Or at least says Baseball America, who decided to try and destroy our Niko Bandwagon before it leaves the gate.
It’s that time of year again, and BA has started their top twenties for each league. No Cardinals made the GCL’s list and only Niko Vasquez made the Appy, coming in at # 13. Despite Niko’s impressive stats (which are probably better than any other ranked position player), BA isn’t ga-ga for Vasquez. Unfortunately it’s subscriber content only, but the gist is the scouts they talked to aren’t impressed by his average bat speed, lack of plate discipline, power potential, speed. They note that he is more suited for 2nd or 3rd base and peg him as more of an offense first utility infielder. Ouch.
Whoever the scouts BA are talking to, their reports certainly don’t match those we’ve seen of Keith Law and Alex Eisenberg. Most I’ve seen expect 15-20 homers and for him to be a starter. I’m not sure what to believe at this point…
From the ensuing chat we find Matt Eddy is not too high on Deryk Hooker, either. Underwhelming secondary stuff, throws across his body, upside is middle relief. Double ouch.
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I think speed is only an issue if he plays SS. But then again Troy Tulowitki is just a masher and he really doesn’t have a lot of speed. To me, I think he ends up at 2B in a Brandon Phillips type of mold.
The power was pretty impressive for someone his age. Not really sure why scouts are down on him at all.
Lack of Plate discipline? He did draw a fair amount of walks…
After looking at the clips on the Esisneberg post, he swing is a little long, probably leading to the batspeed comments, and he has more movement than I like. The thing is that he is going to take some work, but like I said last year about Kozma, these things are very correctable and should be worked out between him and a tee.
I also think that scouts over equate speed with atheletic ability. So his lack of speed hurts his standing as an athelete. Whatever, the kid raked at his first stop and to do that withour refining his swing he definitely has some baseball skills.
The kid is just out of high school let’s see what his frame looks like next year before the scouts start bashing him…Perfect Game projected power and greater bat speed when he was in their showcase. Speaking from experience my bat speed increased dramatically once I was in college. I also was about Niko size about 6’0 170 and I put on about 15 to 20 pounds by my sophmore season. I think he’s got the glove to play any of the INF pos but I’d like to see him at 2B rather than 3B if they decide to move him from SS, but the bat on this kid is one thing I do not question!
If the authors feel it is unethical to keep this comment, I understand. I know reading the chat afterwards is subscriber only, but you do not have to be a subscriber to participate in the chat. Here are several of the questions I asked (as a non-subscriber) …
Brandon from Nashville, TN asks:
5 SS in the Top 20 … which ones stay at SS if they make it to the majors?
A: Matt Eddy: Beckham and Noriega are no-doubters. The rest — Flores, Vasquez, Silverio — are questionable.
Q: Brandon from Nashville, TN asks:
How much of the rankings are based on their performance this year and how much is based on future expectations? 50/50?
A: Matt Eddy: We do factor in performance, but it’s raw ability and profile — both offensive and positional — that carry more weight. Does a player’s swing and approach figure to translate into power? Does he have the athleticism and quickness to handle a middle-of-the-diamond position? These types of players — that is, those with power, speed and/or defensive ability — traditionally fare better as they move up.
Q: willy from pitt asks:
Why did Niko Vasquez rank so low after tearing up the level and getting a promotion to Low A?
A: Matt Eddy: In most years, he’s be a shoo-in for the Top 10. The depth of the league, especially in terms of premium Latin American talent, was the difference. Vasquez can hit, but opinions of his future defensive home and power potential drove him down the list.
So Niko was rated so low simply because there were a ton of really good players ahead of him? It has less to do with whether he can be a very good MLB SS but more to do with the other talent in the world?
I can believe that.
HL, That can’t be right Cardinals prospects are nowhere near as good as any other minor leaguers. I mean according to Cards Talk posters we don’t have any trade-able talent at AAA at all. Therefore any and all rankings are based on how horrible Cards Prospects are and has nothing to do with how good others are.
/scarcasm off
While throwing across the body is not great for Hooker, he was just a 7th round pick. For the 7th round, he seems good value.