6/8 Games

[Balta1701]

I'm not jumping the gun. He was pathetic for the first two months of the season. No way around it.

 

I'm just saying I won't believe in him until the K rate drops. I didn't say I don't think he can. I'm just not going to concern myself with the number of homers he hits or anything else until the K rate goes below 30. Even in the high 20s there are serious issues, but at least there's hope at that point.

I'll start worrying when his strikeout rate is over 30% in 3 years.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Just for some early comparison sake....here are the other position players the Sox were linked to or rumored to take at #13 overall last year....

 

OF Victor Roache - (A Ball) - 44 games, .228, 6 HR, 28 RBI, 47 K, .704 OPS

3B Richie Shaffer - (A+ Ball) - 54 games, .244, 4 HR, 25 RBI, 49 K, .643 OPS

 

And then Hawkins....

 

OF Courtney Hawkins - (A+ Ball) - 31 games, .229, 11 HR, 29 RBI, 56 K, .886 OPS

 

And both Roache and Shaffer are 21 and 22-years-old respectively. Hawkins is still only 19. Yeah, the strikeout rates are alarming, getting better, but still alarming, but he is also very young at the level he is at. He could repeat A+ ball for 2 more years and still be on time. He's got time to trim those K rates.

[caulfield12]

I'm not jumping the gun. He was pathetic for the first two months of the season. No way around it.

 

I'm just saying I won't believe in him until the K rate drops. I didn't say I don't think he can. I'm just not going to concern myself with the number of homers he hits or anything else until the K rate goes below 30. Even in the high 20s there are serious issues, but at least there's hope at that point.

 

 

It's really not even two months.

 

It's April and then less than 10 games in June.

 

 

[caulfield12]

Yeah I am with Balta on this. He's got loads of time and we have no idea what their plan is.

 

My hope is that he cuts down the strikeouts and turns into an Adam Jones-Magglio Ordonez (que the steroid jokes) hybrid that trots around the USC RF for several years.

 

 

Where did you get those two random/tangential comparisons?

 

Magglio Ordonez was a pure hitter, a line drive hitter...back when he was that age. He still had that funny shape in 1994 playing for the Hickory Crawdads, but he was a hitting machine.

 

 

Edited June 10, 2013 by caulfield12

[fathom]

Nelson Cruz is a better comp for Hawkins

[caulfield12]

Ordonez doesn't match up very well with Jones as far as stats/attributes but I meant it in a sense that Ordonez was a notch or two below a superstar and played RF for the Sox for 6-8 years. I find that to be an ideal scenario for Hawkins and the White Sox if all goes well.

 

Adam Jones has been noted as a comp for Hawkins by this site.

 

http://baseballdraftreport.com/tag/courtney-hawkins/

 

http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?sh...15&start=15

here is a thread where a respected poster lists Hawkins as similar to the prospect version of Jones.

 

 

Adam Jones is a gazelle in CF, a lot like Devon White from a previous generation of players.

 

Hawkins is big already, and probably going to get even bigger...and definitely profiles as a corner outfielder.

 

Hawkins is athletic and dynamic, but he's not going to ever steal 30-40 bags or be confused with a Gold Glover.

 

So Nelson Cruz with more athleticism/mobility/excitement/dynamism to his game. Cruz is a statue in RF these days.

Edited June 10, 2013 by caulfield12

[Balta1701]

In 2012, Hawkins stole 11 stolen bases in just 229 AB. Like, Jones he wasn't very efficient either.

No one anywhere in their right mind should be projecting guys' ability to run/steal bases in the big leagues based on their performance in Rookie/A-ball at age 18-19. These guys aren't drafted because they've practiced the ability to steal bases (and it is a skill set that can be learned as long as you can run). They're drafted because of their ability to hit and occasionally field. Talk to me about where he is in terms of stolen base technique in 3-4 years.

[Balta1701]

I think you're acting a little over dramatic here. We see several posts a day talking about Micah Johnson's stolen bases technique and projecting how it will carry into the MLB. I never projected any steals for Hawkins or anything even along the lines of that. All I said was he stole 11 bases in a short amount of time. Point being, he has some speed to work with. Caulfield claimed he wasn't going to steal 30-40 bases like Adam Jones and I simply pointed out that not only did Hawkins show some speed, but that Jones only averages 11 SBs a year in his full seasons.

All right, you win here a little...if a guy already has developed SB technique, that can certainly be projectable, so for a guy who is successfully stealing a ton of bags at a high clip, you might project he can keep that up. OTOH, he's also not facing the kind of practiced arms he would in the bigs, so the CS %age might go up.

 

But if a 19 year old has good speed and is 5/14 for stolen bases or something like that, I don't mind one bit. He's got 3-4 years to practice SB technique before he even gets to the bigs, and then years to learn while there as well.

[Jake]

I'm just looking for upward trajectory from Hawkins at this point. He's showing all kinds of talent and pop, so now I just want to see his numbers gradually improve in the peripherals. Then we start the process over again whenever he goes to AA