Drafted in 2006 in the 16th round and given 3rd round money, you have to say Tommy Pham has been a disappointment to this point. Initially thought of as a SS in the mold of Derek Jeter (yes, he did receive that outrageous comparison by a scout or two), Pham was unable to provide any sort of steady defense in the infield (you can argue neither has Jeter, but that’s a whole other debate) and subsequently was moved to CF. No matter where he has played defensively, Pham has not lived up to his scouting report when it comes to hitting. Over the first 2 seasons, Pham has hit for a .659 OPS in his debut season, and a .587 OPS in 268 plate appearances for Batavia. He also went 2 for 32 for the Quad Cities before getting sent down. Looking at his peripherals, he beats the ball into the ground without mercy or discretion and strikes out pretty often. He’s hit for nearly zero power, but does take a decent share of walks. There’s just been little to like, from a statistical standpoint.
All this begs me to wonder, is it too soon for a more drastic position change, a la the mound? Read this scouting report at Brewerfan.net:
Pham is an extremely exciting player to watch, with rangy and wiry athleticism. He may not be in the shortstop conversation for long if he continues to blow batters away with a lively low-90s heater and developing breaking ball.
Is it too early or too late to get him on the mound for a try? At 19, the tools could start to turn into results, but we’ve been saying the same thing about Daryl Jones for some time, and it hasn’t happened yet. If there is some upside to him as a pitcher, I wonder if they should let him learn to pitch, because at least so far, he doesn’t look to pan out as a hitter.
Filed under: Tommy Pham
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
Do we have any high school stats that we could reference? You need to be ungodly as a hitter in high school to even have a shot. You cannot be just great, people need to begin to question if you are from another planet. That said from the photos I have seen he appears to have a frame that could hold a few pounds. I think it takes about three years to see returns as a pitcher. So considering his age and frame, about the time (22-23) he actually develops a pitchers skill set his body would begin to catch up. It might be a good age.
Interesting idea….let’s do it
Too early and there have been signs that the very raw, but very talented Pham has a chance.
Will only be 20 next season and even with his struggles you see a decent walk rate, an acceptable K’s totals to go along with the power and speed that is obviously there.
He still has 3 more full seasons of legit prospects status as a hitter……we knew he was going to be a project…lets give him time.
Unless he wants to make the move…I keep teaching the kid and letting him gain experience.
I wouldn’t pull the plug quite yet. He is only 19, and needs a chance to turn it around.
Pham’s been pretty brutal so far, but I think I would leave him in the field at the moment. In fact, I would move him back to short. I think the organisation moved him to the outfield way too quickly, especially considering the depth they have there. They took him from one of the weakest spots on the depth chart and put him at the bottom of one of the strongest areas. He’d probably be a reliever, and, again, the Cards have a lot of depth there already. I think it would be best to keep him at a spot the organisation actually needs to develop, and see if he can find his way. He’s still awfully young; there’s still plenty of time for the light to go on.
Not a bad idea to move him, I just don’t think it would be the best way to use the kid.