Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Minor League Ball :: Offensive Skills: Hitting for Average, Hitting for Power, Controlling the Strike Zone

Minor League Ball :: Offensive Skills: Hitting for Average, Hitting for Power, Controlling the Strike Zone

An interesting question is being posed over at John Sickels's site. He asks what stat one looks at when trying to evaluate those players at the very lowest levels of competition.

When I look at a rookie-level propsect, I look first for AVG. If it is good, then I put him on the radar. My reasoning is a player comes from an environment where hitting the ball is most important and it should be a skill already present. If he can't catch up with a fastball at the lowest levels, then he won't go very far as a hitter.

If the AVG is high I will look at bases-on-balls and note whether it is decent. However, high AVG players often have fewer walks than their AVG indicates because they are hitting the balls they swing at versus swinging and missing.

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