7% of his at bats.
• Excellent contact guy with a 22% line drive rate.
• Stole 100 bases in 112 attempts in college, 12 out of 15 at A ball. Above average speed, but smarts make him a base stealing threat.
• Plus range, +20 runs above average in 446 innings. (For what it’s worth) Scouting reports agree he has good range in center.

Cons:

• No power whatsoever to speak of.
• Below average throwing arm.
• Suspect to pitches on outer half
• While his .282 batting average looks like decent production, the other sabr-head metrics like OPS (.676), wOBA (.306) SecA (.127) and GPA (.238) tell the real story about his production.

Robinson is a fun, slap and run lead-off guy who gets the most out of his ability. His hustle and aggressiveness make him a pest in the mold Eckstein. Realistically, he may not be all that much to get excited about, he could just be a bench player or worse. Some scouts compare him with Steve Stanley, another under-sized college great who has struggled to adapt in the pros. I’ll be rooting for him to defy the nay-sayers.