Team Composition #2 - Lower level pro ball

Great post, thanks!

The ability to hit really does seem like the difference maker.   I know many have said that AA ball can a real eye opener in terms of who can hit and who cannot, but it also seems as though there is a big jump from Rookie Ball to A Ball....

I've been following some big name Wisconsin area players, Jeren Kendall, Gavin Lux, Ben Rortvedt and all three struggled to hit .220 in A Ball.  All 3 were taken in the first two rounds of the draft.  Their careers are hardly over, but man oh man it seems that it is tough to hit pro pitching

K, appreciate the link and post.  Good stuff.

keewart posted:

TPM started a great post about team composition and what college coaches may look for in any given year.  Which got me thinking about the draft and this past season, as it relates to keewartson and his team.

It was keewartson's first pro season in short season A, and the roster constantly was changing.  Some players coming from the Full A or AA season teams, some from the rookie team, and one due to a trade.   Which means some players leave:  going up, down or out.

So I looked at the roster as it was at the end of the season for his short season A team and the full season Single A team (some players were on the DL but still rostered):

The short season A Team:  18 pitchers and 13 position players.  15 were from the USA,  the DR(5), Honduras(1), Mexico(1), Panama(1),  and Venezuela(7).

The full season Single A Team: 20 pitchers and 16 position players.  24 were from the US, the DR(5), Venezuela(1), Mexico(1), Puerto Rico(2), Canada(2), and Bahamas(1).

Teams always need pitchers.  However, if you are a position player, a given team may not need that position in a given year.   With 30 professional teams, some may need certain position players, but the college player is also competing with high school studs and the vast unknown in the rest of the (mostly Spanish speaking) world.

If your player is interested in playing pro ball, you can research his position of those that were drafted this past year.  It is pretty eye opening.  You can sort by position here:  https://www.mlb.com/draft/tracker    If someone has a link to information on the foreign draft, please post!

Some very good players don't get drafted for various reasons.  Don't make "recreational activities" eliminate your player from the pool.  Be versatile.  Hit.

If a player can hit that is the key to any level.  They will find a place for you on the field (or dh).  As keewart said, versatility is the key.  If given the opportunity in college ball learn as many positions as possible, see if you can even play a few in games.  A good chance if you get drafted by MLB they will put you at a position where they need or project you to be.  

"It was keewartson's first pro season in short season A, and the roster constantly was changing.  Some players coming from the Full A or AA season teams, some from the rookie team, and one due to a trade.   Which means some players leave:  going up, down or out."

The Astros full season  A team that just won the Midwest league title had 115 player transactions.  ( I didn't count them, I saw it on a tweet) There was a constant shuffle between all of the levels, and the dreaded ''released". Probably one of the main reasons very few minor league teams have names on the back of jersey's.

Trust In Him posted:

keewart posted:

TPM started a great post about team composition and what college coaches may look for in any given year.  Which got me thinking about the draft and this past season, as it relates to keewartson and his team.

It was keewartson's first pro season in short season A, and the roster constantly was changing.  Some players coming from the Full A or AA season teams, some from the rookie team, and one due to a trade.   Which means some players leave:  going up, down or out.

So I looked at the roster as it was at the end of the season for his short season A team and the full season Single A team (some players were on the DL but still rostered):

The short season A Team:  18 pitchers and 13 position players.  15 were from the USA,  the DR(5), Honduras(1), Mexico(1), Panama(1),  and Venezuela(7).

The full season Single A Team: 20 pitchers and 16 position players.  24 were from the US, the DR(5), Venezuela(1), Mexico(1), Puerto Rico(2), Canada(2), and Bahamas(1).

Teams always need pitchers.  However, if you are a position player, a given team may not need that position in a given year.   With 30 professional teams, some may need certain position players, but the college player is also competing with high school studs and the vast unknown in the rest of the (mostly Spanish speaking) world.

If your player is interested in playing pro ball, you can research his position of those that were drafted this past year.  It is pretty eye opening.  You can sort by position here:  https://www.mlb.com/draft/tracker    If someone has a link to information on the foreign draft, please post!

Some very good players don't get drafted for various reasons.  Don't make "recreational activities" eliminate your player from the pool.  Be versatile.  Hit.

If a player can hit that is the key to any level.  They will find a place for you on the field (or dh).  As keewart said, versatility is the key.  If given the opportunity in college ball learn as many positions as possible, see if you can even play a few in games.  A good chance if you get drafted by MLB they will put you at a position where they need or project you to be.  

Hitting is key but if you play at a corner the bar is a lot higher. Position buys you some leeway but eventually you need to hit some anywhere no matter how good you defend. 

In some ways Milb is about being productive with the bat and in some ways it is about failing.  It is also important to appreciate that not every organization operates with the same approach and philosophy.

If one would make the biggest observation about all levels of Milb, it would be organizations are most interested in development against the manner in which that organization measures development.

As an illustration, our son was not at all a power hitter in his organization. However, after a very successful season in A ball in terms of doubles and gap power, he learned the organization saw him as a potential 15 HR guy as he moved upwards, with certain changes in his swing and approach.

If one were to make general observations, they would include the fact that Milb is about development, not necessarily, especially at the lower levels and Rookie ball,  "stats."  A higher draft pick, especially out of college, putting up big numbers at a certain level, especially from Low A ball, may well get quick  promotions upwards during a season (even 2 levels) until he reaches the point where he fails.  At that time, the development and coaching truly becomes apparent and the hitter goes through the process of adjustments looking to prove he can succeed and get another promotion. Failing at Low and High A does not equate to "failure" in terms of release unless and until the organization is clear the hitter cannot adjust or unless that organization has a surplus of talented hitters especially at those positions where some are  "failing." By the same token, success at A ball does not "equate" to success because nearly every hitter experiences failure which then leads to the development to the next success.

We really can never talk about this in the "vacuum" of a hitter because pitchers are going through the same process, but in a reverse sort of way.

Players from Short Season A may get some late season promotions but those are often times more organizational than due to production.  Some organizations may actually demote some players if post-season play at the lower level and success within that organization  is a consideration (very often it is not.)

Given the option, I tend to think most organizations want players to "fail" in their Milb system rather than have a trajectory of success which leads to failing at the Big League level.  The Giants this year have 3-4 examples of rookies who had wonderful success all the way through AAA, only to struggle mightily at the major league level.  One reason might include not enough AB's in Milb and no true failures.  In any event, because of the failure at MLB, the book is now open on each player as a true prospect as contrasted with a AAA1/2 star.