MVN - Most Valuable Network

Tigers’ Exciting Outfield Prospects

Getting back to my posts on outfielders after giving some thoughts on Tiger current events, let’s take a look at the Tigers’ other exciting outfield prospects besides Cameron Maybin. Just to clarify, when I talk about exciting prospects, I’m talking about players who I’m anxious to see how they progress in 2008 because I think they have a real shot at helping the Tigers at the major league level some day. The Tigers took a little bit of a hit in this category with the departure of Gorkys Hernandez in the Edgar Renteria trade. However, with Curtis Granderson and Cameron Maybin set to roam two-thirds of the Comerica outfield for the foreseeable future, I think some of the prospects they have left may be able to fill in any holes that may present themselves in the next few years.

Deik Scram
Age: 23
Bats: L
Ht: 6′2″ Wt: 180

Yr	Lvl	PA	AVG	OBP	ISO	XBH%	BB%	K%	BABIP
2006	A-	268	.281	.362	.128	30.3	9.7	23.1	.374
2007	A	310	.327	.416	.120	25.3	12.9	17.4	.405
	A+	169	.283	.355	.171	37.2	10.1	17.2	.333

I think Scram took a big step toward being a top prospect for the Tigers in 2007. I suspect his age is keeping him back from getting more recognition, but he was one of the better hitters in the Midwest League before getting the call up to Lakeland. As you can see, he barely missed a step after that promotion. His batting average dipped, but was still plenty above average, and he hit for better power than he ever had as a pro. I hope to see him get an Erie assignment to start 2008. If he handles that as well as he did the move to Florida in 2007, you may hear a lot of people asking about the guy with the cool name.

Matt Joyce
Age: 23
Bats: L
Ht: 6′2″ Wt: 185

Yr	Lvl	PA	AVG	OBP	ISO	XBH%	BB%	K%	BABIP
2005	A-	282	.331	.397	.122	22.2	10.6	10.3	.363
2006	A	529	.258	.338	.157	38.3	10.6	13.2	.284
2007	AA	513	.257	.333	.197	45.3	9.9	24.8	.321

Joyce was asked to make a tough jump from West Michigan to Erie, and after struggling (big time) in April and May he handled it well. He showed good power and essentially kept the same walk rate he had posted at West Michigan in 2006. The big jump in strikeouts is a little worrisome, but if he can keep up with the walks and the power, his defense in the outfield (voted Eastern League’s Best Defensive Outfielder by Baseball America) should make him a very useful player for the Tigers. He’ll be one of the reasons I go to watch the Mud Hens in 2008, and I expect the Tigers will look his way if injuries leave them in need of an extra outfielder (after Maybin, of course).

Mike Hernandez
Age: 23
Bats: R
Ht: 6′0 Wt: 175

Yr	Lvl	PA	AVG	OBP	ISO	XBH%	BB%	K%	BABIP
2006	A	377	.278	.318	.183	36.1	5.0	18.0	.313
2007	A+	478	.260	.326	.218	44.1	8.6	21.3	.298
	AA	71	.250	.282	.219	37.5	5.6	21.1	.267

When I first did a look at the Tigers’ outfielders who I considered exciting prospects, I explained Hernandez got extra credit for being relatively successful as an undrafted player. I still probably wouldn’t have included him in this category if that weren’t the case, but you have to love the power he displayed in 2007. When in Lakeland he was one of the best power hitters in the league, and then once he was in Erie he was able to maintain his isolated power. That’s a notable accomplishment after jumping up a level, even though Erie is in more of a hitter’s league than Lakeland. Now, assuming he starts 2008 back in Erie I hope he’ll make a concentrated effort to get his walk rate back up. That will ensure his impressive power numbers won’t be nullified by an awful on-base percentage.

Alexis Espinoza
Age: 18
Bats: R
Ht: 6′1″ Wt: 180

Yr	Lvl	PA	AVG	OBP	ISO	XBH%	BB%	K%	BABIP
2006	VSL	189	.321	.392	.167	29.6	6.3	22.8	.408
2007	VSL	156	.268	.353	.319	51.4	5.8	21.8	.272

*The 2006 numbers come from minorleaguesplits.com, which generally vary slightly from official stats

Of the players profiled, Espinoza is certainly the furthest from showing us whether truly has the potential to contribute at the major league level. He turns 19 this month and his professional experience is limited to two years in Venezuela. However, when you consider the power numbers he achieved this season I don’t see how you can’t get excited about his potential. Despite having too few plate appearances to qualify for the league’s batting title, he led the Venezuelan Summer League in home runs - with 12 - in 2007. That’s almost a ridiculous rate of home runs in a league where power is usually pretty sparse (only two players who did qualify for the batting title cleared a .500 slugging percentage).

I look forward to seeing what Espinoza can do regardless of where he is assigned. Considering his walk-to-strikeout ratio seems to show a plate approach that requires some development, I wouldn’t be surprised if that assignment were in the GCL after extended spring training. If you’re thinking West Michigan, I was leaning that way too, but I could see that hurting his development. Fifth Third Ballpark is pretty unforgiving for right handed power hitters. If he’s hitting what he thinks should be home runs to left and they’re falling harmlessly into the outfielders’ gloves, he could start to press. That could lead to a bad place as far as his production. Of course, it will be exciting if he gets assigned to West Michigan because that will mean the Tigers have confidence he can handle the aggressive move.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 2nd, 2007 at 2:18 pm and is filed under alexis espinoza, deik scram, matt joyce, mike hernandez. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.