After yesterday’s fun discussion, I thought I’d strike up another friendly converstation over our middle infield prospects. I’ll give you the numbers from where the player played most of his season and a brief synopsis of the player’s skills.
Kozma, Age 19, JCY–.264/.350/.396 ISO–.132 BB%–10.0% K%–17.5% BABIP–.313–LD–15%.
Looking at Pete Kozma, you have a player who has sound tools across the board, with the exception of power. He struggled defensively in the low minors, but held his own as a hitter with decent contact ability and plate discipline. His rep has to be boosted by his draft pick status, and scouts rated him as the best pure shortstop of the lot earlier this summer.
Martinez, Age-21, AA–.300/.337/.472 ISO–.172 BB%–5.1%-K%–8.8% BABIP-.301-LD%-23%
With Jose Martinez, you have a player who shows plays shortstop and 2nd base well. He rarely strikes out and has decent power. He struggled mightily in A ball but then turned it on in AA. He rarely walks and he’s not the most fleet of foot.
Hoffpauir, age 24, AAA .300/.388/.416–ISO–.116 BB%– 12.9% K%–9.4% BABIP–.321 LD%–18%
Jarrett Hoffpauir came out of nowhere this year to put up fine numbers at both AA and AAA. He isn’t big, but has shown decent pop and has an excellent batting eye. Like Martinez, he’s not a burner but has average range and is an adequate fielder.
Ryan, age 25, Majors—.341/.393/.484 ISO-.143 BB%–8.6% K%–9.3%–BABIP–.358–LD% 22%
Brendan Ryan hasn’t just done it in the minors; he’s putting up good numbers in the majors. He has excellent range and a strong throwing arm. He doesn’t have much power to speak of, though he’s hit a few mistakes out of the field this season. He rarely strikes out but doesn’t draw a ton of walks. His propensity for being over aggressive at the plate was underscored when he swung on a 3-0 pitch and was subsequently put into TLR’s doghouse.
Lastly, you have 24 year old Tyler Greene, who I won’t post his stats as he was hurt most of the year. It’s easy to forget he was picked 2 spots above below Rasmus in the 2005 draft. He hasn’t hit well for since turning pro, other then a pretty nifty stretch for the Swing. He strikes out in a quarter of his plate appearances. On the positive, he does have is a raw power/speed combo. He’s hit for nearly a .200 ISO combined over the last 3 seasons and has stolen 62 bases in 250 games, getting caught just 6 times. Some think he may require a move to third.
All of them have different pros and cons, but which do you like the most? The least?
Filed under: Brendan Ryan, Jarrett Hoffpauir, Jose Martinez, Pete Kozma, Tyler Greene
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
Wasn’t Greene taken 2 spots after Rasmus? like 28th and 30th overall?
I like Martinez myself. He has the best LD% of the group and perhaps the most power/potential power. Doesn’t walk enough, but also strikes out seldom. I would love to see Greene’s talent translate, but it is getting pretty late for that. Perhaps, he can be a late bloomer (Chase Utley). I would almost prefer him to move to the OF—He has the arm, speed, and the power to play out there and we are short on truly elite OF prospects.
Greene was 30 and Rasmus 28.
Upton–1
Maybin—10
Mcutcheon–11
Bruce–12
I think we got a steal!
you fellas are right, my error.
I like Martinez the most too.
When I emailed Chris Kline from BA about him this is what he responded with:
“Love him. We’ve been on him this year since ST as a guy who could have a breakout season and he’s lived up to those expectations (thank God). He’s got strong defensive tools in the middle of the diamond with some emerging power. Seems like a No. 2 or 3 hitter; has enough speed on the bases, but isn’t a burner. Def: above-average arm strength, good range to both sides and soft hands. Profiles the position and should stay there. (As you can tell I’m a big fan).”
I really don’t know what to think about Kozma, I’m still in shock that we picked him over Porcello. I really about to move on, but than Carlos Gomez comes in here killing my spirits again with Kozma.
Now that I have time to do a ranking here is my ideas on these guys.
Martinez, Hoff, Ryan, Kozma, Greene
Martinez I think is showing the best upside, more power and more overall skill from what I have read. Hoff has done more at AAA then Ryan but it is hard to argue with Ryan’s major league stats except that a lot of rookies come on strong then disappear and until Ryan proves he has the ability to sustain those numbers even at AAA I think Hoff is the better prospect. Kozma is still too new to rank any higher and I think Greene has fallen out of graces at the present time but I think he does still have potential and I hope he turns it on in AAA next year.
I like Martinez, a lot. I think he’ll move over to 2b in the end, to pair up with Ryan. Kozma should end up being solid, but passing over Porcello will stick with us for a looong time, I fear. Hoffpauir seems pretty decent, but I don’t think he measures up, talent wise, to the other guys here.
As for Greene, huge talent, but I kind of doubt he’ll ever be able to put it together. By far the most athletic guy of the bunch, could really give Daryl Jones a run for most athletic in the whole system, but he strikes out like Rob Deer on a bad day. I would love to see him make it, but I just don’t see it.
Martinez would be my choice. I was impressed with him the first time I saw him and he never left me disappointed. Martinez could be the most athletic of the group. He also plays the game very hard.
During game three of the TLCS he tried turning a double play in which the runner from first didn’t slide to avoid to the throw. Martinez threw the ball anyways, hit the runner leaving him lying on the field for several minutes. It looked painful, but it was also something I could appreciate. That’s just one example of his competitive mentality.
what about marmol…. i saw him play this summer, he learns pretty quick “i think”
Hoffpauir’s a very intriguing guy. . .he was one of those Moneyball-type picks in 2004 (a high OBP guy) who had a huge junior year at Southern Miss. This year he really put it together, and became probably what the Cards thought they were getting out of the draft. A .400+ OBP at the high minor league level from a middle infielder position would definitely earn you a roster spot on a ML roster, I would think. I’m hoping he gets a legit shot at the 2B job in ‘08 for the Cards.
Not related to MIF but thought you might like this BA article about AFL and Team USA http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=600
Regarding Martinez, isn’t it unusual to have a line-drive percentage above 20 percent and a BABIP of .301? Intuitively, shouldn’t the guy who hits more line drives have a higher BABIP?
not middle infielders, but the cardinals place 3 prospects in baseball america’s GCL top 20 list. C Luis De La Cruz leads the group at #9 with D’Marcus Ingram and Deryk Hooker going back to back at #16 and #17.
chris kline wrote an absolutely sparkling report on de la cruz saying he drew comparisons to a young pudge rodriguez both for his bat and for his arm.
few…thanks for sharing that. i hadn’t heard anything previous regarding de la cruz, has scout.com or anyone else on to him? they ranked him above Devin Mesoraco, the 2nd catcher selected in the draft. and they were higher on him the kevin ahrens. pretty amazing stuff! nice to see ingram get some puckett comps, too.
I really see the Cards giving Ryan the starting SS job next year. If the competition catches up to him and Martinez lights up AAA early on I wouldn’t be shocked if Martinez ends up getting called up and the Cards move Ryan to a utility role. Hoff should get a shot at winning the 2B job. I am one of the believers that the only way Greene gets a shot is to move to 3B. Rolen is downsliding hard and if Greene wants to get on the field his best shot is 3B utility (Spezio type).
My rankings would be: Martinez, Ryan, Hoff, Greene, Kozma
I really think that Kozma will do really well next year in his first full season. I think the pressure of being the 1st round pick of the World Champs and coming out high school got to him. I think next year he will be able to relax and put together a good year.
Right now I’m assuming Greene will start off at Springfield, where Allen Craig will be manning third base, so until one of them is promoted to Memphis he’ll probably stay at shortstop. Even then, unless he’s an absolute butcher, I’d like to think they’ll keep him at short until the last possible minute.
Anyone think there’s any chance at all they’ll give Tommy Pham another shot at shortstop, or at least second base, before he gets too accustomed to the outfield?
mateo…i half way thing pham should get a shot at pitching, because he has not hit a lick.
greene’s only shot at being a regular is staying at short and i have read some people that thought he was pretty good defensively there. the reason i say that is he is never going to hit for a high average b/c of his contact issues. however, he has legit 20/20 potential and that is hard to find at that position even if he is only going to hit .250.
jose martinez seems to be living up to my placido polanco comp that i have made in the past, but he may have more value b/c of his ability to play an above average shortstop. that is one darn good player.
i too think brendan ryan will get a shot to be the everyday shorstop next year, but i like him a lot more in the utility role where his bat doesn’t get as exposed. as a regular i think he would be a ryan theriot type. hopefully he is just a stop gap until martinez is ready.
kozma may have had a rough start, but it is such a small sample size and he had a long layoff before he started. remember that derek jeter led the GCL in errors and hit about .200 in his first season. i think he will play a lot better and we will see the type of player he is next season at quad cities.
hoffpauir seems to me like a poor man’s dustin pedroia. they are both smallish, scrappy 2nd baseman drafted out of college in 2004. i don’t think he will hit .320 like pedroia is this year, but .290-.300 with 5-10 homers, 25-30 doubles, and a very solid BB/K ratio seems very possible. i still don’t know why he didn’t get a chance this september.