Pirate 1996 Scouting Report - First Basemen
Last Updated 7 December 1995
On Sunday Nov 26 1995,
Mark Jareb (mij6t@avery.med.virginia.edu) posted the
following to the Pirate e-mail
list. I have edited it and included it here with his
permission:
"Notes: when you see ###/###/###, that stands for
BA/OBP/SLG (or just OBP/SLG sometimes). I'll probably harp a lot
on OBP because I see that as the Pirates major offensive problem
(compared to the league their OBP is relatively worse than their
SLG). I list players currently in the organization based on the
highest level they played in '95. Whenever you see a player's
age listed, that refers to what his age will be during the '96
baseball season."
Index: | Pirates
| Calgary
| Carolina
| Lynchburg
| Augusta
| Erie
| GCL
| Projections |
Pirates
Mark Johnson: He's 28 years old; he was drafted
in the 20th round in 1990 out of Dartmouth. He began the '95
season as the Left Handed Batter half of the First base platoon.
He hit 208/326/421, and then was sent down to Calgary. He broke
his finger after a few games and was out for the year. He is
playing for Escogido in the Dominican Winter League now. He was
a non-prospect until an MVP season in 1994 in the Southern League
(his 3rd consecutive season playing with Carolina). Watching him
at the plate, it amazes me whenever his bat finds the ball. On
the one hand, he's very entertaining to watch, but I just don't
think he's the Pirates' answer at first base. At 28, he's pretty
much peaking. Although he has power and can take a walk, he so
seldom makes contact, that at his peak, he's a below
average-hitting first baseman. He'll get another shot at the
first base job, but unless he gets his Batting Average up, I
don't think he'll make the parent team. I'm going to guess that
he'll actually start the season at AAA, but he has an equally
likely chance to be in Pittsburgh. For whatever reason, the one
name that comes to mind when I think of Johnson is Frobel, which
indeed is a very scary
thought.
Rich Aude:
He's 24 years old; he was drafted in the 2nd round in '89.
He came up as a third baseman. Concerning defense, he looks ugly
out there, but I have the impression that he's actually an OK
fielding first baseman. He started as the Right Handed Batter of
the first base platoon, but during the season, he was sent to
Calgary simply to get more Playing Time. He hit pretty well up
to that point in the Majors and also in Calgary, but he finished
the season pretty poorly, hitting 248/287/376 overall. His minor
league numbers thus far are pretty similar to that of JT Snow.
He did show a platoon split in his limited time with Bucs in '95,
but didn't show one when playing full-time in Buffalo in '94.
I
think they should just give him the starting job at first base
this year and see what he can do. He should start the season
at
least as a backup in Pittsburgh. There's nothing left for him to
show at AAA (other than work on defense, maybe).
The other possibility for first base in '96 involves the silly
idea of
moving Jeff King to first base and getting a Right Handed
power-hitting third baseman (according to Baseball Weekly, an
idea of GM Cam Bonifay). The free agents that fit that criteria
are Tim Wallach, Gary Gaetti and (stretching here) Charlie Hayes.
On the other hand, some available free agents at first base are
Fred McGriff, Mark Grace, and Hal Morris. I doubt we'll sign any
of them, but Bonifay should be looking to sign the first baseman
and not the third baseman. Anyhow, if Aude or Johnson don't cut
it at first base, expect to see King there with Kevin Young
playing at third (of course barring any free agent signings at
those 2 positions).
Calgary AAA
Johnson and Aude are the only primary first baseman who played at
Calgary left in the organization.
Carolina AA
Mike Brown:
He's 24 years old; he was drafted in the 5th round in 1989.
He completed his second season at AA, and I think he's turning
into a non-prospect, even though he can hit for power. However,
the current plan in the organization is that he's being turned
into a pitcher since he can throw in the low 90's mph. He's
playing in the Hawaiian Fall league as a pitcher now.
Definitely a good hitter for a pitcher.
George Canale:
He's 30 years old; he was drafted by the Brewers in the
6th round in 1986 out of Virginia Tech. His last big league cup
of coffee was in '91 with the Brewers. He looks to me like a
career minor-leaguer who probably won't make it back to the show.
He had a very good year at Carolina hitting 287/349/503. He's a
6-year minor league free agent; if he stays with the
organization, he'll probably be in AAA next year. I wouldn't be
surprised to see him elsewhere, though.
Rob Leary:
He's 24 years old; he was originally drafted by the A's in
'91. The Pirates bought his contract from Sioux City of the
Northern League shortly after the '94 season was cancelled, but
before the decision to field replacement teams was definite. I
think he did play as a replacement player, but he is definitely
a legitimate prospect as well. In 1995, he started the
season at Lynchburg and was promoted to Carolina at the halfway
point. He led Bucs organization with 84 walks during the year.
He hit 260/398/418 at Lynchburg and 305/405/461 at Carolina. He
played some Outfield in Lynchburg as well. He's listed as a
minor league free agent in Baseball America, though I'm not sure
why -- he hasn't played 6 years in the minors; it must have
something to do with having his contract bought from an
independent league. Regardless, I hope the Pirates resign him and
then put him at AAA. Even though he doesn't have the power you'd
like to see in a first baseman, still, his career OBP thus far is
.397
-- in addition, he might develop a 15-20 Home Run per season
power on top of that, which is pretty good production.
Lynchburg A (full season, high)
Ken Bonifay:
He's 25 years old; he was drafted by Bucs in '91. He came up
as a third baseman; he's also the son of Pirates General Manager
Cam Bonifay. I have to say that I was surprised to see him play
the entire season at Lynchburg. In '93, he had a very good
hitting season at Salem at the same level. In '94, he played the
entire year at Carolina AA, not hitting too well, though he was
hampered by injuries all of '94. But they decided to send him
back to the Carolina League (Class A) in '95. However, he still
didn't hit very well; 245/366/395. I like the way he gets on
base, but he seems to have lost his power with the injuries in
'94. He'll probably start the season at Carolina AA. 1996 is a
make or break year for him.
Augusta A (full season, low)
GG Harris:
He's 23 years old; he was drafted by the Bucs in '92. His
245/282/323 was a slight improvement in his second full season
at Augusta. The first G in his name stand for Ghainbria. If he
plays in '96, he'll probably start as the backup in Lynchburg and
then get released mid-season.
Steve Thobe:
He's 24 years old; he was drafted in the 16th round in '94
out of Cal State-Sacramento. He hit 299/372/416 in his first
full season. Considering his age and that he just played at low
A, he's not much of a prospect, but he's worth keeping around a
year or two to see if he improves. He will probably be the
starting first baseman at Lynchburg next year.
Charles Rice:
He's 20 years old; he was a supplemental pick in the 1st
round in '93 as compensation for Barry Bonds. He played most of
the season at Erie hitting 316/374/476; in 14 games at Augusta,
he hit 222/276/333. It looks like he walks at about the league
average (so expect only OK OBP), but the guy already hits for
power at a young age. I'm not sure about his defense -- the only
thing I have to go on is that he DH'ed quite a bit, so perhaps
he's not a stellar fielder. Regardless, Rice and Garrett Long
(listed below) are our 2 real prospects at first base.
Expect him to start the season at Augusta and probably
move up to Lynchburg at some point. Hopefully, we'll see him in
the majors, at least for a cup of coffee by '99.
Erie A (short season)
Garrett Long:
He's 19 years old; he was drafted in the 2nd round in '95.
Talent-wise, he was a 1st round pick, but had openly stated he
was going to college at Yale, so he was dropped to the 2nd round.
The Pirates were able to sign him, by agreeing to let him go to
Yale (as well as paying for it). Therefore, he'll join whichever
minor
league team he plays for, midway through the season. So far, it
looks like the Bucs made a great move by getting him to sign. He
hit 348/488/460 in Rookie ball and then
278/365/370 in
Erie. He hits for average, has a good eye, and for his age,
looks like he could develop power. I think he'll probably
play mostly in Augusta next season, though they might start him
at Erie just to get his season started.
Jamie Mackert:
He's 22 years old; he was drafted in '92. He only played
5 games in '93 (those at third base) and didn't play in '94. I
imagine he had a major injury. He hit 218/363/396, so he has the
batting eye and power, but needs to make contact more often. I'm
thinking he'll start the year at Erie.
Gulf Coast (Rookie League)
Edison Pasqual:
He's 19 years old, and I'm guessing that he's out of the
Dominican Republic. He hit 228/275/346. He probably will be in
Rookie ball next year also.
Projections:
Bucs: Aude, Johnson, (or maybe Jeff King)
Calgary: Canale, Leary
Carolina: Bonifay
Lynchburg: Thobe, Harris
Augusta: Rice, (maybe Long)
Erie: Long, Mackert
Gulf Coast League: Pasqual
More on Garrett Long:
Steve Alvin asked about Garrett Long's OBP in rookie ball
which was .488. Yes, that is correct -- he went 22-63
batting-wise for
a .348 Batting Average, but in addition he drew 17 Walks while
striking out only 10 times. It makes sense that he was quickly
moved up to Erie. He still showed his batting eye there drawing
15 Walks in around 120 Plate Appearances. The other good thing
about him is that in the most recent issue of Baseball America,
in reviewing the Pirates draft, they consider him to have the
most raw power of any of our draftees.
Other info about him -- I found the old Baseball America which
talked about how the Bucs signed him. The deal was that they'd
pay for his education at Yale -- the first two years he'd go
full-time; thus missing spring training and having to leave
his minor league team before the season is over. After his first
two years, he'd only take classes in the fall and he'll join the
Bucs
in February like all the other players. One neat thing
that's come from him being at Yale is that I found his e-mail
address and asked him some questions.
Basically he said as soon as his finals are over (early-May), he
goes to
extended spring training and then to either Augusta or Erie.
He shouldn't miss too much of the short-season schedule even
in his first two years of full-time schooling.
I'm guessing that he'll eventually end up in Augusta sometime
next season. He considers himself average defensively -- this
past season in Rookie Ball and Erie was the first time that
he's played first base. The areas he thinks he needs the most
improvement are defense and speed.
Is there something here you like, that needs to be changed,
or would you like to see something that is not included?
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