Redszone Community Prospect Vote #15

[RedsManRick]

I'm not betting on any of this, but Baseball America had Francisco as the number 8 prospect in the Reds organization. Somebody over there thinks his OBP can improve.

And John Sickles doesn't have him in the top 20. Baseball America is notorious for a skills heavy approach. They may very well rank him at 8 and have no illusions that he'll ever develop discipline - they may just undervalue it. He's got time, but .301 isn't C-, it's D-. If he can get it up to the .330 range, then we've got something. But at the rate he doesn't make contact, it's not going to come via batting average. I dread what's going to happen to him in the FSL when those homers start turning in to long flys. It could get ugly.

I went with Daryl Thompson here as the best combination of ceiling and performance.

As for Waring, a 21 year old Cal State guy beating up the Pioneer league is good to see, but not terribly impressive. I want to see how his bat holds up against age appropriate competition.

[Benihana]

And John Sickles doesn't have him in the top 20. Baseball America is notorious for a skills heavy approach. They may very well rank him at 8 and have no illusions that he'll ever develop discipline - they may just undervalue it.

I went with Daryl Thompson here as the best combination of ceiling and performance.

As for Waring, a 21 year old Cal State guy beating up the Pioneer league is good to see, but not terribly impressive. I want to see how his bat holds up against age appropriate competition.

I like the Thompson pick as well.

[HBP]

I'm not betting on any of this, but Baseball America had Francisco as the number 8 prospect in the Reds organization. Somebody over there thinks his OBP can improve.

This has been used plenty of times before..., they also ranked B.J. Szymanski as the #4 prospect in 2005. Grain of salt.

[dougdirt]

Doug, someone, maybe you, said on minorleagueball.com that Soto was injured during part of last season. What's the story on that?

He had an inflamed elbow for the last month that got him shut down.

Doug, next round Derrick Lutz, please. And thanks for doing the polls.

He will be on the next one.

[dougdirt]

As for Waring, a 21 year old Cal State guy beating up the Pioneer league is good to see, but not terribly impressive. I want to see how his bat holds up against age appropriate competition.

Waring went to Wofford.... not exactly in the powerhouse conferences around the college baseball world.

[Redman15]

Is Wofford is a Div 1-AA school? What conference do they play in?
IMO the best college baseball is played out west.

[RedsManRick]

Waring went to Wofford.... not exactly in the powerhouse conferences around the college baseball world.

So is that in his favor (he didn't have first class instruction) or a strike against him (he beat up lesser competition in college too)?

[Danny Serafini]

Is Wofford is a Div 1-AA school? What conference do they play in?
IMO the best college baseball is played out west.

I believe Wofford is in North Carolina. They play in the Southern Conference, which is I-AA in football, but that designation doesn't apply to any other sport, it's all just Division I.

[Redman15]

Thanks I will Goggle them and take a look at the Southern Conf.

[HBP]

So is that in his favor (he didn't have first class instruction) or a strike against him (he beat up lesser competition in college too)?

IMO it's in his favor. If he hadn't dominated at Billings, obviously not, but he did. Honestly, if Waring can turn some of those K's into walks, it looks like he'll be a big time sleeper. Of course, he's only had 1 AB in A ball so I could be getting ahead of myself.

[Cyclone792]

I'm not betting on any of this, but Baseball America had Francisco as the number 8 prospect in the Reds organization. Somebody over there thinks his OBP can improve.

Somebody over at BA must have the belief than Juan Francisco will have the abiilty to completely alter his approach at the plate.

Remember, poor plate discipline doesn't just mean no walks; it also means lousy batting counts. Hitters with poor discipline get themselves into pitcher's counts too many times and get themselves into hitter's counts too few times. And not even Barry Bonds or Albert Pujols were good hitters in pitcher's counts.

[Kc61]

Somebody over at BA must have the belief than Juan Francisco will have the abiilty to completely alter his approach at the plate.

Remember, poor plate discipline doesn't just mean no walks; it also means lousy batting counts. Hitters with poor discipline get themselves into pitcher's counts too many times and get themselves into hitter's counts too few times. And not even Barry Bonds or Albert Pujols were good hitters in pitcher's counts.

Well, Francisco hit .268 over a full season. He didn't hit .210. He showed enough overall hitting ability and pitch recognition to compile a pretty good average for a power hitter.

He needs to get more patient and get more walks, but folks are underestimating his performance.

[Cyclone792]

Well, Francisco hit .268 over a full season. He didn't hit .210. He showed enough overall hitting ability and pitch recognition to compile a pretty good average for a power hitter.

He needs to get more patient and get more walks, but folks are underestimating his performance.

The dude had a .463 slugging percentage, and quite frankly, that's nothing to brag about for a power hitter.

I don't care what his batting average is, but if his on-base percentage is awful, then he needs some value in the slugging department. And unfortunately, his poor plate discipline will seriously cap his slugging potential.

[*BaseClogger*]

I don't expect this player to become a table setter, he's not going to be Ichiro. But if he has a .325 OBP this guy can be a terrific power hitter lower in the lineup.

Sounds like Brandon Phillips!

[RedsManRick]

Well, Francisco hit .268 over a full season. He didn't hit .210. He showed enough overall hitting ability and pitch recognition to compile a pretty good average for a power hitter.

He needs to get more patient and get more walks, but folks are underestimating his performance.

His HR count was high but look at his OPS. His SLG wasn't stellar because when he wasn't hitting homers, he wasn't doing much of anything.

His ISO was .192. Valaika was at .186 while hitting .300 and playing a tougher defensive position. But Chris hasn't garnered a single vote in this poll. I'll grant the age difference.

However, I think there are guys on this list who have shown more than just power and a nice defensive arm who deserve to go ahead of him.