Prospect Profile: Brent Lillibridge
Name: Brent Lillibridge
Age: 24
Height: 5′11″
Weight: 185
Bats: R
Throws: R
Background:
Brent Lillibridge was drafted by the Pirates in the 4th round of the 2005 draft out of the University of Washington. He was a star at Washington and showed a good amount of power by slugging .699 as a freshman and .574 as a junior. However, his size undoubtedly led scouts to believe that he couldn’t repeat that success with a wooden bat. So far he has won over a lot of believers by showing the ability to both hit for average and some power to go along with his greatest strength, speed.
Performance:
Brent’s first full season in professional baseball was 2006 where he probably surpassed most people’s expectations. He split the year between single-A and high-A, posting a 936 OPS at his first stop and an 840 OPS at his last stop. He also stole 52 bases and walked 87 times to go with 13 home runs, proving to everyone that he had a well rounded game. Brent split 2007 with Mississippi and Richmond, playing much better at his second stop in Richmond. His power was almost non-existent in Mississippi but he rebounded with 10 home runs with Richmond to give him 13, the same amount he had in 2006. He also stole 42 bases but only walked 40 times, probably the most troubling stat of his season if you compare it to 2006.
Projected:
Lillibridge projects as at least a solid major league regular at shortstop with the ability to become more than that. He has great instincts for the game and gets the majority of his stolen bases based on a combination of speed and those instincts. He won’t hit for a lot of power but should be able to keep defenses honest with decent gap power and the ability to reach the low double-digits in homers per year. His defense is above average and makes the majority of his errors by trying to do too much with the ball when he gets to it. The only other question is what his role will be when he gets to Atlanta. Escobar is penciled in at shortstop for the next several years so Lillibridge will likely have to be a super-sub until moves are made to clear positions.
ETA: Mid-2008
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11 Responses to “Prospect Profile: Brent Lillibridge”
January 27th, 2008 at 12:52 am
This guy in my opinion should be given a chance to at least battle it out with Escobar for the SS job but I can almost bet that either Lillibridge or Prado will be platooning with KJ .
January 27th, 2008 at 1:20 am
I personally like Lillibridge over Yunel Escobar. He can do more things than Esco. He has better speed, better defensively, and can hit for more powers. Escobar just has better instincts and hits for a higher average. I dont see Lillibridge getting a good shot at winning the SS job out of spring training. With the injury of Omar Infante Lillibridge would be a good choice as our super utility guy.
January 27th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
I don’t think there is really much of a chance of anyone platooning with KJ unless they are desperate to get Lillibridge major league at bats. Plainly, Prado just isn’t nearly as good a player as Johnson.
I too like Lillibridge more but it really doesn’t make sense to replace a young, cheap, proven commodity at this point. There are a couple ways that Lillibridge could take the job though. An injury to Yunel would open the door for him to prove himself, a dissapointing offensive or defensive showing for Yunel could do the same, and Lillibridge could play his way into spot if he gets enough at bats as a super-sub.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Lillibridge probably brings more tools to the table and he, like Escobar, has excellent baseball instincts. However, I agree with Will that you can’t replace a guy like Escobar wih the year that he had last year. He deserves every chance to be the everyday shortstop. Lillibridge just needs to bide his time and be ready to make a splash when injuries or prolonged slumps give him a chance to prove himself.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:19 am
KJ does not hit lefties very well so you can almost expect a platoon from Bobby maybe not against every LHP but against the tough ones ie Oliver Perez who completely dominated KJ.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:26 am
If I look at the situation from Escobar’s point of view. HE EARNED IT, the chance to repeat. Lillibridge is pure potential he has earned nothing yet at the major league level. This again is an example of rating someone because of their potential over what a real person has already done. The romantic side always loves the potential, and the potential always seems better than what actually exists. Because what actually exists can be measured for what it isn’t or doesn’t do. Potential can’t be done that way. Any weakness can be seen as “that which could change and become better”.
Bottom line, I agree with Zach.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I wouldn’t call that a platoon if he is only replaced against a select few pitchers. More like strategically choosing his days off.
March 3rd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Are you alive still?
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:20 am
man did this blog die or what?
July 28th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Okay now we got enough gametime from Lillibridge to actually talk about him. First of all the kid knows how to put the bat on the ball whether he gets a hit or not, he isn’t striking out that much. His double over the center fielder to score the braves first two runs and put them ahead. He already shows he has power to put it out the park and if you missed his latest defensive plays, which still amaze me, then you have no right sayin he doesn’t deserve the SS spot. Infante is terrible and needs to stay on the DL and they need to keep Lillibridge.
August 2nd, 2008 at 2:03 am
I agree with Skooby, Lillibridge can definately hit and has made great defensive plays, but i think someone with some authority in the Braves organization is high on Esco. Sure he can hit the crap outta the ball, but Lillibridge has better speed and a better glove. Esco has been kinda streaky, and Lillibridge is starting to turn it up at Richmond, with at least 2 hits in his last 3 games. Personally I would love to see Lillibridge as the MLB starter, but we’ll see what happens.
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