The Astros will be expanding the roster from 25 to 40 come sept. 1st, and I, for one, will be looking forward to seeing some of the young guys get a shot; hopefully they do well. I found this article on Charlton Jimerson, who will be one of the call-ups the Astros will make. Compiled By John Manuel August 25, 2004 Few prospects in the minors have the tools and the ceiling to match Round Rock outfielder Charlton Jimerson. Unfortunately for Jimerson, he's still considered a player long on tools and short on performance. Jimerson burst on the scene at the 2001 College World Series as a senior outfielder with Miami. He helped lead the Hurricanes to the national championship with an inspiring and inspired performance, leading off two games in Omaha with homers, scaling the wall to rob two home runs and hitting .375-4-13 with 12 steals in the postseason overall. The Astros drafted him in the fifth round that year, and Jimerson has moved one level at a time, struggling to make consistent contact while flashing absurd tools. Jimerson has the power-speed package scouts crave, but he's below-average in the most important tool of them all--the hit tool. In his first year at Double-A Round Rock, he's sabotaging a strong first half with a dismal finish. Jimerson had hit just .182 since the start of July, with 67 of his 153 strikeouts coming in his last 170 at-bats. He was hitting .232-16-47 in 456 at-bats overall with 38 stolen bases in 44 attempts. "He's the best baserunner in the league, and he's extremely fast, but he doesn't get on base enough to use it," one Texas League manager said. "He's the best defensive outfielder in the league, too, but that might be all he does in the big leagues, because he just doesn't hit enough." Jimerson has the bat speed to hit, but he has never shown good plate discipline. Coming into the season, Jimerson had drawn just 79 walks while striking out 356 times in 972 minor league at-bats. This season's ratio continued the trend, as he had 29 walks (leading to a .285 on-base percentage) to go with all those K's. It's not unprecedented for a player to struggle in the minors like Jimerson has. Though he played for Miami for four seasons, he went there on an academic scholarship and was a part-time player for much of his career, only earning a consistent starting spot in the second half of his senior season. He's still raw at age 24, and one pro scout for a National League organization compared him to Twins center fielder Torii Hunter, who needed six seasons in the minors and two more bouncing between Minnesota and Triple-A before he established himself in the majors. One major difference is Jimerson's age. Hunter, who was drafted out of high school in 1992, turned 24 in 1999. It was the middle of his first full season in the majors, when he hit .255/.309/.380 with nine home runs. He established himself as a big league star in 2001, at age 26, when he won a Gold Glove in center field and hit .261/.306/.479 with 27 homers and 92 RBIs. The other difference is Jimerson's swing, which needs help. "I would compare him with Torii, but the difference is all those tools won't play if he doesn't make contact," the scout said. "The difference is, Jimerson gets long to the ball. He has a quick bat, but his swing is long because he bars his arm in his swing. "Pitchers who see that know to just bust him inside every time. He's so pull conscious. He's so strong that he could hit for power to center and right-center. He doesn't need to try to jerk the ball. But he does. If he just tried to hit the ball up the middle, he could be such an exciting player." The scout's refrain was a common one. Scouts of other organizations root for Jimerson, who has unquestioned makeup and boundless enthusiasm for the game. Of course, the Astros want him to make it, too. But those traits, and all those tools, won't be on display in the major leagues if Jimerson doesn't learn to hit. ...Also here's another bit of Astros' prospect info: Mitch Einertson, of, Astros (Rookie-level Greeneville) Houston's fifth-round pick this June tied the Appy League home run mark of 24 with five games to go, but failed to go deep again as the Appy League season came to an end. It's not as if opposing pitchers shut him down in the final quintet of games — he smacked three doubles and scored eight runs in the span, finishing up his debut at .308-24-67.
Billy Beane would likely, and rightly so, tell us all to stop wasting our time with hope on Jimerson...plate discipline is not entirely a learned trait. You either got it or you don't.
I was checking out that Greenville team, and it looks like Troy Patton has had a very good start to his pitching career. He's the left hander out of high school that the Astros actually broke the bank for (uncommon for Drayton's picks... normally he gets the ones who will sign cheap)... and he's got damn good stuff (he pitched for Tomball). Einertson is like a John Cangelosi clone... 5'9 with pop in his bat.
But Einertson is doing it in epic proportions. We're talking about a kid fresh out of high school on the verge of setting the Rookie League record for home runs, but with a pretty big strikeout rate (69 Ks in 62 games, 220ish ABs). Cangy had a career high of 4 HR, and nowhere near the K rate. I would hope Einertson has a MUCH higher ceiling than Cangelosi- we'll see if he reaches it. The fact he's doing it out of HS is tantalizing. Usually guys with numbers that gawdy are older than the rest of the league. He's got more HR than the rest of the team! With Einertson and Patton, this past draft has some very high ceiling guys. Hopefully it will turn out to be one worth remembering.
I was more or less just trying to point out how short Einerston was... 5'9... man, how is he hitting all these HR's?!? I only said Cangy because he's the first guy I think of whenever somebody mentions short baseball players. Are there any MLB players this short who went on to become big power hitters? Bagwell is not a tall guy, but he's not diminutive by any means.
When you talk diminutive sluggers, Jimmy Wynn should top the list. 5'9" and a really solid slugger, underappreciated because the Dome was cavernous and muted his home run numbers quite a bit.
Oh yea... he's played... in fact he's started 6 games, and has a 1.90 ERA. Drayton broke the bank for him a couple of months ago (he got 1st-2nd round money for a 9th round pick... he only lasted that long because teams didn't think they could sign him, after he slipped past the 2nd round). I also believe Lance Berkman's dad is his agent (that probably helped convince the Astros even more). His last game, he had 9 K's in 5 innings. They must have him on a strict pitch count (he is, after all, a teenager) cause he never goes more than 4 or 5 innings. I also believe he's starting today in game 2 of their playoff series. He should look good next year in AA-Corpus Christi. (here's the article on him signing from the chron last month: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2703366 )
Great, thanks for the info Nick. As far as the pitch counts go, usually it varies, but in class A ball and rookie leagues alot of teams are strict when it comes to pitch counts and have their pitchers on a count of around 75 or so.
Why do you think Jimerson will be called up? I doubt the Astros will call up anyone from RR until their playoffs are over, if they call up anyone at all. I suspect we'll see Redding, Duckworth, Burke, Coolbaugh and perhaps a catcher for emergencies.
I'm really excited about Taveras and Burke. I've been waiting for Burke since he was touted as another Biggio. His steady progression has been fun to watch over the last 3 years, and I can't wait to see what he can do there next year taking over for Kent. I expect a similar impact to what Everett brought to SS last year: consistent excellence defensively at a premium position with good contact and great speed at the top of the order. As for Taveras, he kind of burst out of nowhere this year, but if Beltran does leave, he is a nice consolation prize in CF. Amazing speed and range in center with decent power and a .280 average next year would be just fine with me. If Beltran stays, his presence as a backup for Biggio and Berkman if LF/CF could be the perfect internship for Willy towards a starting spot in 2006. Not to mention the dynamic speed we could have at the top of the order with Burke, Taveras and (hopefully) Beltran. Add in the impending arrival of Jimerson, and we have four legitimate 40 steal-guys on the team. That is the type of dynamic speed that I will find refreshing after years of our current style. Combined with the power spread throughout: Berkman - 30HR Beltran - 40HR Bagwell - 25HR Biggio/Taveras - 30HR Ensberg/Lamb - 20HR Look at the speed and power in this lineup: 2B Burke/Vizcaino/Biggio - potentially 90 RS and 40 SB with 400-450 ABs LF Taveras/Biggio - 30 SB and amazing range in LF/CF complement the power and smarts of the veteran CF Beltran/Taveras - MVP in Center with an excellent backup RF Berkman/Lane - Anchor of the lineup gets another year in RF before replacing Bagwell 1B Bagwell/Lamb/Berkman - Old warrior passes torch with class 3B Lamb/Ensberg - Great platoon at third and versatility with Lamb SS Everett/Vizcaino/Burke - Another speedster with excellent defense C Chavez/Ausmus/Lamb - Defensive specialists holding down the fort for Gimenez Our team suddenly transforms from a slow, slugging team to a dynamic, defensive squad. Beltran, Everett and Ausmus are proven Gold-glove quality... Burke and Taveras could transform 2B and LF from weaknesses to strengths overnight... The only truely inadequate positions would be 1B and RF.
-If you're expecting power from Taveras, his history says you're going to be disappointed. -See above: For Biggio and Taveras to combine for 30 HR, it'll be about 28 for Biggio. -Lamb's the 3rd catcher? -Ausmus was Gold-glove quality....he's no longer throwing out runners at near the pace, and he's lost a little as far as his play behind the plate. -And by inadequate 1B and RF (with Berkman), you are talking strictly defensively, right?
About the 30 from left, it looked like I meant only for those two players (Biggio and Taveras), but I meant from the position as a whole. If Biggio chips in his usual 20, Taveras manages an Ausmus-like 5, then I would expect another five or so from a guy like Lane to pick up as an occasional part-timer. Total of 30 from left, buy not necessarily just from Willy and Craig. About Lamb, he is definitely the emergency catcher, probably in front of Biggio, as he came out of high school as a catcher. The Rangers used to play him there in spring training, and I remember Jimy talking about the versatility (3B, 1B, C, OF) he brings to the club. About Ausmus (and Chavez), that was merely my nice way of saying they contribute little-to-nothing at the plate. I know Brad is on his way out, but with Chavez starting next year, I doubt the Stros will spend $$$ on anyone who could be considered an upgrade over Brad....Please hurry Gimenez. And about RF and 1B, you are right...I meant defense only. Lance is below-average in RF, and Bagwell is only slightly better at first nowadays. In one/two years, when Lance replaces Jeff, we will upgrade tremendously at both positions.
