#15 Nick Noonan, 2B. BD: 5/4/1989. 6'0, 180 lbs. B-L, T-R.
AA: .237/.280/.304.
Nick Noonan struggled at the plate in Richmond and battled hamstring problems most of the season. In the process, Charlie Culberson, who moved to 2B just this last season has likely moved ahead of him on the Giants 2B prospects depth chart. It's pretty tough to find any positives from the season for Nick. So, why am I still ranking him in the top 20? I still think he's more of a natural second baseman than Culberson and he is still young enough that repeating the level won't put him behind in development. One alarming trend is his BA from his first season as a pro:
2007 AZL .316.
2008 Low A .279.
2009 High A .259
2010 AA .237
I'm guessing the Giants jump Culberson to Fresno and ask Nick to repeat AA, but then I am so bad at guessing where the Giants assign their prospects that is a fairly safe bet to go 180 degrees opposite of what I think. 2011 is a critical year for him as he really needs to start showing the talent that made him the #32 overall pick in the 2008 draft and reverse the downward trend in is BA.
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Looking at Noonan's speed-related stats and BABIP, a major reason for his falling BA is his falling BABIP, and, I believe, the reason for the falling BABIP is his problems with his speed the past two seasons.
ReplyDeleteHe stole a lot of bases his first two seasons, but hardly any the past two, plus the noted hamstring problems in 2010. I would posit that he has had leg problems the past two seasons, which hurts his ability to reach 1B more often which drops his BABIP.
I would have to say that whatever is causing his drop in speed the past two seasons has to be gotten over before he can start showing off his prospect status again. Though he showed enough at the end of the 2009 season to give me hope that he was making good progress at development. Still, he was very young for the AA crowd and thus was clearly overmatched, hopefully in his second go-around he will make the adjustments that enable him to advance to AAA.
Yeah guessing where players go is hard when prospects have a sub-par year, but what you say makes sense at least; I know my success rate is nothing to shine a light on either.
I still have hopes for him based on his second half of 2009, but Culberson is clearly ahead of him, and there is still Burriss hanging around too.
The FO apparently likes Noonan, so he has that going for him. Seeing how favorites like Burriss moved through the system, he could very well get a shot at AAA.
ReplyDeleteBetween him, Culberson, Bond, and Burriss that is a glut of fringy 2nd basemen.
With Cavan in SJ and the SS spots occupied, it will be interesting to see how the PT works out.
Culberson and Noonan are good athletes, and even mediocre OF versatility (see Velez, E) would do well for their future.
Thanks for the comments, guys! Yes, I noticed the dramatic SB drop on Noonan after I finished the write up. If he's had leg problems 2 years running, that by itself is not a good sign.
ReplyDeletePlayers picked in the first and supplemental first rounds are going to be give every opportunity to succeed by the organization. Culberson was a supplemental round pick too and the organization took some heat for drafting him too high, so they probably are rooting for him to succeed just as much as Noonan.
Where is Noonan now? I go to all the Richmond games and cannot find where he ended up. Thanks!
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