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Minor League Update Mid-Season Prospect Poll-Position Players-The Results
Bauxites have spoken. We tabulated the votes on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. The results were:

1. Adam Lind (153)
2. Curtis Thigpen (142)
3. Ryan Patterson (134)
4. Sergio Santos (75)
5. Chip Cannon (72)
6. Ryan Klosterman (58)
7. Ryan Roberts (43)
8. Rob Cosby (29)
9. Dustin Majewski (27)
10.Robinson Diaz (25)

Anthony Hatch, Brian Pettway, Sean Shoffit, Cory Patton and Wayne Lydon had some support from Bauxites.




Posted by Mike Green on Wednesday, June 14 2006 @ 07:21 AM EDT.
Mid-Season Prospect Poll-Position Players-The Results | 8 comments | Create New Account
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MatO - Wednesday, June 14 2006 @ 10:01 AM EDT (#148936) #

Thigpen is as good or better a hitter as Lind so far this year at a premium defensive position.  Hell, he's probably a better left-fielder than Lind.

Hatch is now hitting .341 .426  .605  if you add the few Dunedin AB's he's had with excellent control of the strike zone and he's a few months younger than Patterson and Pettway

 

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Mike Green - Wednesday, June 14 2006 @ 10:12 AM EDT (#148938) #
Thigpen, like many catchers, has had a number of minor injuries.  He runs and throws well enough to be a right-fielder; I would be easily convinced that he was the club's top hitting prospect if the club moved him out there.  The Gleeman/Green bet has taught me one thing.  The success rate for good young catchers is very low.  Mauer, Mathis, Navarro and Quiroz were all better hitters (and healthier) in 2003 than Thigpen has been this year, and so far, it is only Mauer who has succeeded.

Bauxites as a whole did better, as usual, than I did.  Sergio Santos is clearly a better prospect than Sean Shoffit; I don't know what I was thinking.

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Maldoff - Wednesday, June 14 2006 @ 11:34 AM EDT (#148949) #
Shoffit started off the year quite hot, but has cooled considerably in the last month or so.  In fact, his average is now down in the .240 range, and smells a little bit like "on-base" Jayce Tingler....
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rtcaino - Wednesday, June 14 2006 @ 02:10 PM EDT (#148976) #

Thigpen is doing better than Lind at controlling the strike zone. His 19/27 bb/k is far better than Lind’s 15/55.

I didn’t vote for position players, but I would have put Thigpen ahead of Lind.

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MatO - Wednesday, June 14 2006 @ 03:38 PM EDT (#148993) #

Navarro has had a decent start to his ML career and  I suspect that Mathis isn't far behind.  They just had inconsistencies typical of very young players.  The only major injury that Thigpen has had is a staph infection which may not have been a catching injury. He's been very consistent and  he's far more valuable as a catching prospect than as a RFer.  I'm hoping that next year we see a resigned Zaun sharing catching duties with Thigpen.  I think Zaun would be a fine mentor as well.

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Mike Green - Wednesday, June 14 2006 @ 03:58 PM EDT (#148995) #
Catchers just don't tend to develop as well offensively as other players.  Here's firstinning.com's projection for Thigpen. I think that they've nailed it.  It's hard for catchers to hit for a high average absent at least moderate power because they tend to lose their speed early.  Thigpen's value as a catcher is going to depend on his defensive development.  It's hard to measure that because he has been doing a lot of DHing in New Hampshire. While Lind's K rate has increased as he has added power, he is, in my view, more likely to develop into a good hitter than Thigpen, unless Thigpen changes positions. 

Thigpen is like a lower case version of Ted Simmons or Craig Biggio.  Simmons might very well have become a monster if he hadn't been a catcher, while Biggio thrived once he was moved.

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MatO - Wednesday, June 14 2006 @ 07:36 PM EDT (#149012) #
I see Thigpen as having moderate power and maintaining his speed far better than the average catcher since he's so athletic and he's not had the wear and tear prior to turning pro.
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Mike Green - Wednesday, June 14 2006 @ 08:47 PM EDT (#149013) #
Thigpen might indeed do that.  Or it might be that his defensive game needs a fair bit of fine-tuning, and he loses some of his speed before he makes it.  I am not saying that choosing Thigpen over Lind is wrong, but merely that it is a judgment call.  Lind might end up as a very fine hitter.
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