July 9, 201511 yr "My favorite comp is probably Steven Moya of the Tigers" Mine would be Jack Cust ex-Oakland A'S.Again, Cust drew a ton of walks. "3 true outcomes". Walker's problem is that he is trending up in the worst of those outcomes (K's), and he's been very low in another (BB's). Moya is actually a great comp. Generally considered a fringe prospect himself, he's a lefty batter (platoon future?), a year ahead of Walker at the same age (Moya dominated AA last year), and his AA K rate was still significantly lower than Walker's current rate. Probably would get more attention in the a different system, although that attention might be brief if his AA success doesn't translate to higher levels (as Moya's hasn't yet).
July 9, 201511 yr The guy is a good athlete, and while his approach doesn't fall into norms for success, I wouldn't bet against him. I will accept your bet in his favor, message me so that we can work out the details. And no disrespect to Walker - I'm sure he's a great guy and hopefully his post-playing career is successful - but he's really no different than the countless other minor leaguers that will never establish themselves at the MLB level. For example, take Walker's teammate Heiker Meneses... his odds of a real MLB career are what, 1 in 100,000? At best? That's just the reality. The same career realities exist for all of us. They can only do their best.
July 9, 201511 yr Author he's really no different than the countless other minor leaguers that will never establish themselves at the MLB level. Except HE drove in 71 runs in 78 games, and THEY DIDN'T!!!!
July 9, 201511 yr Author What ... is this a kid from "Saved by the Bell"? What is with the three names? I didn't know that John Quincy Adams, John Foster Dulles, Joe Don Looney, John David Crow, John Cougar Mellencamp and Sugar Ray Robinson/Leonard/Whatever were on "Saved by the Bell"
July 9, 201511 yr Again, Cust drew a ton of walks.A ton of walks is still an understatement. Cust's MiLB isoD was an absurd .145. And all Cust turned into was a decent, though unspectacular, DH for four seasons. Walker's MiLB isoD is .053. Carlos Gomez had a MiLB isoD of .062. So yeah.
July 9, 201511 yr Gomez had a 20% K rate in AA at age 20, which isn't bad. He didn't walk of course, which has carried through to his sub-par MLB plate discipline. But I think some of his early struggles had to do with his mishandling by the Mets.
July 9, 201511 yr Someone recently posted that they wanted to know how Walker performed against the better minor league pitchers. I was willing to research that request. Based on the MLBFarm statistical information I found the following: The below statistics include all of the minor league pitchers, Walker has faced, who fall within the: Baseball America Top 100 - Keith Law Top 100 - and the Top 10 prospects list from every MLB franchise. 97 Plate Appearances88 ABs25 Hits.284 Batting Average.357 OBP4 Doubles3 Triples8 HRs10% K Rate28% SO Rate25 / 9 SO / BB15 XBH59 Total Bases (in less than 100 plate appearances) Small sample size, but ................
July 10, 201511 yr I didn't know that John Quincy Adams, John Foster Dulles, Joe Don Looney, John David Crow, John Cougar Mellencamp and Sugar Ray Robinson/Leonard/Whatever were on "Saved by the Bell" John Quincy Adams used three names to distinguish himself from his father, John Adams. John Foster Dulles used the maternal middle name because that is what WASPs did back then. John Cougar Mellencamp is just John Mellencamp. "Cougar" was a name invented by his management company. How many baseball players use three names?
July 10, 201511 yr How many baseball players use three names? Ted F'in Williams? According to my friends in Boston, Bob Freaking Stanley too.
July 10, 201511 yr Author John Quincy Adams used three names to distinguish himself from his father, John Adams. John Foster Dulles used the maternal middle name because that is what WASPs did back then. John Cougar Mellencamp is just John Mellencamp. "Cougar" was a name invented by his management company. How many baseball players use three names? Grover Cleveland AlexanderPee Wee ReeseAlbert Goodwill SpaldingKirrrrrr Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Puckett ( as called by Bob Casey)
July 10, 201511 yr Pee Wee Reese Pee Wee Reese actually has four names, but he went by Pee Wee as a nickname. Wee is definitely not his middle name. On a similar note, Bud Grant's given name is not Bud, but I guess he did not want to be called Harry Peter Grant as a professional.
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