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We finally come to right field as we close up the position prospects. It's not the strongest of the Tigers' outfield spots, to say the least, but it will provide some interesting prospects to watch as Tiger fans wonder who might step into the position should Magglio Ordonez's contract ever stop adding option years. Ages are as of 4/1/10.
Brennan Boesch, Erie
24, 6’6”, 210, Bats: Left
PA: 571
AVG: .275
OBP: .318
SLG: .510
XBH%: 42.1
BB%: 5.8
K%: 22.2
wOBA: .367
Boesch opened himself up to some locker room teasing by getting a shiner from a wind blown flyball in the first game of the spring. If he can unleash some of that big time power that led to his hitting 61 extra base hits last season - including 28 homers - he may be remembered for something else before spring breaks.
What he’s unlikely to shake by the time the teams head north, though, are what seem like his struggles with pitch recognition and plate discipline. He struck out 127 times last season, which as you can see above was almost four times more than the number of walks he drew. The strikeouts are going to suppress his batting average and the lack of walks is going to keep his on-base percentage down around .300 even when he hits .275. That batting average, by the way, was his highest mark since his pro debut in Oneonta back in 2006.
Boesch is clearly a good athlete who can match that power with enough speed to get him seven triples and 11 stolen bases in 13 tries. I will just need to see him either work out or work around what are reported to be huge holes in his swing to believe he can do it.
Avisail Garcia, West Michigan (Lakeland, 3 G not shown in stats below)
18, 6’3”, 190, Bats: Right
PA: 315
AVG: .264
OBP: .289
SLG: .324
XBH%: 17.7
BB%: 2.5
K%: 22.2
wOBA: .279
Garcia’s numbers last season with West Michigan were pretty awful. I’m a numbers guy when it comes to prospects and I’m not going to say they weren’t. The number that has him rated as the Tigers’ second best right field prospect, though, is 17. That’s what he was when he broke into the Whitecaps’ lineup and that speaks to both his talent level and what the Tigers think of him as a player.
That allows me to overlook the ridiculous strikeout-to-walk ratio and the fact that he made ten errors as an outfielder. This kid is big, tore up the VSL when he was 16, going on 17, and made his domestic debut in a full season league. That makes me very interested to see what he’s going to do in a second go-around in the Midwest League.
Kody Kaiser, Lakeland
24, 5’8”, 180, Bats: Both
PA: 193
AVG: .267
OBP: .363
SLG: .461
XBH%: 40.9
BB%: 11.9
K%: 28.5
wOBA: .383
Kaiser has probably been described as a spark plug or something similar a lot in his career. I’d love to see him play because the stats paint a picture of a guy who just tears around the field. He hits for good power, especially when you consider his size. He’s either fast or a very good baserunner, since he has stolen 54 bases in about the equivalent of two seasons as a pro. The problem is the last thing that puts that image in my head is the fact that he strikes out almost a quarter of the time he comes to the plate.
So you see good power, good speed and a ton of strikeouts and you immediately think he’s just a good athlete who can fight his way through being clueless about the strike zone. That’s another interesting thing about him. He’s drawn walks in over ten percent of his career plate appearances. When you think about it, it’s kind of a shame a player who must be exciting to watch run the bases walks to first or the dugout so much of the time.
In the end, as exciting as I assume Kaiser is to watch as a player, it’s hard to get excited about his chances as a prospect. His listed age is as of 4/1, like always, but that’s deceptive because he turns 25 five days later. A shoulder injury put him out for the season last year in June and now he’s a guy who’s sitting at an advanced age without having proven he can make the tough jump to Double A.
Position Summary: I’m not too crazy about what the Tigers’ minors are offering in right field. Mark Anderson pointing out that Steven Moya will probably move over there in 2010 helps the excitement level for the position.
Still, I’m skeptical of Boesch’s ability to overcome his plate discipline. While Garcia is intriguing, he’s also very clearly a long ways off from a major league roster. I think there’s a big dropoff in potential from Garcia to Kaiser and after Kaiser, well, I didn’t do an honorable mention if that tells you anything. Maybe I’m being too pessimistic. Maybe Alexis Espinoza or Chao-Ting Tang surprise me. I’m just going to need to see a good season from each before they’ll show up in this type of article.
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