Monday, December 29, 2014

DrB's 2015 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #6 Mikey Edie

Mikey Edie, OF.  DOB:  7/3/1997.  5'11", 175 lbs.  B-R, T-R.

2014 DSL:  .298/.424/383, 2 HR, 14 SB, 8 CS, 19 HBP(ouch!), 9.5 BB%, 12.9 K%, 232 PA.

I actually thought long and hard about ranking Edie #1 on this list.  That's how excited I am to have him in the Giants organization.  Maybe it's just because I have dreamed for so long of seeing a legitimate 5 tool prospect come up through the system and star for the Giants.  I think you have to go all the way back to Chili Davis for that, If my memory is correct.  Back in the 60's and early 70's, in the George Genovese days, the Giants used to churn kids like this out at a rate that seemed like 1 or 2 per season.  So, why else am I so darned high on Mikey Edie?

Unlike most international signees, Edie comes with a fairly extensive baseball resume in international competition.  He played in the Little League World Series for Venezuela and later starred in the 15U international tournament.  Although BA did not rank him in the top 30 international prospects of 2013, the year he signed, another scouting website, Baseball Instinct, ranked him #9 and had this to say in their profile:

"I always give the edge to players who succeed in international competition….The ability to excel on that stage as a young kid is something worth paying attention to if it is accomplished with tools…..Mikey Edie is a possible 5-tool player who absolutely mashed at the 15-and-unders.  He has a good chance of sticking in CF and could become a 20-20 player.  His bat speed is excellent.  Edie has a very level swing that he moves through the zone quickly, creating above-average line drive power."

Edie trained at the Ozzie Guillen Academy.  There is video available of him taking batting practice there.  There are pictures posted of him at instructional league in Arizona this fall, so we should see him in Arizona this summer where he won't turn 18 yo until the summer short season is underway.  Putting his age, pre-signing resume, scouting report and DSL performance together, I think this kid is the real deal and could be a true 5-tool athlete who can actually play the game and actually has the most important tool, the hit tool.

PS:  He does have a Cody Ross leg kick in the Ozzie Guillen video that probably needs to be toned down a bit.

32 comments:

  1. Very aggressive, but why the heck not? Let's put him on the map :-)

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    1. Sickels gave him a High Ceiling Alert, so I think he's already on the map.

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    2. With a blinking red LED. How much did he sign for anyways?

      Seems like Gigantes may have gotten a steal. IIRC, Taveras (RIP) and Polanco were IFA bargains.

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    3. The might have another steal with Carbonell?

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  2. Youngest player in the system. While I view some of the age/level as hype, I do think its worth considering. Shiny youth is definitely not a flaw. Excited to see what he does next, and he has huge zoom potential. Your memory is correct, Chili Davis is the last OF produced to have a big time career.

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  3. It's gonna be interesting to see how Edie and Cabrera develop.

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  4. Would love to see Edie make it stateside and split time in the AZL and S/K. We have plenty of time with this kid to take it slow and build up his skills. Most of us have completely pulled the plug on Rafael Rodriguez so Mikey will be another youngster to watch. I have a lot of hope in Cabrera as well but his track has been slowed to that crazy injury. He might have to DH for a while. I love how our DSL team is pumping out a couple of prospects people are eager to watch. They also have a couple infielders and pitchers that are less known but might be head turners as well. Very excited for this new wave of talent.

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  5. If one likes Mikey Edie, how about Jean Angomas? I know he's a couple years older, but I find these two extremely similar. Yeah, well, except the HBP part. lol. I recognize some of the reasons why Mikey Edie gets more credit. But look at their 2014 production. It seems like nobody is giving credit to Angomas? Why not? I'll warn, some of these counting stats duplicate, or overlap. I know, it's a huge flaw.

    Low Leverage: 1st inning, bases empty, or no outs.
    Angomas: _ .316/.405/.358/.763, .348 wOBA. 6/1 SB/CS, 67 TB in 215 PA.
    Mikey Edie: .271/.342/.354/.696, .315 wOBA, 7/8 SB/CS, 85 TB in 266 PA.

    High Leverage: extra innings, runner(s) on base, two outs, or late & close.
    Angomas: _ .314/.373/.444/.817, .316 wOBA, 10/6 SB. 99 TB in 244 PA.
    Mikey Edie: .319/.396/.383/.779, .357 wOBA, 16/9 SB. 54 TB in 159 PA.

    Overall 2014 MiLB DSL season:
    Angomas: _ .298/.374/.394/.768, .344 wOBA, 8/5 SB. 37 R/33 RBI, 25 BB/24 SO, 86 TB in 246 PA.
    Mikey Edie: .298/.424/.383/.807, .372 wOBA, 14/8 SB. 54 R/24 RBI, 22 BB/30 SO, 72 TB in 232 PA.

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    1. Love your ability to dig deep. Keep on keepin' on carmot.

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    2. Richard Rodriguez and Miguel Gomez put up gawdy numbers but they are both 21. Probably won't even get a chance. However, Robinson Medrano is only 18 and he put up numbers similar to Angomas except with a lower AVG. Would be nice to see either one to get a chance in AZL.

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    3. Roger, you bring up a good point with each of these players. I don't know how much value one should put into Rodriguez or Gomez. The thing, specifically, that jumps out at me about Angomas is his exceptional situational hitting. Overall, he's been consistent over two seasons, while also improving. I see many mixed things from Medrano, so my interest in him is much, much lower. Of course, YMMV. I hope we get to see both Edie and Angomas stateside for 2015. Cheers.

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    4. Rodriguez had a monster year. .352 AVG, .438 OBP and 40BB v 25K!!! I am sure if he was 19 he would be going to Arizona. I have no idea what is next for this guy.

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    5. I didn't look at Medrano's situational stats but his overall numbers are very close to Angomas except with lower average and high K rate. Still good numbers though. Looks like he has a little more power than Angomas.

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    6. I think the couple of years difference you mention is the key here. Anyone older than 18 in the DSL is suspect. Doesn't mean they won't make it, but the probability goes way down. I like Medrano a bit better than Angomas due to size/power potential.

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  6. Edie could be next great thing or not. Double A is the proving ground for that answer. I feel that since there is a lack of hitting prospects that any prospect that shows any flashes of the hit tool we automatically bump them higher than where they should be. I felt the same about Luis Ysla even though he was a pitcher. Ysla was a pleasant surprise because it's hard to get reports on those guys when they are away from states. Now the hype on Ysla has gone down a little. I just want to see more of Edie before I'm on the hype train. I was high on Jesus Galindo and I don't know what happened to him? He might not of had the power of Edie or the numbers at a younger age. I just felt Galindo was the next homegrown guy. So, I just want to see how Edie does at higher levels. I'm intrigued.

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    1. Man, am I with you on Galindo. I keep trying to hold hope he can break out, it would be so great. I compiled these stats for eight potential #1 or #2 hitters, using 2014 MiLB stats only. In order, they ranked: Panik, Duffy, Edie, Angomas, Miller, Brown, Galindo, and Tomlinson.

      IMO, the rough stat for Galindo is behind in the count. It's not proving he can handle the tougher situations. Not as bad as Miller, though.
      Panik: _ .347/.347/.465/.812, .353 wOBA
      Duffy: __ .255/.255/.358/.613, .267 wOBA
      Galindo: .200/.200/.259/.459, .200 wOBA
      Miller: _ .140/.140/.211/.351, .153 wOBA

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    2. Galindo took 2 years to get through the DSL and his numbers were not nearly as good as Edie's.

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    3. And Galindo keeps missing chunks of seasons. And I don't think anyone every gave him a good score in the power tool.

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  7. Yeah unless he flat out dominated the dsl I can't see him higher than 10, tools and all.
    So much can happen with up to six levels between him and the bigs.
    Look at Chuckie Jones, with his tools and sleeper start in rookie ball, yet to pass SJ.
    Definitely someone to get excited about, but it could take a while.

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    1. Oh come on! Chuckie Jones came from a tiny HS in Missouri. He couldn't afford to play on travel teams or go to showcases. Yes, he is athletic but he was very raw and a longterm project from the get-go. Edie, at age 16 had way more baseball experience than Chuckie did coming out of HS.

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  8. I like that, according to Dr B, the Giants have 9 IFAs in their top 30 prospects. That shows a level of commitment to the scouting department.

    However, just a few years ago (going by memory here), we had Sosa, Villalona, Adrianza, Peguero, Escobar, Sanchez, RafRod and others in the top 10 or 15 with really only Sanchez doing anything so far. Having them in the spotlight is one thing. Actually getting something out of them is something different entirely.

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    1. I think the difference between all those names and a guy like Edie is that the other guys had tools, but very raw skills. Edie has tools but also has already developed some skills.

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    2. In fairness, some of them did do something (by being used as trade chips).

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    3. And we had a Kung Fu Panda...he worked out pretty good for us...
      :)

      NWGiantsFan
      DtF!!!

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  9. DrB, do you think it would be a good idea to put a letter grade instead of a number. Seems people criticize the numbering when you are just trying to sort the prospects as close as you can. The difference between #6 and #1 might not really mean anything. Giving prospects such as Edie and Crick a B+ might have less off topic conversations on what order they should be. Not sure what you think about it.

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    1. doc don't do grades.

      To make things complicated, I'd add a volatility index. Let's say you got a 17 year old with oodles of tools and you label him a B prospect. Well, he's also got a high volatility index of 9 (out of 10). Take a guy like Clayton Blackburn who is a B prospect and might have a VI of 2. Something like that.

      I hope this doesn't piss off the doc.

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    2. That is kind of what Sickels does with the Borderline grade. It just pointless to see posts about whether a prospect should be in top 10 or not. Its counterproductive. I saw a post about since Edie is in the DSL he hasn't done anything yet. That is true but this list should be about potential and I think that is what DrB is trying to show. Edie has the potential to be a great player with the tools he possess at his early age. Whether he ever does anything is irrelevant. This list is about introducing everybody to what the Giants farm system has to offer and to spark conversations about certain players. At least that is my take on it. I could be wrong.

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    3. I already addressed the grades issue. I only do a ranking to facilitate interest and provide a platform for rolling out the profiles in an order that can be anticipated. To each his own, but I don't do grades. Just my opinion, but almost nothing is more pathetic and ridiculous than John Sickels agonizing over a B-vs C+. I mean, there is no way of anyone knowing the value of prospect with enough precision to split hairs like that!

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    4. After Gary Brown's huge season in San Jose I think everyone was hoping he would be patrolling CF someday. But then he took a nose dive. I still think he could be a fourth or fifth outfielder someday but probably not for the Giants. He has the speed and defensive prowess. Most people would have ranked him in their top 5 at that time.

      I was never too excited on Chris Stratton. I usually like to see a sample in pro ball before I rank anyone and he didn't do that well for a college draftee.

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    5. SEC pitcher of the year sure sounded good. I wonder how significant the effect of the line drive off the dome was. One pick after Michael Wacha out of Texas A&M!

      As for Gary, I'm sure there were detractors that did not like his swing and questioned his ability to hit at higher levels.

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  10. Roger, don't respond to posters like that. Doc will fix it.
    Otherwise great info shared here.
    I keep marvelling at the knowledge of other posters.
    Damn it is good.

    Richard in Winnipeg

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    1. I am a little jealous actually. I wish I had the time to look on other team's boards ;-)

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