The draft was 2004 and many people on this board had already saw their mood sour after the first round selection of a HS pitcher from Texas. That's when the Reds made a great second round pick according to most people with knowldege of the draft by selecting B.J. Szymanski the 19th best prospect in the draft according to Baseball America. All we needed to do now was sign B.J. and our farm would improve immediately. Not so fast my friend, 2 1/2 seasons later and B.J. is still in Dayton and he has struck out over 100 times and his BA. is .234. OBP is not good either and he has hit 12 homeruns but not too many lately. Here are his 2 1/2 season stats:
2004 Club (Class) AVG OBP SLG AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB
Billings (R) .259 .330 .469 81 13 21 4 2 3 17 9 26 2
2005 Club (Class) AVG OBP SLG AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS
Dayton (Lo A) .262 .332 .471 191 32 50 8 1 10 26 21 57 7 1
2006
Team League Level Pos AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB
Dayton Dragons MID Low A OF .234 71 261 43 61 16 2 12 39 30
SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB GIDP HBP
105 17 6 .316 .448 .765 0 1 3 1 2
There is still hope left for B.J, and the Reds system has taken a huge step forward with him being a disappointmente. Right now he is probably 4 on prospect list regarding Reds outfielders behind Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs, and Chris Denofria. He is 23 right now but he was a two sport athlete in college so he still has a lot of development time left.