Round 10, Pick 320: Lance Jeffries
Posted by Jeff in 2011 MLB Draft, tags: Lance JeffriesLance Jeffries – CF
McCluer HS, MO
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 205 lbs
Bats: R
Throws: R
DOB: 3/28/1993
Lance Jeffries is a local kid and a Cardinal fan who was brought to Busch Stadium to work out in front of the Cardinals brass. Here’s what we had to say when he worked out at Busch earlier this year.
Lance Jeffries, CF, McCluer HS (Mo.) … 5-11, 195 … Age: 18 – Local product Lance Jeffries put a show in the speed competitions at Busch. He projects as a right-handed hitting centerfielder. Per Goold’s article, Jeffries could “go anywhere from the third to the 11th round”.
Prep Baseball Report has this write up on Lance:
Lance has remarkable speed and prides himself on being able to get on base and use it. On the basepath, his 6.55 60 time has helped him emerge as a state leader in stolen bases and combined with his gap to gap power, Jeffries is an extra base threat every at-bat.
Here’s a quick write up on Jeffries in Baseball America:
One player that made the most of the opportunity was Lance Jeffries from McCluer High in Florissant, Mo.
Jeffries, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound outfielder, ran the fastest 60-yard dash at the event at 6.6 seconds. He also showed a short, quick swing that was on full display when he bounced a ball off the DBAP’s Blue Monster wall in left field for a double.
Here’s the first video of Lance in the cage.
Here is Lance’s MLB.com draft video.
And here’s Jeffries interview by local STL TV FOX affiliate
Entries (RSS)
This is sweet. Love the guys with local ties. He seems like a great kid, and I cannot fathom how much the city will love him if he makes it big.
Almost as much as they loved Kerry Robinson?
I loved Kerry Robinson
This sounds like a truly exciting pick.
You know who is not exciting? Danny Stienstra.
Ok… nice pick of a local guy. Agree…
But is the guy 6-1, 5-11, or 5-10 or 185, 195, 205. Which one is it.?
6.6 would probably be 3rd among our draft picks today. Problem I see is we have added no power. There isn’t much in this draft, but we didn’t take any of what was there.
High school selections galore though, and we’ve certainly added athleticism.
This Kid has great potential.
I personally stepped off a home run he hit this year that traveled 470 feet at Koch Park in Florissant. It was towering and went over a fence that is just a fence on the street, not a normal fence. The fence is at 450 feet and it hit the street passed the fence … we hope he does well
I agree. The 4th undersized center fielder who can run, but this seems like a more interesting pick than the other 3.
Tilson is the best ballplayer of the bunch I’m thinking.
I am betting that he will find himself as an organizational top 10 in the not too distant future.
Hopefully that says more about his progress than it does the state of the system at the time.
I think the state of the system is at a 5 year high. When is the last time we were looking at a possible 3 top 100 prospects?
JD Drew, Rick Ankiel, Chad Hutchinson?
Rasmus, Perez and Jones all made BA’s top 100 a couple of years ago. 2007 I guess.
I think Anderson made the list as well.
At the time, the cards had alot of decent talent, no high enders. What will be different is the decent talent guys aren’t there, but some really good top end.
The cards could end up witht he 2 best pitching prospects in all of baseball.
I like that they’re trying to get more athletic – but I really like that they aren’t shying away from HS players. I don’t like that so many of the guys are small…but the org must feel like it’s a sector of the market that’s undervalued and they’re trying to exploit that.
My problem is that they’re essentially similar players. Kind of that fringe starting outfielder that will hit, but not have great power, or be an elite runner. Tilson sounds a lot like Ellsbury with a bit more power potential, McElroy doesn’t seem much different than Jay, and Jeffries seems similar to Michael Bourne with a better arm.
Not sure I agree about the McElroy/Jay comp – I thought McElroy’s #1 tool was his speed, and he has no power. Jay hit 20+ HR/yr in the high minors and isn’t very fast.
If Tilson and Jeffries turn into Ellsbury and Bourn then that’s a MASSIVE hit for us. Bourn and Ellsbury are both well above-average players.
Yes…getting Ellsbury and Bourn in the 2nd and 10th rounds respectively would be a heck of a haul.
Jay never hit more than 12 home runs in a single minor league system. He hit 12 home runs in 2008 split between Springfield and Memphis; 491 at bats.
I’ve seen him play many times. He already is much more of a physical specimen at 18 years old than Michael Bourne is currently. He will have plenty of pop in his bat, and an above average arm at the big league level. He can fly, but not quite like Bourne. He could be more like an Andrew McCutcheon (15-20 Hr and 30-40 steals). Obviously that is wishful thinking, and who knows. I’m just saying he is strong for a leadoff hitter.
He is probably more like 5/11 and 195 … but he is SOLID muscular kid and can throw the ball well over 90 MPH … he could probably strike you out from Center Field :0
He does look muscular yeah, surprised you say that about his arm – the one vid on youtube of him throwing I thought his delivery looked kinda funky and won’t put too much velocity or straightness on the ball. Could be just an odd angle though.
oh the velocity is there he’s been clocked over 92
Carl Crawford up in here?! :)
Really liking this pick a LOT. The video link looks like a really nice, uncomplicated swing, and he’s got a pretty chunky frame that I guess could unlock a bit of power down the line, along with some line drivey hits. All that plus the fact he’s obviously a real burner, and it sounds like he’ll stick at CF. Even if his bat doesn’t come along it looks like he’ll be able to put some wood on the ball with that swing, and with his speed he should be able to put up some infield hits.
I guess it just depends on whether he can find some plate discipline and round out his hitting as he gets older, but he’s got plenty of time to do it and I like the raw materials – might be my favourite pick of the draft so far.
I love this pick…this guy just seems to simply love to play and his dream is to play for the cardinals. You can’t quantify that kind of passion.
I think he can really grow into his own and he could have great potential-kind of reminds me of a desmond jennings type guy but maybe thats too optimistic
I wanted this kid to get picked as soon as I found out they brought him to Busch. A local kid, Cardinals fan, it was just a matter of him being available hen we wanted to take him. You can never have too many toolsy guys roaming the outfield. Can’t wait to see him in the minors, it sounds like he is everything the Astros were hoping Michael Bourn would be, minus the bad attitude..
I get a bit fed up with the Bourn bashing in the general community (even from SABR-clued-up fans); he’s genuinely turned into an elite player in Houston. He’s been their best player by far for the last 3 years. I think people have somehow managed to miss that.
If a tenth round pick turns into Bourn it’s one of the best 10th rounders of all time.
“He projects as a right-handed hitting center fielder.”
As opposed to projecting as a left-handed hitting center fielder.
but not both?
Emphasis on “center fielder” was what I was going for! :)
Even before the draft, I’d say the emergence of Matt Adams, and confirmation of Carlos Martinez’ abilities, pushes the Cards into a top 5 type farm system.
Three top 50 guys (Miller, Taveras, Martinez), three or four other top 100 (Cox, Adams, Carpenter, and Anthony Garcia), and some very interesting depth (Jenkins, Rosenthal, Pham, Gast, Swagerty, Kelly, et. al.) makes the system as good as it’s been in a loooong time.
Or maybe I’m just in a good mood today since the Birds have the best record in baseball this morning.
Might be top 5 but I’ll bet the farm they aren’t rated that high by any national publications/bloggers.
You forgot Wong in your top 100 :)
Top 10 maybe. I don’t see more than 4 in the top 100…possibly Cox or Adams joins Miller and Martinez in the top 100. One thing is for sure though, things are looking up. Although, the production of Garcia, Jay, Craig and Rasmus has been pretty good thus far.
Taveras could make the top 100 if he can come back, stay healthy, and continue to rake. Particularly if they bump him up later in the year hand he still rakes.
Wong could easily be top 100 if he signs quickly and hit in the high .300′s at QC or even less if he shows more power than expected.
Also would say Jenkins has an outside chance depending on if he dominates at JC/Bat.
Would really be surprised to see Adams in the top 100 unless his second half is even better than his first. Not saying he doesn’t deserve it, it’s just how things work.
Agreed. I doubt Matt Adams makes any Top 100 list. Someone like Wong has a much better shot if he, say, starts in QC and rakes.
I agree, I’ve got a hard time seeing Adams in a top 100 list unless he continues to rake at a level like this for the rest of the season AND his walk rate increases a bit.
Can we at least let him throw in a few starts before we start stretching it this far. The kids got no track record, and you want to make an assumption that he could very well dominate Johnson City. Asking for too much right now.
I actually do expect him to dominate Johnson City just as I expected Shelby to dominate at QC. He was a legitimate top 30-40 talent and this is a rookie league. Add the fact that he has had all winter and EST to work on things.
Tyler Herron did not excel in the Appalachian League in 2005. He was a higher pick than Jenkins. A lot of players in this league come from colleges.
Jenkins fell because of signing concerns. Herron rose because of signing ease. Your comment doesn’t change my expectation. My expectations are not always met though :)
I’d say we could legitimately have four in the top 100. Shelby Miller is a top 10 prospect in baseball right now, and Carlos Martinez should gain some more steam as the season goes on and should very well end up as a top 50 prospect at the end of the season. Zack Cox seems like a safe bet to crack the list, might not make it very far up the list though. And Oscar Taveras could be the fourth one if he comes back and hits well for the rest of the season.
Unless Wong comes out of the gates and exceeds expectations, I very much doubt he’ll be a top 100 prospect.
Top five seems extremely optimistic. We’d need an abundance of things to go well to consider us a top 5 farm system. I’d say we’re a safe bet to be a top 15 farm system, with a legitimate argument to be top ten.
Who is Anthony Garcia?
Anybody notice the divergence of how the Cards drafted the last few years and this year. We have taken some upside kids early(Cox, Jenkins, Miller) and then mixed in behind with a lot of college arms, etc. This year they seemed to go “safe” in the first round followed by some athletic young position players after. They still mixed in some college arms thereafter, but a lot of youth and athleticism. Seems like that was a major concern for them.
Good points, CC.
I shoulda clarified that those top 50/100 guys would be *my* personal rankings.
For instance, I had Taveras in the top 50-60 pre-season, based on his outstanding Appy performance at age 17. Now, he’d be top 20-25 for me—at least.
(After all, the Trout kid put up a line of .362/.454/.526 last year, as a low-A 18-year-old, and that made him a consensus top 3 overall prospect, after barely scratching top 100 lists before his full-season debut.)
Matt Adams is at an age-appropriate level, putting up an OPS that’s 300+ points above his league. Versus lefties and righties, home and away, the guy is absolutely mashing. So I would argue that strictly as a *hitter*, he’s one of the best 10-15 prospects in baseball. Of course, as a bat-only guy, his upside is finite; but I’d put him in the 60-80 range right now.
I didn’t include Wong, since I was just talkin’ pre-draft prospects & rankings. But yeah, I’d probably have Wong somewhere near the bottom of a top 100—provided he confirms his skillset with a solid MiLB performance over the next couple of months. ;)
Your rankings seem ridiculously optimistic IMO! Whilst I like Miller, taveras, Martinez, Cox and Carpenter and can see arguments for all 5 in the top 100, I think it’s hard to argue for more than Miller and Mart in the top 50, and the other guys could all easily miss out (low upside on Carp and Cox, injury and relatively low-level plus limited previous record for Taveras, although I could personally see him as a fringey top-100 guy more so than Cox and Carp just for his upside).
I really don’t see how Adams (upside is a league-average 1B IMO, there’s tons of those guys about), Garcia (???) or Wong make it, though!
[...] Lance Jeffries [...]
In case anyone didn’t see. Jeffreis has already agreed to terms. May had him going before round 6 so I consider this a coup for the team.
Lance played with my son for several years in little leage, he is a gem, I wish him well, and look out for my son Daryus Small, he’s next. God bless you Lance.