Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Quick Hits

Here are a few more thoughts on the prospects Beckett decided to include in their most recent rookie issue:

Greg Reynolds
"Best compared to: (a healthy) Mark Prior"

Once gain, Beckett has thrown together two players that have nothing in common. Prior, when healthy, was about as untouchable as they come. At the age of 21, he was striking out an average of 11 batters per game at the major league level, while Greg Reynolds has managed to strike out just over 6 batters per game at AA ball. As soon as you see a similarity between the two, then let me know.

Jeff Larish
"Best compared to: Adam Laroche"

At first I wasn't sure about this one, but they match up pretty well. I'm not sure if Larish has that same long, looping swing as Laroche, but they put up similar numbers.

Jeremy Jeffress
"Best compared to: Dwight Gooden"

When I saw the name Dwight Gooden, I couldn't believe my eyes. Gooden was a once in a lifetime prospect and it just didn't make sense for Beckett to put his name next to Jeffress...until I got the joke. Jeffress and Gooden are both well known for their "habits" and I think that's why Beckett thought it was a good idea to put them together. At least that's what I hope they were thinking, otherwise it's just another bad comparison.

Brandon Jones
"Best compared to: Bobby Abreu"

This is almost a decent pairing, but Abreu was a much more advanced hitter in the minors than Jones, and I really don't see Jones having the major league success that Abreu has had. If Jones was a better OBP guy then it might even out, but he isn't so it doesn't. Nice idea though.

2 comments:

Vanished friend said...

"I'm not sure if Larish has that same long, looping swing as Laroche"

The exact opposite actually. If Larish makes the majors, he'll possibly have the shortest swing in the entire league, in the same way that Utley's swing is short.

Adam G said...

Thanks for the info Paul. I think Laroche's biggest weakness is that swing, so maybe Larish will see more consistent success with a nice, short swing.