Future Redbirds

Cody Haerther had a roller coaster of a week, so he is next to get his close up in this edition of prospect profiles.

Background

Haerther was selected in the 6th round (192nd overall) of the 2002 amateur draft out of Chaminade High School in California, originally drafted as a 3rd baseman and signed for a $250,000 bonus that steered him away from a commitment to UC Irvine. Fun fact: James Rapoport, the CF for Palm Beach this season also went to Chaminade.

What he’s done

Here’s Haerther’s #’s in a snapshot:

Haerther had an impressive debut as a 19 year old at Johnson City. He hit .332/.390/.478 in 226 at bats. He showed some good contact skills, with a .73 BB/K ratio and just a 13.2% strikeout rate. While he gained notoriety for his hitting ability, he slid down the defensive spectrum by moving from 3B to LF.

His age 20 season was at Peoria he hit .316/.383/.436 in 326 at bats. The drop in his isolated power was concerning, especially for a corner OF with a bum rap for his defense.

In 2005, Haerther started to show for that type of power you look for in a corner OF, hitting for a .266 ISO in 173 at bats at Palm Beach. For his efforts he was aggressively promoted to AA mid season, where posted a solid .202 ISO. He hit .318 at A+, .298 at AA, losing nothing in his ability to hit for average. The only real concern was that he wasn’t walking as much, taking just 9 free passes in 219 plate appearances for Springfield. He went to the Arizona Fall League but hit for just a lowly .617 OPS there. Baseball America named Haerther the #9 prospect in the system going into 2006 season.

For his age 22 season, Haerther started back in AA. He got off to a miserable start, hitting just .222 in the first half of the season, but he made up for it in the second half by going on to hit .322/.382/.480 the rest of the way. He still showed the same basic set of skills-good contact ability, moderate patience, moderate power. For all the complaints about his fielding, David Gassko’s fielding metric had Cody just -1 run below average. One red flag was that he hit just .186/.222/.254 against lefties, while hitting .292/.355/.467 against right handers.

This past season he missed most of the season due to him hurting his right hand in spring training, and he later needed surgery on the hamate bone. Upon coming back he was good old Cody, and a little extra. He hit .289/.377/.486 in 164 plate appearances. 26% of his batted balls were line drives, and 44% of his hits went for extra bases. Now with 2 at bats shy of 1500, Haerther has an impressive .302/.363/.474 line.

Scouting

Kevin Goldstein:

The Good: Baseball rat/max effort guy who recovered from injury-riddled first half to put up decent numbers in the Texas League. Smooth lefthanded stroke is designed for contact, but he occasionally puts a charge into a ball. Coaches love his effort and all-out style.
The Bad: Weak arm and poor instincts limit him to left field, where he just doesn’t have the raw power to profile as an every day player there. Can’t hit lefties.
In a Perfect World, He Becomes: A fourth outfielder/occasional starter and dangerous hitter off the bench.

BA:

Strengths: Haerther is one of the best young hitters in the organization. He has a smooth, short stroke and makes good contact. He has an advanced approach at the plate, showing good patience for a young hitter and not swinging at many bad pitches. He doesn’t have a lot of raw power but gets the most out of what he does have. He’s an average runner.

Weaknesses: St. Louis drafted Haerther as a third baseman but has played him in left field because he’s more comfortable there and has a better chance of helping the big league club there down the road. His arm is playable but he needs to work on his left-field defense.

Deric McKamey, 2007 Minor League Baseball Analyst:

Inside/out swing and improved plate discipline should ensure solid BA, but doesn’t have the power for a corner OF and lacks secondary skills. Outfield defense improved by getting better jumps, but possesses just average range and arm strength.

Baseball Prospectus

[...Haerther has shown a little bit of everything thus far: he's hit for average, some power, and played promising defense. His `04 season ended early with a fractured tibia, which kept him out of the outfield until late May, but he seemed to recover well enough. One scout compares him to a "young Rusty Greer," which hopefully refers to his Greer's performance and not his injury history...]

Putting it all together

A young Rusty Greer sounds like a very good comparison, only Greer had a better batting eye and the luxury of playing half his games in the Bandbox in Arlington. A better comparison for me is Raul Ibanez, another corner OF who hits for average and so-so power, without the best glove. Because of his lack of secondary skills, he could get typecast as a tweener. It’s because of this the Cardinals gambled by trying to sneak him through waivers, and it backfired, only to see Toronto later DFA Haerther in favor of 25 year old lefty reliever David Purcey. There’s still a crowd of OFs in the system he needs to separate himself from, and there’s no guarantee he will even start his season in Memphis. At worst, he’s a pretty nifty 4th OF. At best, he’s an average to slightly above average corner OF.