July UCB Project – Forgotten Prospect
Posted on July 27th, 2012 by azruavatar in United Cardinal Bloggers ProjectThe United Cardinal Bloggers asked this month what was an obscure player from Cardinal history. It’s a loose definition of obscure as the story of George Frazier’s 77 innings pitched with the Cardinals isn’t a terribly interesting one. So obscure but not too obscure. I dug out my 2005 Baseball America Prospect guide to find a forgotten prospect from the pre-Luhnow era.
Failed prospects litter the annals of the Cardinals organization. That’s the nature of prospects (depending on how broad a definition you use): more will fail than succeed. The minor leagues aren’t in place to create stars so much as cull the weak. It’s the cut throat reality of the minors that, ultimately, the dream of professional baseball could be over at any moment. So finding a “forgotten” prospect isn’t exactly hard to do.
I like the career trajectory of Blake Hawksworth to drive all this home. Selected in the 28th round of the 2001 draft, Hawksworth got a big bonus as part of the now abolished draft and follow system for younger players. He had enough velocity to dream on touching the mid-90s with his fastball and a plus changeup as his primary offspeed offering.
Through his first couple years he performed well in the low minors showing good command and the ability to get the strikeout. Heading into 2005, he had 169 strikeouts against 46 walks through 173 innings. Then the injuries started.
Injuries have kept Hawksworth from getting on the fast track as St. Louis had hoped. He had surgery to clean up his shoulder last May, though doctors found no structural damage.
That’s from the 2005 Prospect Handbook in which Hawksworth had ascended to the #3 prospect in the Cardinals system after Anthony Reyes and Adam Wainwright. In 2006, Hawksworth would be mostly healthy but those injuries would return in 2008. Things looked bleak as Hawksworth fastball velocity deteriorated into the upper 80s. In 2009, he found his way into the Cardinals bullpen. His velocity came back and his fastball resided in the low 90s.
Two years later, after being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Hawksworth showed a much improved velocity (average fastball speed 95) and better command. The improvements earned him a secure spot in the Dodgers bullpen. While he now finds himself on the 60 day DL, the arc of Hawksworth’s career from big bonus baby to top prospect to injured has been to big league reliever is a reminder of the circuitous route that careers can take. It’s also a reminder that Hawksworth was once a top prospect for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Just in case you’d forgotten.
Entries (RSS)
The most tragic story of a Cardinal prospect is that of Charlie Peete. In the mid 1950′s he led the American Assiciation in hitting and was rated as a sure bet to be the Cardinal center fielder the next spring and the prospect with the highest ceiling in a decade. Unfortunately he and his family were killed in a plane crash on his way to winter ball.
Think he was the first black player to really have a shot at making an impact on the Cards.
[...] Miles’ Fastball C70 At The Bat CardinalsGM Future Redbirds Redbird Rants [...]
Thanks for the info, and I had forgotten about Peete. Thanks again.
I didn’t know we had our very own version of”The Big Bopper”. No disrespect intended. I thought that sort of thing only happened to singers and musicians. Now that I think of it there was Clemente (the most famous), Thurman Munson and the pitcher for the Yankees a few years back.
Cubs had a second baseman who was Rookie of the Year who died in a crash. Think his names was Ken Hubbs or some such. . .
Right, Ken Hubbs. Wiley is thinking of Cory Lidle. The Peete crash was more like Clemente’s (although the player certainly wasn’t, at least not yet) in that he was a passenger on a commercial flight, rather than flying his own plane. Pitcher Nestor Chavez, who had a brief cup of coffee for the Giants, was another major leaguer killed in the crash of a commercial flight. One or two others died in private-plane crashes, but after their playing careers were over, I think. Gads, what a depressing subject.
Back on topic, I really don’t consider Hawk a “forgotten prospect” because all the writers who keep tabs on such things (e.g. Baseball Prospectus) followed his long journey back from injury. This was probably because of his Bond-villain name as much as his talent, but he stayed on the radar screens. The similar pitcher who has been all but forgotten was Jimmy Journell.
John Fulgham comes to mind. I remembe hearing Jack Buck say Whitey Herzog “leaped from the dugout” to get him after he appeared to get hurt. He was a terrific young pitching prospect.
here’s a shout out to Jose Cruz’s younger brother, Hector Cruz. playing as a 20-year-old in AA in 1973, he hit .328 with 30 homers and a 1.037 OPS. after a rocky transition to AAA in 1974, he followed up in 1975 with a .306/.394/.579 line (including 29 homers) as a 22-year-old. he was a monster prospect.
the Cards made an ill-advised decision to shift him to 3B as a rookie in 1976; he made 26 errors, which probably affected his head and hurt his production at the plate. more to the point, the 1970s version of Busch Stadium stifled his power. he hit just 13 homers as a rookie (which led the team), which wasn’t disastrous considering his age (23) and the position shift. alas, Cruz never got his career on track after that. he was out of baseball by age 30.
A contemporary (more or less) of his was Luis Melendez, who put up a .306/.368/.481 line at AAA Tulsa in 1970, at the ripe old age of 20(!). He had a few years of marginal usefulness in the majors, but never anything consistent with being that good that young at AAA, and was done with the majors at age 28.
Thing is, with guys like those, it’s difficult to say what kind of “prospects” they really were. I remember Melendez being talked up by the broadcasters, so somebody liked him, but there wasn’t nearly the grapevine then that there is now, particularly for “international” prospects (Melendez was from Puerto Rico, which isn’t really “international,” but might as well have been, the way kids from there seemed to be viewed at the time). How good could he have been? Hard to say, but he didn’t really amount to much — although he was far better player, of course, than any of us could ever dream of being.
Are we sure those two guys were using their real birth dates?
Melendez was from Puerto Rico, not the DR.
Should have waited to post. Cruz was also from Puerto Rico. If there was a birthdate problem with Puerto Rican players, I am unaware of it.
Geez…..I think I still have a Luis Melendez baseball card stashed away. Who wants to start the bidding……
Back in the early 90′s there was a player who caught my eye. I thought he was a second baseman. He hit well at teo levels for the cardinals and then quit baseball to go into the family insurance business.
In researching I can only find Aldo Pecorelli who was not a second baseman but played different positions. Not really sure Pecorilli is the player I was trying to recall. But the last name was similar.
The guy hit for average and with some power.
Pecorilli later played in the Atlanta system. He too had some pretty good numbers and still holds records in the so atlantic league.
If you guys ever lack for content, a “where are they now?” column would be fun. I wonder occasionally what happened to, say, jarret hoffpauir. Not enough to open fangraphs and find out.
Who is John Gall?
Sorry, where is John Gall?