AAP: Danny Richar

[Balta1701]

 

Full Name: Danny Adam Richar

Born: 06/09/1983

Birthplace: La Romana, Dominican Republic

Height: 6' 0"

Weight: 170

Bats: L

Throws: R

 

Danny Richar was originally signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks as an undrafted Free Agent in July of 2001. He was acquired by the Chicago White Sox on June 16, 2007, for outfielder Aaron Cunningham.

 

Danny has spent most of his time gradually working his way up the Arizona Minor League organization. His numbers haven't been bad, but he seems to take a fair amount of time to adapt at each level, which may be unsurprising given that he was quite raw when originally signed. His best season was in 2005, where he put up an .884 OPS with 20 home runs while repeating high A ball.

 

Year Team Lg Age Org. Level Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS

2002 Yakima Nwest 19 Ari A- ss-2b 25 88 7 20 5 1 0 9 0 3 6 21 0.227 0.274 0.307 581

Lancaster Calif 19 Ari A+ ss 85 251 27 58 7 1 1 17 4 5 12 49 0.231 0.274 0.279 553

2003 Lancaster Calif 20 Ari A+ 2b-ss 123 405 51 123 19 9 1 42 6 3 14 70 0.304 0.331 0.402 733

2004 Lancaster Calif 21 Ari A+ ss 96 383 51 108 13 4 6 44 22 8 16 78 0.282 0.312 0.384 696

El Paso Tex 21 Ari AA 2b 26 82 6 17 3 0 0 5 2 0 7 17 0.207 0.286 0.244 530

2005 Lancaster Calif 22 Ari A+ ss-2b 121 454 78 136 32 8 20 79 9 3 32 64 0.3 0.347 0.537 884

2006 Tennessee Sou 23 Ari AA 2b 130 480 79 140 25 5 8 42 15 5 52 77 0.292 0.36 0.415 775

 

Here is a scout.com piece on Richar from early in 2006.

 

Danny Richar might be the dictionary definition of 'streak hitter.' During the 2005 season while with the Hi-A Lancaster JetHawks Richar had hitting streaks of 10, 8, and 7 games at one time or another. He had three different streaks of four multi-hit games, and hit over .400 the last 10 games of the season.

 

He also hit .247 in May.

 

But for a kid who turned 22 during last season and will be entering his fourth season in the Diamondbacks system, a non-drafted free agent with incredible tools who had never really gotten any instruction to speak of until he turned pro, Danny Richar is right on schedule, only now the tracks are blocked.

...

Batting and Power: What makes Danny Richar such an appealing prospect is the very same thing that failed to get him noticed in the first place. His body. At just 5'10" and 155lbs when the Diamondbacks signed him out of the Dominican Republic in 2001, he certainly didn't look like a player who had four solid tools. Five years later he's added two inches, and 15 pounds, to his frame, and as the body starts to fill out, the wicked bat speed that got him what little attention he received, started translating into power.

 

After hitting a grand total of two homers in his first two season, Richar started showing more pop in '04, where he tallied 16 doubles, four triples and six homers between Lancaster and Double-A El Paso. Last season that potential power became power, as he drove 20 over the fence. The Diamondbacks knew that the body had room to grow, and they were willing to let it happen at its own pace. His offseason workouts have focused on adding another 10 pounds of muscle to a frame that could easily carry another 20, and there is quiet speculation that Richar could end up being a top prospect, at some position, by the end of 2006.

 

But in order to hit the ball out of the park, Richar has to learn to hit the ball consistently. He has done an impressive job cutting down on his strikeouts (just 64 in 454 at bats in '05, as opposed to 95 in 465 ABs in '04) but still gets pull conscious and ends up grounding the ball to the right side too often. It was no surprise that after Richar apparently turned the corner in July, hitting .327 with four homers, he immediately went south in August, hitting just .278 with eight homers. When he wants the ball to leave the park, things don't go well.

...

Richar can flat out fly, when he's at full strength. A series of leg and ankle injuries, none serious, all painful, limited his stolen base total to just nine in '05, after he swiped 24 the season before. He's aggressive to a fault on the bases, something the Diamondbacks are hoping Brett Butler, Lancaster's new manager, can help him address, but as far as pure speed is concerned he's among the top 20 in the D'Backs system.

...

This is where Drew/Upton might actually be doing Richar a favor. At one point in the season he led all the minor leagues in errors, and his 32 put him among the leaders overall at the end of the year. Richar has a cannon for an arm, but his footwork has been a thorn in the Diamondbacks side from day one. He tends to throw flat footed far more often than he needs to, and is the type of player that will make a spectacular play, and the muff the routine grounder.

 

Of course, at second base throwing flat footed is the norm, and the focus can be learned. After Drew signed and claimed the shortstop job, Richar saw extensive time at second base, and that might be his clearest shot to the Majors.

[BearSox]

nice.... so far, I've been pleasantly surprised by him.

[Balta1701]

Given that Iguchi was traded today, Richar is probably on his way to Chicago right now. Therefore, here are what I think are Danny's final numbers for Charlotte:

 

133 AB's, 46 hits, 5 doubles, 4 triples, 5 home runs, 10 BB's, 4/4 SB's, 24 k's, 15 RBI, .346/.400/.556/.956

[Kyyle23]

Given that Iguchi was traded today, Richar is probably on his way to Chicago right now. Therefore, here are what I think are Danny's final numbers for Charlotte:

 

133 AB's, 46 hits, 5 doubles, 4 triples, 5 home runs, 10 BB's, 4/4 SB's, 24 k's, 15 RBI, .346/.400/.556/.956

 

Where did he bat in the order?

[Ozzie's Accent]

Where did he bat in the order?

 

 

He has been batting 3rd.