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White Sox draft Courtney Hawkins OF out of Carroll HS (TX)


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QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 07:56 PM)
Blah. Not a fan of another OF this early with the organization starving for SP.

Oh poop on you...

 

If Anthopolous would have drafted him you would have jizzed in your pants.

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QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 07:56 PM)
Blah. Not a fan of another OF this early with the organization starving for SP.

 

Meh this org is starving for ANY talent. Can't be picky, you know? And besides, no team drafts for need instead of best available player (obviously ignoring signability w/ BAP)

Edited by Paint it Black
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Daryl Van Schouwen ‏@CST_soxvan

 

“We’ve had a lot of people in to see him, and he has developed into the type of player we expected,'' scouting director Doug Laumann said.

 

This pick may seem like we are going away from our tendency with a high school player, but this kid has too much potential to pass up.'

 

"We are enormously excited.”

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Scot Gregor ‏@scotgregor

 

Stats on Courtney Hawkins, White Sox 1st rounder: .437, 11 HR, 39 RBI, 56 R, 17 SB for Carroll (TX) HS

 

Hawkins is also a pitcher...6-3, 220-pounder is 5-2, 0.96 ERA, 57 Ks in 36.1 innings. Carroll HS still alive in state playoffs

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Raw in the "art" of hitting, Hawkins nevertheless possesses explosive bat speed and power to spare. Hawkins' speed is only average, but he profiles as an asset on defense. Still only 18, however, Hawkins will likely spend many years on the farm before arriving in "The Show."

 

 

Power is a popular tool. We talked about it yesterday with Adam Brett Walker, but today we'll talk about it with Courtney Hawkins. I don't mean that to say that Hawkins has Walker's power, because he doesn't. Yet, Hawkins is a right handed power hitting outfielder in his own right. Plus, he's great athlete that is currently capable of playing center field, but his 6-2, 210 pound body will likely cause him to grow into a corner spot, which isn't a problem since he has an above average arm that will allow him to play in right.

 

Hawkins is a busy man at the plate. I mean that as he has a lot of pre-swing movement including very busy hands. His swing is pretty complex with a lot of movement. He has starts out with a wide base and toe taps into a narrow base before stepping back into a wide base. We all know the issues with timing from the toe touch, but because of the size of step after his toe touch, he often times can lunge instead of stepping. That's an issue against quality off-speed pitches. It works for him now because it gets some more out of his legs for power at times, but more often he ends up out of balance.

 

That's the bad news. The good news is that he's improved his pitch recognition and some other things at the plate to reduce his bad swings and improve his hitting ability. That's why he's shot up draft boards as he projects to hit for a much better average with above average power.

 

If things just don't work out, he's a prospect on the mound as well due to a low 90's fastball and a slider that peaks your interest.

 

Floor

As with any other HS prospect, it's pretty low. He's got the power and he has the athleticism, but he still may not hit. Scouts feel better than they did about his ability to hit in pro ball, but he'll still strikeout on a good breaking ball. That leaves his floor as a corner outfielder that hits his fair share of bombs but just doesn't create enough contact to ever make it out of the minors. Think of a guy like Colin DeLome

 

Ceiling

The better you feel about his ability to stay in center, the better you see his ceiling. He's signed on at University of Texas to be a CF and plays it now, but they aren't professional level. He'll swipe his share of bags, and he'll play solid defense, mostly because of a strong and accurate arm. His ceiling is probably of that of a .280 hitter with around 25-30 home runs.

 

 

http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2012/5/31/305...of-carrol-hs-tx

 

 

 

As far as the ceiling thing, 25-30 is pretty conservative. It's pretty easy to have your opinion changed...coming into this season, would never have though Viciedo would approach 30 homers. Most would have predicted 20-25 with solid RBI production (at least for this season) and been quite happy with that.

 

So we're seeing 25-30, 30-35, 35+ HR totals being thrown out, lots of different numbers but they don't mean a heckuva lot right now.

 

 

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http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_...54&c_id=mlb

 

 

With Buxton, Hawkins and DJ Davis, those three guys are going to be compared over and over again throughout their progressions in the minors.

 

Praying he ends up more like Kemp and less than the Padres' Donovan Tate who has fallen all the way to the #22 prospect in their system in 3 short years.

 

Still, all things considered, you prefer to go with the guy (if you have to choose between speed and power) who has the ability to put the ball in the seats at USCF.

 

Plus, we already have DeAza, Mitchell and Walker for the near future in terms of leadoff hitting possibilities.

 

 

 

And it's hard not to see that video and think of Don Cooper's reaction, haha.

 

Imagine having two outfield arms like that in Viciedo and Hawkins, with DeAza or possibly Mitchell in between them.

 

Exciting.

 

More exciting for a fan than yet another college pitcher, although surely most would have been excited had Appel fallen 4 more picks.

 

 

Edited by caulfield12
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QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 08:27 PM)
I hope he turns out good, obviously.

 

But he has one of those "bust" names...."ah, remember that year we took Courtney Hawkins instead of Giolito?"

 

Or "Remember when we took Hawkins over Giolito who blew his arm out?"

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BLUF: Raw athlete with big-time power potential and a right field profile.

 

The Player: Courtney Hawkins (OF/RHP, Carroll HS) – One of the more improved high school players in this year’s draft class. He has improved steadily over the last two years. Through 29 games this spring, Hawkins was hitting .452/.589/.952 with ten home runs and 16 stolen bases. He is also an accomplished pitcher, posting a 0.83 ERA in eight games with 44 strikeouts in just 25.1 innings. Hawkins is committed to the University of Texas.

 

Basis of Report: Industry Contacts

 

Scouting Report

 

Body (6-3, 210): Plus athlete. Physically mature kid. MLB body right now. Plus-plus strength. Explosive, fast-twitch strength and athleticism. Thick body with broad shoulders and chiseled features. Should maintain athleticism as he finishes maturing. Plus-plus pro body.

 

Hit: Extremely raw hitter overall. Has exceptional strength in hands/wrists and can drive the ball to all fields. Lots of moving parts in setup and trigger. Head movement can take him off the ball and results in plenty of swing and miss, particularly against quality secondary pitches. Free-swinging approach. Doesn’t look for pitches he can drive. Handles big-time velocity very well. Can make contact in any part of the zone on fastballs. May never be more than a below-average hitter because of moving parts and approach. Grade – 20/40

 

Power: Big, powerful swing. Can drive the ball out of any park. Tons of present pull-side power. Has strength to go out the other way but raw hitting ability isn’t there for it to play in games. Has 25+ home run potential given raw strength and plus-plus bat speed. Doesn’t need a ton of loft in swing to drive the ball out. Can get out front and struggles to drive secondary pitches. Needs to temper approach and make more consistent contact for raw power to play long term.

 

Grade (raw power) – 30/60

Arm: Has reached 90-92 mph off the mound in short bursts. Arm strength plays well in the outfield. True plus arm that can profile in right field. A quick release and solid accuracy help his arm play up. Grade – 60/60

 

Fielding: Has athleticism and raw tools to be a plus defender. Runs well, takes solid routes but is often late in his initial read off the bat. Scouts are split on ability to stick in CF as opposed to move to RF. Profiles as classic power, defense and arm strength right fielder. Grade – 40/60

 

Speed: Runs above-average once underway. Will flash plus times from home to first when he gets out of the box, but big swing typically slows him down to an average in-game level. May lose a tick as he completes physical maturation. Projects as fringe-average to average runner long term. Grade – 50/50

 

Summation: Extremely raw all around. Has plenty of power projection but has to hit for it to matter. Quieter pre-pitch mechanics will help hitting ability and could help make him more of a .250-.260 hitter long term. Unlikely to ever work counts consistently. Aggressive mentality and preference for big power will always hamper his raw hitting. Power could make up lack of secondary offensive skills if he can make enough contact. Power needs to play to profile in RF. Unlikely to have defensive ability for CF, putting more pressure on the bat.

 

Relative Risk: High. Sort of a boom or bust type that could be a power hitting corner outfielder or be stuck in no-man’s land with a ton of swing and miss.

 

Draft Projection: Potential to go as high as the middle of the first round. Athleticism, physicality and power potential make him intriguing and unusual for a high school player.

 

 

http://baseballprospectnation.com/2012/05/...ney-hawkins-of/

 

 

Very strange his power's (his biggest asset) 30/60 and speed is a 50?

 

Well, yet another detailed take on him.

 

Jeff Manto can fix him, lol.

 

 

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Lets hope our Texas scout Keith Staab has another hit like he did when he recommended Danks to KW at the time of the trade and not his recommendations of Broadway and McCullough (also recommended Boone Logan) when the sox were drafting safe at the time.

 

I like the pick.

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QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 08:27 PM)
I hope he turns out good, obviously.

 

But he has one of those "bust" names...."ah, remember that year we took Courtney Hawkins instead of Giolito?"

 

 

Well, there's always an NBA career for him if he doesn't make it in baseball with that famous name.

 

Or a career as the next White Sox closer.

 

 

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QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 08:34 PM)
Well, there's always an NBA career for him if he doesn't make it in baseball with that famous name.

 

Or a career as the next White Sox closer.

that's what i love about this pick. he doesn't pan out as a hitter, make him a great reliever. at least you'd be getting something out of him.

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Most of the pitching stuff claims that he "touches" 90. He's not a professional pitcher and if it came to that, he'd be too old to make the turnaround quick enough. He just needs work on his approach at this point.

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QUOTE (Jake @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 08:46 PM)
Most of the pitching stuff claims that he "touches" 90. He's not a professional pitcher and if it came to that, he'd be too old to make the turnaround quick enough. He just needs work on his approach at this point.

really?

 

Sergio Santos says hi.

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