AAP: Sergio Miranda

[NorthSideSox72]

Sergio Miranda

Born March 5th, 1987, in Richmond Virginia (but grew up in Puerto Rico)

5’9”, 169 (college page shows him at 5’10”, 180)

Bats: S

Throws: R

 

COLLEGE

Played 3 seasons at VCU, stats as follows:

 

Year G/GS AVG AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB

2005 55/55 .357 241 49 86 16 1 3 38 21 20 13

2006 58/58 .400 250 50 100 20 4 4 40 26 24 15

 

2007 stats weren’t on his profile page, but he hit .370 with 17 doubles, 51 runs, 36 RBI and 11 steals in 60 games.

 

College Notes (courtesy of various sources including VCU and CAA websites):

 

2007/Junior: ABCA Gold Glove winner… First Team All-CAA, second straight year… CAA Defensive Player of the Year, second straight year…

 

2006/Sophomore: CAA Defensive Player of the Year... First Team All-CAA... Started all 58 games at shortstop... His 100 hits set the school record and was the top mark in the CAA... Second in CAA with 20 doubles, third with .400 batting average, fourth with .457 on-base percentage... Only the fourth Ram ever to reach the .400 plateau... Finished season with hits in 11 of final 12 games... Reached base in final 30 games... Had 17-game hit streak earlier in season... Tied school record with six runs against Georgia State on April 1... Had 30 multiple-hit games... Collected five hits in two games last season (3/1 vs. Radford and 3/15 vs. Longwood)... Had a nine-game streak of multiple-hit games from March 11-March 22.

 

2005/Freshman: Selected to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team... Named CAA Rookie of the Year...Awarded with All-CAA first team honors and All-Rookie team... Second on team in batting with .357 average...Led Rams with 241 at-bats, the sixth-highest total in school history... Had three hits and three RBI in CAA Championship Game against Towson... Had three hits and an RBI in two NCAA Regional games... Earned CAA rookie of the week honors three times (2/15, 4/4, 5/9)... Started 54 games at shortstop... Batted .374 aginst the CAA.

 

DRAFT

 

Selected in the 13th round, pick number 419, by the White Sox.

 

Signed with the club on June 18th, details undisclosed, and opened the season with the Great Falls Rookie League team.

 

MILB STATS AND NOTES

 

Here is Miranda's fairly disgusting stats in his brief stint at Great Falls, where he led the team in virtually every offensive category:

 

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG OPS E

7 28 2 13 3 1 0 1 18 3 4 1 2 .516 .643 .464 1.159 5

 

Promoted to the Kannapolis Intimidators on June 25th, after just 7 games at GF.

 

HANDY LINKS, OTHER NOTES

 

MILB profile page

 

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/M/S...o-Miranda.shtml" target="_blank">Baseball Cube page

[OilCan]

NSSOX, thanks for the info, hope this kid will make it.

Good to see that Sergio has some promise with the glove, given his accolades. Wonder how his bat will translate to MLB success, but still, good to see the Sox pick an IF.

[NorthSideSox72]

June report on Miranda (although he's only had a few days)...

 

As noted a week or so ago, he was promoted to Kannapolis after just 7 games raking in Rookie ball. Here are his numbers so far at Kanny:

 

AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS

.316 6 19 5 6 0 0 0 5 6 2 1 1 0 .381 .316 .697

 

Starting off pretty well there too. He doesn't seem to take long to adjust to new pitching. Went 3-3 yesterday and scored twice. Also, not afraid to hit in the clutch - hitting .375 with runners on, .500 w/RISP.

[NorthSideSox72]

July update on Mr. Miranda...

 

Getting settled in Kannapolis after a quick promotion from Great Falls, Miranda's numbers came back to reality a bit in July. Here are his totals thus far at Kanny (which is basically July for him):

 

AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS

.257 29 113 22 29 1 2 1 14 37 15 14 4 1 .349 .327 .676

 

Note the highlighted numbers and categories - one big negative, and one big positive. The negative is slugging - he has a total of only 4 XBH in 113 AB's (1 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR). On the other hand, despite a .257 average, he is getting on base at a .349 clip - he has actually walked (15) more than he has struck out (14). With his speed, he may be a potential leadoff hitter in the future.

 

So overall, Miranda seems to be doing pretty well, considering he was just drafted a couple months ago and is now at A- (at age 20). He is also hitting .294 in his last 8 games, including 3 of his 4 XBH's. Keep it up, Sergio!

 

[NorthSideSox72]

End of year update, 2007...

 

Sergio improved yet again in August/September. His average in that period (.304) was 34 points higher than July (which was over 100 points higher than June), and he finished on a big tear: in his last 8 games, he was 16-for-35 (.457) plus 4 walks (.513 OBP). Here is Sergio's final line from Kannapolis:

 

_AVG G  AB  R  H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG  OPS
.282 61 238 45 67 9  2 1  30  83 37 27 5  3 .384 .349 .732

 

Put this in perspective. The guy is 20 years old, and he was just drafted this spring. He spent his first couple weeks at Great Falls where he destroyed rookie pitching (.464 AVG, .516 OBP), and Kannapolis was his second assignment in the same year he was still playing college ball. Add to that his defensive skills (won his college conference's defensive player of the year award) and some speed, and you have the makings of a real shortstop prospect. Something the Sox organization desperately needs.

 

The only apparent weak area with Sergio is a nearly complete lack of power numbers. But then, if he can keep putting up a .384 OBP, that maybe isn't a huge problem. Plus as he progresses through the system, he is likely to get stronger, and with that the power numbers may start to appear.

 

Looking at the SS depth chart in the Sox organization, I think Miranda will probably start the 2008 season in Winston-Salem (High A). It would be tempting to catapult him to AA given his performance (and the lack of talent ahead of him), but it seems the Sox organization is commited to be more patient than that with its younger players.

 

[Gene Honda Civic]

Not that errors are directly indicative of poor defense, but Miranda managed to accumulate 20 of them in about half a season of play. That gives me some pause, and puts his defensive abilities in question until we get a solid scouting report.

 

That being said, the steal of the draft for the Sox. He looks like their second best pick from the '07 draft, and they got him in the 13th round.

[NorthSideSox72]

Not that errors are directly indicative of poor defense, but Miranda managed to accumulate 20 of them in about half a season of play. That gives me some pause, and puts his defensive abilities in question until we get a solid scouting report.

 

That being said, the steal of the draft for the Sox. He looks like their second best pick from the '07 draft, and they got him in the 13th round.

Yeah, I noticed that too (errors), which seems weird given he came in with a strong defensive rep. Like you said, I'd like to see a scouting report that could put it in some perspective. If you do find one, I'd be appreciative if you added it to this thread.

 

Even if it turns out his defense is not as spectacular as scouted, as a 13th round pick, I agree he looks like a great pickup.

 

[farmteam]

Not that errors are directly indicative of poor defense, but Miranda managed to accumulate 20 of them in about half a season of play. That gives me some pause, and puts his defensive abilities in question until we get a solid scouting report.

 

That being said, the steal of the draft for the Sox. He looks like their second best pick from the '07 draft, and they got him in the 13th round.

 

I just may be daft tonight, but who are you ranking as their best pick? Poreda?

[PAUL KONERKO 14]

off topic but this guy has my friends name, kinda weird...

[NorthSideSox72]

Miranda is in Tucson for ST. I am not sure if he is actually in the minor league camp or the major league one - you'd think he'd not be in the major league camp given he's a 20 year old who only got to low-A ball late last season. But he's actually got a plate appearance with the big club - an out, but an RBI in the act.

 

Miranda had a very solid 2007. See posts above. I'd suspect he is headed for High A Winston-Salem, but its not out of the question he could be at AA Birmingham.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Miranda is starting the year with High A Winston-Salem. The other SS on that roster is CJ Lang, and I'd guess that Miranda will be the starter. The organization apparently think highly of him, considering he's only 21 and didn't even get a full season of minor league ball in. He had an excellent 2007 - let's hope for another strong year in 2008.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

April Monthly Update...

 

Sergio struggled quite a bit at the plate in his first month of seeing High A pitching, hitting just .167. Here are his April numbers:

 

In 51 AB's...

AVG: .157

OBP: .218

SLG: .255

OPS: .473

H: 8

2B: 3

3B: 1

HR: 0

RBI: 4

BB/K: 4/6

SB/CS: 0/2

 

There isn't much to highlight in those numbers. He did go 2-3 with both to of the team's 2 RBI on 4/29. And his stikeout/walk ratio isn't bad, though its not as good as last year. Hopefully Miranda can pick it up at the plate in May.

 

Defensively, Miranda made 3 errors on the month, which seems not too bad. I don't have access to any other defensive stats.

 

[ChiSox_Sonix]

April Monthly Update...

 

Sergio struggled quite a bit at the plate in his first month of seeing High A pitching, hitting just .167. Here are his April numbers:

 

In 51 AB's...

AVG: .157

OBP: .218

SLG: .255

OPS: .473

H: 8

2B: 3

3B: 1

HR: 0

RBI: 4

BB/K: 4/6

SB/CS: 0/2

 

There isn't much to highlight in those numbers. He did go 2-3 with both to of the team's 2 RBI on 4/29. And his stikeout/walk ratio isn't bad, though its not as good as last year. Hopefully Miranda can pick it up at the plate in May.

 

Defensively, Miranda made 3 errors on the month, which seems not too bad. I don't have access to any other defensive stats.

 

Over the course of a season that only like 60 strikeouts. If he keeps putting the ball in play, especially with his (presumed) speed, that average will go up. He's young, improvement over the course of the year is what i'm looking for with him

[NorthSideSox72]

Miranda was demoted to Kannapolis (where he finished in 2007) a few days ago. He was struggling mightily at the plate so far this year, including a .156 average, .202 OBP and .423 OPS. Paiml was promoted to take his spot at W-S.

 

Miranda just turned 21 in March (Paiml turns 24 in August, for perspective), and was advanced quickly in 2007 (drafted, rookie ball, low A - in one year). Looks like pushing up to High A was just too much too soon. Hopefully he'll get settled in Kanny and get it together again, and be ready for W-S in late '08 or 2009.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Miranda seems to have responded well to the demotion. In his 8 games so far with Kanny, he has a .286 average, .444 OBP, and has 6 walks against just 1 strikeout.

 

Since it seems he can handle Low A pitching for contact, it would be nice to see him develop a little power there this year. If he can at least add some doubles and triples, with his solid plate discipline (has pretty consistently walked more than struck out), he should be back on track to do well.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

End of June update for Serg...

 

Sergio seems to have responded quite well to the demotion to Kanny, putting up some solid numbers. He had a 12 game hitting streak going, but that was snapped on Saturday (he did draw a walk that game). His numbers in Janny so far...

 

G: 32

AB: 109

AVG: .294

OBP: .384

OPS: .714

BB/K: 15/13

 

Basically, he looks like he's back to the hitter we saw in 2007. High average and OBP, more walks than strikeouts, and a knack for clutch hitting - he hits .328 with runners on, .385 w/ RISP. But, still no power at all.

 

One odd note: Escobar is in Kanny as well, and lately, Miranda has been DH'ing, with Escobar at short. This is clearly not a long term approach, so we'll see how it plays out.

 

The shortstop picture in the system is much different now than in 2007, with the additions (and upcoming additions) of Escobar, Silverio and Beckham. Hopefully, Miranda can get a chance in W-S later this season, and show the same kind of numbers there that he has put up in Kanny.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

End of July update (a little late)...

 

Sergio has taken the demotion quite well, and has been hitting for a solid average and getting on base in Kanny. Still very little power, but, there are some recent indications of that changing.

 

One of the odd things is that, in order to make room for Escobar playing SS in Kanny, they have been playing Miranda all over - 2B, SS, 3B, DH. I am not sure if that means they are checking to see if he can be a future utility guy, or if he has a stronger position than SS, or if they just wanted Escobar to focus on D while Miranda focused on hitting, or if the whole SS stack is just too crowded in the system right now. Or some combination of the above.

 

Here are his current offensive stats:

 

AVG: .311

OBP: .394

SLG: .366

OPS: .760

AB: 183

H: 57

2B: 7

3B: 0

HR: 1

RBI: 30

AVG w/ RO: .375

AVG w/ RISP: .446

 

Note the bolded numbers. Sergio is a serious RBI machine, for a light hitter. 30 RBI in 184 AB for a guy with a sub-.400 SLG and just 1 HR is pretty impressive.

 

What does the future hold for Sergio? Well, I think he's very much ready for promotion. Problem is, with Beckham soon joining the org and an already crowded field of shortstops, what's going to give? Will Valido be sent packing (hopefully)? Will Sergio be promoted and/or moved positionally again? I guess we'll have to see.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Miranda has been promoted back to Winston-Salem, where he started the year (this move made room for Beckham at Kanny). He joined the team and played his first game back on August 15th.

 

Here are his final numbers at Kanny:

 

.306/.383/.375/.758

23 BB / 26 K

9 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR (of note - both homeruns and most of this doubles came in the last month of play)

12 errors in 65 games (playing a combination of SS, 2B and 3B)

 

So far at W-S, he is 2-for-8 with 1 R, 1 RBI and 1 SB. He's started 2 games - one at SS, the other at 2B then moving to 3B in game. His third game he pinch ran for Thon and did not see the field. He is playing in a crowded middle infield that also includes Paiml, Lang and Mollenhauer, which will make it hard to find playing time for all of them. You may see one or more promoted or demoted, or moved positionally.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

END OF 2008 REGULAR SEASON UPDATE...

 

Miranda was promoted to W-S on August 15th, and he took his hot bat with him. Here are his numbers at W-S from promotion to end of season...

 

.333/.343/.455/.797 in 33 AB's

 

Note the slugging - that's his best total in a while. He finished Kanny with a .306/.383/.375/.758 line, in 216 AB's. He also drew almost as many walks as he had strikeouts - he only struck out 28 times in the 249 AB's since he was demoted to Kanny.

 

Quite a season for Sergio. After a surprisingly strong 2007 rookie campaign, he was started at A+ W-S, and did very poorly. Demoted to Kanny, spun his wheels briefly, then took off and put up a very good season. Promoted BACK to W-S and did well there in his last couple weeks. He played SS, 2B and 3B at various times with each team.

 

What does 2009 hold in store for Miranda? I think it really comes down to whether or not they see Sergio as a SS or a 2B in his future. If he's a SS, then Beckham will almost assuredly jump him and go to AA, leaving Miranda back at W-S again. But, if they feel his bat is ready for AA, and/or they think his future is at 2B, then look for Miranda to start 2009 at B-Ham playing opposite Beckham.

 

Before we go TOO far though, W-S made the playoffs. So let's see if he can do some things in the post-season - he does have a record of being quite good in the clutch, as exhibited by his numbers being higher with runners on and RISP.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Miranda made a big splash in W-S's playoff series (they were eliminated, 3 games to 1). The losing team doesn't have an MVP, but if they did, it would probably be Sergio. On the series, he did this in 3 games:

 

.556 AVG

.667 OBP

.778 SLG

1.445 OPS

5 hits in 9 AB plus 3 BB

2 2B

3 R

1 RBI

 

Good way to end the season for Sergio!

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Sergio is playing winter ball for Cangrejeros de Santurce of the PR League.

 

We also have an interview out to him, and hope to get his responses back soon.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Sergio Miranda has been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers. Not sure who he was traded for. A guy on a Brewers board received word from a Brewers beat writer that was so dripping in disdain its hard to make out the actual information, but, it appears to have been an independent move for low level player, future considerations, or cash.

 

Best of luck to Sergio!