After a brief stint on the injured list, Lonnie White returned to action on Saturday, while Termarr Johnson hits a grand slam and the FCL Pirates' struggles continue.
Good try, but it is very difficult to explain that TJ has actually struggled at times this year. Based on comparative numbers, he is definitely elite. He played A ball half as an 18 year old and half as a 19 year old. In 330 PA he logged 10 doubles, a triple, 13 HR, and 44 RBI. What really stood out were his BB/K numbers. He walked 72 times for a 21.8% rate, and K'd 88 times for a 26.7% rate.
Promoted to A+ where he seemed to struggle, but in only 61 PA he has 4 HR, 10 RBI, 10 BB for a 16.4% rate, and 15 K for a 24.6% rate, with an .821 OPS. Is he getting better?
Every Prospect should struggle like that. I mentioned the talent in Bradenton (A, FCL), but just a few - Yordany de los Santos, 18, TJ and Shalin Polanco 19, Enmanuel Terrero and Lonnie White 20. And lots and lots of quality pitching!
I'm not seeing every AB from Johnson, but it seems like his swings are more under control now. I could be wrong, but the effort he put into his swing last year looked like he was trying to hit every pitch 600 feet. He fell multiple times, missed badly on breaking balls too. I even saw that earlier this year, but it seems like he's been calmer recently at the plate and he's seeing results
I agree with the take on 20 year old Lonnie White, Jr, but in his minimal time at A (125 PA), he has done a lot of damage offensively. His OPS is 918, with 7 doubles, a triple, 5 HR, 8/9 SB, and his BB/K is very respectable at 19 BB (15.2%), 35 K (28%).
Hope he can finish out the year healthy and look forward to joining GBO out of ST next year. There are so many young, excellent prospects at Bradenton (FCL & A), the Pirates have a very promising future.
White Jr. striking out 28% is actually way better than I thought he would do. With the time off from injury and being a multi sport athlete in high school, I was thinking he'd be K'ing in 35% or more in his first taste of full season. It's still early in his development but if his hit tool is average or hopefully above, he has the tools to be a star.
I agree, that number is honestly very encouraging/impressive to me. No reason to think that he can't continue to hit with authority while also lowering that rate even a few ticks more. In my mind, he might have some of the most untapped potential in the whole system, right there with chandler
Good try, but it is very difficult to explain that TJ has actually struggled at times this year. Based on comparative numbers, he is definitely elite. He played A ball half as an 18 year old and half as a 19 year old. In 330 PA he logged 10 doubles, a triple, 13 HR, and 44 RBI. What really stood out were his BB/K numbers. He walked 72 times for a 21.8% rate, and K'd 88 times for a 26.7% rate.
Promoted to A+ where he seemed to struggle, but in only 61 PA he has 4 HR, 10 RBI, 10 BB for a 16.4% rate, and 15 K for a 24.6% rate, with an .821 OPS. Is he getting better?
Every Prospect should struggle like that. I mentioned the talent in Bradenton (A, FCL), but just a few - Yordany de los Santos, 18, TJ and Shalin Polanco 19, Enmanuel Terrero and Lonnie White 20. And lots and lots of quality pitching!
I'm not seeing every AB from Johnson, but it seems like his swings are more under control now. I could be wrong, but the effort he put into his swing last year looked like he was trying to hit every pitch 600 feet. He fell multiple times, missed badly on breaking balls too. I even saw that earlier this year, but it seems like he's been calmer recently at the plate and he's seeing results
I agree with the take on 20 year old Lonnie White, Jr, but in his minimal time at A (125 PA), he has done a lot of damage offensively. His OPS is 918, with 7 doubles, a triple, 5 HR, 8/9 SB, and his BB/K is very respectable at 19 BB (15.2%), 35 K (28%).
Hope he can finish out the year healthy and look forward to joining GBO out of ST next year. There are so many young, excellent prospects at Bradenton (FCL & A), the Pirates have a very promising future.
A good comp for Lonnie White Jr would be Wyatt Langford who only had about 250 ABs after 2 years of college ball
https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/230244/
White Jr. striking out 28% is actually way better than I thought he would do. With the time off from injury and being a multi sport athlete in high school, I was thinking he'd be K'ing in 35% or more in his first taste of full season. It's still early in his development but if his hit tool is average or hopefully above, he has the tools to be a star.
I agree, that number is honestly very encouraging/impressive to me. No reason to think that he can't continue to hit with authority while also lowering that rate even a few ticks more. In my mind, he might have some of the most untapped potential in the whole system, right there with chandler