Taken in the Rule V draft in '95, the Bucs held onto him even
though he was clearly overmatched by MLB pitching. His '97
was considered somewhat disappointing, but I think that may
have been partially due to injury. He hurt his wrist late in
spring training, but began play with Calgary just a few days
into the season. He didn't hit well and was sent to AA where
he really crushed the ball. His isolated power at AA in '97
compares favorably to any season of Ron Wright. On the other
hand, he's a little old for AA, his BB rate is gradually getting
worse, and his short stint in the majors suggests that he may
have a large platoon split. He hit LHP extremely well while
going 0-18 vs RHP. He also hit RHP very poorly in '95.
That type of split makes a batter much
less valuable. I really like his power potential, but there
are some concerns. He'll get a shot at the starting 3B job in PIT,
but he could be the starting 3B at Nashville.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
93 R 264 63 8 2 11 31 71 239/319/409
94 A- 260 74 10 2 13 33 57 285/366/488
95 MLB 57 8 1 1 0 8 17 140/246/193
96 A+ 474 145 39 3 21 44 86 306/358/534
DOM 70 14 6 1 0 10 12 200/300/314
97 AAA 121 29 6 0 5 9 20 240/293/413
AA 282 82 17 4 19 18 56 291/342/582
PIT 40 6 1 0 3 2 17 150/190/400
DOM 64 13 3 1 1 9 12 203/301/328
1997 Scouting Report
Doug Strange: 34-4/13/64; #7 '85 (DET); North Carolina State
3B/1B, B-R, 6-2 170
Strange was signed by the Bucs as a free agent to a two-year contract
for a reported $1.1M. A utility IF for most of his major league career, he
had a career season (for him) last year with the Expos. His playing time
with the Expos was largely a result of injuries to Shane Andrews and FP
Santangelo. Though a switch hitter, he's essentially a platoon player as
he's always hit poorly vs. LHP. He provides a needed left-handed bat off
of the bench, can play both corner IF positions, and can also sub at 2B and
the OF. I don't think signing Strange was a good move, particularly that
he's signed for 2 years, as I think the Bucs had better and cheaper options
at their disposal. The most likely guess is that he'll produce an OPS of
~700. He likely will assume the role that Dale Sveum played for the Bucs
in '97, though there's a chance that he and Garcia will form a platoon at 3B.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
89 Det 196 42 4 1 1 17 36 214/280/260
91 Cubs 9 4 1 0 0 0 1 444/500/556
92 Cubs 94 15 1 0 1 10 15 160/240/202
93 Tex 484 124 29 0 7 43 69 256/318/360
94 Tex 226 48 12 1 5 15 38 212/268/341
95 Sea 155 42 9 2 2 10 25 271/323/394
96 Sea 183 43 7 1 3 14 31 235/290/333
97 Mon 327 84 16 2 12 36 76 257/332/428
Calgary AAA
Chance Sanford: 26-6/2/72; #27 '92; San Jacinto JC (TX)
3B/2B, L-R, 5-10 165
He started the year at Carolina, splitting time at 2B and 3B,
but moved up to Calgary playing almost entirely 3B. Of all the
people we had at AAA in '97 who could play 2B, he's probably the
best hitter. He's back to hitting at his '94-'95 level; I
wouldn't be surprised if his drop in performance in '96 was related
to coming back from his elbow injury. He's on the old side for
a prospect, so he may not be given any real chance to ever
make the majors. He's a better choice for a utility IF than
Dale Sveum was. With Doug Strange signed to a 2-year deal, Sanford is a very
dark horse to make the parent club. I'm guessing he'll
start '98 at AAA as the starting
3B unless Freddy Garcia fails to make the parent club.
If Sanford is let go, that would be unfortunate.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
92 A- 214 61 10 3 5 35 41 285/381/435
A 46 5 1 0 0 3 10 109/180/130
93 A+ 428 109 21 5 10 33 80 255/308/397
94 A+ 474 130 32 6 19 56 95 274/351/487
95 R 19 4 0 0 1 2 2 211/286/368
AA 36 10 3 1 3 5 7 278/381/667
A+ 66 22 4 0 3 7 13 333/392/530
96 AA 470 115 16 13 4 72 108 245/341/360
97 AA 149 39 10 2 9 20 39 262/349/537
AAA 325 95 27 9 6 39 82 296/368/486
Steve Thobe: 26-5/26/72; #18 '94; Sacramento U.
3B/1B(C), R-R, 6-7 230
Thobe had a pretty good season in '97 (definitely
better than I expected), but his problem is that of
the 3 guys who played 3B at AA and AAA; he's the oldest
(by 6 days!) and the 3rd best. Also, with Aramis Ramirez
coming up behind him, that drops him to 4th on the depth chart.
He's starting to hit with a little more power, but his
BB rate is only average while he still has a fairly high
strike out rate. The concern is that he's a little
more prone to a low BA, and when he hits something like
.230, his offense is fairly abysmal for a corner IF.
He did spend part of '96 as a catcher at Lynchburg, so
he may have a shot at making a major league roster someday
as a utility corner IF. In '98, he probably will split time between
AA and AAA again playing the corner positions, though I
think it would be a wise career move to try doing some
catching again.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
94 A- 151 29 11 0 1 12 33 192/252/285
95 A 291 87 12 2 6 29 71 299/363/416
96 A+ 359 82 15 0 11 29 93 228/286/362
97 AAA 102 26 8 0 5 15 25 255/361/480
A+ 27 4 1 0 0 1 10 148/200/185
AA 181 53 10 0 7 13 52 293/352/464
Carolina AA
All of the Mudcat 3B-men in '98 passed through on their
way to other places: Sanford, Thobe, and Garcia.
Lynchburg A+ (full season, high)
Aramis Ramirez: 20-6/25/78; NDFA '95, Dominican(HS)
3B, R-R, 6-1 176
He was the MVP of the Carolina League in '97 while
being one of the youngest players in the league. He could easily develop
into a bona fide star in the majors. He has great
power and he gets on base at a good clip. One minor concern is,
that at times, he's a little too cocky and full of
himself. but for a 19-year old putting up MVP numbers,
that's somewhat understandable. His defense seemed
solid, so he is the 3Bman of the future for the Bucs.
Whether that future is '99 or 2000 is about the only
question. There has been some talk about Aramis making the jump from
A+ to be the Bucs 3B-man this year (a la Guillen did in '97), but I think
the odds of this are much less than Guillen's last year. Ramirez is even
younger than Guillen, and there are questions about his maturity.
He'll be the starting 3Bman at Carolina and will likely see Pittsburgh at
least as a September callup in '98.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
95 DSL 214 63 13 0 11 42 26 294/410/509
96 A- 223 68 14 4 9 31 41 305/403/525
A 20 4 1 0 1 1 7 200/304/400
DOM 13 3 1 0 0 1 4 231/286/308
97 A+ 482 134 24 2 29 80 103 278/390/517
DOM 33 5 0 0 0 11 10 152/364/152
1997 Scouting Report
Augusta A (full season, low)
Bo Hundt: 23-4/21/75; #30(D&F) '95; Logan JC (IL)
3B, S-R, 6-0 202
A draft and follow from '95, Hundt was one of the better
offensive players for Augusta this season, but that was among limited
competition. A below average BB rate, not a very good BA,
and he's a little old for the SAL. He might develop average
power, but I'm not certain of it. He'll probably be the 3Bman at
Lynchburg next year, though Kevin Haverbusch (see SS) or Xavier
Burns (below) may take that spot away from him.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
96 A- 55 9 0 1 1 4 11 164/233/255
R 69 17 2 0 1 5 9 246/325/319
97 A 407 100 21 2 6 24 109 246/301/351
Boomer Whipple: 25-2/9/73; FA 6/95; Vanderbilt
3B/IF, R-R, 6-0 190
An undrafted senior out of Vanderbilt, Whipple's
main assets are his batting eye and his versatility at
playing many positions well. However, he has no power
and hasn't hit for average. Injured for most of the '97 season,
the little he played was back at Augusta. He has a 50/50
chance of being in Lynchburg as a backup IF or being out
of baseball for '98.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
95 A- 225 57 4 0 2 30 18 253/341/298
96 A 444 105 23 0 2 72 58 236/343/302
97 A 108 24 7 0 0 23 19 222/370/287
Erie A- (short season)
Xavier Burns: 23-5/8/75; #13 '96; Central State (OH)
3B, R-R, 5-11 190
After a poor '96, Burns put together a nice '97, though
it really wasn't good enough to get to prospect status.
He was a little old for Erie, he walks slightly below
league average, and the Pirates are pretty well covered
at 3B. Still, he does show some power potential and
though the odds are against him, he could develop into
a decent MLB backup. He'll likely be the starting 3Bman at Augusta
in '98, but some PT at Lynchburg wouldn't surprise me.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
96 R 73 12 1 1 0 11 24 164/279/205
A- 38 6 1 0 0 3 12 158/256/184
97 A- 230 63 13 2 7 18 62 274/341/439
Gulf Coast (Rookie League)
Yustin Jordan: 19-8/15/78; #6 '96; Monticello, AR (HS)
3B, R-R, 6-3 200
Though '97 was Jordan's 2nd season at rookie ball, he
definitely has some positive points. He can take a walk, and he's begun to
show some of the power indicative of his size. Since, he's
still quite young, he'll likely start '98 at Erie. However,
if he does well in the Instructional League, he might see
some PT in Augusta to start the year.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
96 R 85 21 1 0 1 10 23 247/340/294
97 R 93 25 6 0 0 14 24 269/370/333
Rico Washington: 20-5/30/78; #10 '97; Gray, GA (HS)
3B, L-R, 5-10 170
Listed as a SS when he was drafted, Rico primarily played
3B in Rookie ball. He showed decent power potential, but
a relatively poor batting eye. He'll probably be in Erie in
'98, though he may find himself back in Bradenton again.
He is Willie Greene's first cousin.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
97 R 98 24 6 0 1 4 13 245/299/337
Projections:
| Bucs: | Garcia | Strange
|
| Nashville: | Sanford | Thobe
|
| Carolina: | Ramirez
|
| Lynchburg: | Hundt
|
| Augusta: | Burns
|
| Erie: | Jordan
|
| Gulf Coast League: | R. Washington
|
Whipple was released over the winter. Schreiber was released in spring training.
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Take a look back at the 1997 and
1996 Scouting Reports
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