tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778433057761571364.post8489008134508815326..comments2023-10-30T04:49:38.290-04:00Comments on Mr Bill's Baseball Blog: Revisiting the Red Sox' last great, MLB ready hitting prospectMr. Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676914320866059234noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778433057761571364.post-54793891951484127872013-12-21T21:52:03.011-05:002013-12-21T21:52:03.011-05:00I wasn't trying to compare Bogaerts and Marte,...I wasn't trying to compare Bogaerts and Marte, really, but rather revisit the Marte story. I think it is unusual for such a highly regarded prospect on the cusp of the majors totally fall flat (Jesus Montero and Justin Smoak are a couple of names that come to mind), but found it interesting that one of the last was briefly in the Red Sox system.Mr. Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16676914320866059234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778433057761571364.post-16054978398629765942013-12-19T13:58:41.380-05:002013-12-19T13:58:41.380-05:00I suppose that is always the risk with prospects, ...I suppose that is always the risk with prospects, especially those that are valuable for being young for their level. I would have to guess that such prospects have a very high ceiling (see Harper, Trout, and Machado for recent examples) but also a very low floor, like Andy Marte. The one thing that gives me hope about Bogaerts is his ability to adjust. Andy Marte never had to make serious adjustments to his game until the big leagues, where he fell pretty flat. Interestingly, looking at Marte's numbers, they're not that different from his best AAA season with the Indians in 2009 so I'm not sure he's made any adjustments.<br /><br />With Bogaerts, on the other hand, he has a few things going for him. First of all, he wasn't traded twice. It's never a good sign when a top prospect is traded that frequently, so you'd have to assume the Red Sox and Braves saw something they didn't like. Second, Bogaerts has had to make some pretty major adjustments. In the low minors he walked a fair amount (8-10%), but on the jump to AA he had one walk in 97 PA. The following year he focused on being more selective, ad his walk rate jumped back up to 13.7% and has remained in the neighborhood of 10% at AAA and the majors. I suppose the other difference is the success at the big league level, which Marte never had.<br /><br />I'm mainly just trying to come up with ways/reasons how this time it's different, but hopefully it makes sense.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12354204014326211323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778433057761571364.post-70171660785833746022013-12-18T08:55:50.931-05:002013-12-18T08:55:50.931-05:00Great read, thanksGreat read, thanksTaylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01026034710935646258noreply@blogger.com