#9 Brandon Crawford, SS. BD: 1/2/1987. 6'2", 210 lbs. B-L, T-R.
AA: .241/.337/.375, 7 HR, 4 SB in 291 AB's. A+: .167/.250/.222.
Just for a review, Brandon Crawford was, once upon a time, projected as a first round draft pick after a great sophomore season at UCLA. A less than stellar Cape Cod League performance the following summer and a disappointing junior season dropped his stock. The Giants scooped him up in the 4'th round of the 2008 draft. He tore up the Cal League in the first half of 2009 earning a quick promotion to AA, but has struggled since. He lost the last 6 weeks of his AA season to a broken hand. He came back for the last week of the Cal League season a bit rusty, but heated up in the playoffs. I saw him hit a grand slam HR in Rancho Cucamonga during the championship series. Adrianza was playing a great defensive shortstop for SJ, so Crawford played mostly 3B.
Crawford has a bit of a stocky build for a shortstop, but moves around the field really well and has a nice arm. I still remember an off-balance throw he made from down in the LF bullpen to almost nail a runner coming home in a game I saw up in High Desert in 2009. He also has potential to be a hitter with above average power for the SS position. The big question has been his inconsistency at the plate which didn't get answered last season. I expect him to be the starting SS at Fresno with a chance to move up to SF if Tejada were to get injured or have to move to 3B.
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I agree. I think we will see him if Tejada was to get hurt, at least on a backup basis. I am not too worried about the offensive production because there are only a few National league shortstops that can hit really well. Vizquel wasn't the best hitter a few years ago but his defense was great and his baserunning skills were above average. Hopefully he has a great spring and picks up in Fresno where he left off in SJ.
ReplyDeleteAA showed that he has the plate discipline (11.8% BB-rate) and more than adequate power (.134 ISO) for a SS, but I think he has major contact issues (.241 BA & 26.4% K-rate). If he can keep his BA over .250 and cut the K-rate to around 20%, he's be a ML SS for a long time.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that Crawford was about the same age as the pitchers in AA, so he had at best a slight disadvantage at the plate in experience. And even then, he did not hit average for the league in OPS. His strength there was actually his OBP, which was very slightly above average, as his SLG was much lower.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think he will do better than Bocock did in the majors, with his power, he will keep pitchers more honest. Plus, his power will give him chance to stick in majors at minimum as defensive replacement and PH when power needed.
I just don't see Tejada moving to 1B with the batting lines he has had recently. To do that, he would have to push off Huff or Belt or Burrell or Ross (pushing off Huff to OF). I just don't see Tejada having one last hurrah as a hitter, as some do late in their careers.
OGC, I think DrB ment Tejada moving to 3B (not 1B) if Panda continues to struggle (especially defensively) and can not stay at 3B.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I meant 3B. Fixed.
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