Tommy Joseph is second in the list of very good Giants catching prospects and was the one that probably took the biggest step forward last season.
From the reports that I have read he made big strides defensively to ease the minds of people who were skeptical that he had the ability to stay behind the plate long term which really helps his value. In addition he really seemed to find his groove in the second half of last season flashing his potential.
In the second half of the California league schedule Joseph hit .299/ .343/ .575 with 16 homers which is a pretty drool worthy line to see a catcher produce.
However despite the step forward he took he still has a number of issues to work on including working on improving his walk rate and continue to cut down on the strike outs.
Season
|
Team
|
G
|
PA
|
HR
|
R
|
RBI
|
SB
|
BB%
|
K%
|
ISO
|
BABIP
|
AVG
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
wOBA
|
wRC+
|
2010
|
Giants (A)
|
117
|
473
|
16
|
46
|
68
|
0
|
5.5 %
|
24.5 %
|
.165
|
.283
|
.236
|
.290
|
.401
|
.312
|
94
|
2011
|
Giants (A+)
|
127
|
560
|
22
|
80
|
95
|
1
|
5.2 %
|
18.2 %
|
.198
|
.292
|
.268
|
.315
|
.467
|
.340
|
95
|
Best Tool: Joseph has incredible power and the even better thing is that it has translated into game situations. In his first 2 professional years as an 18 and 19 year old he has hit 38 big flies with a career isolated power of .184.
Needs to work on: After making big strides in improving his defense the last thing that seems to be holding Joseph back is his ability to get on base on a regular basis. His career on base percentage is .304 which even with his prodigious power is too low to make his bat valuable.
Last year he did cut down on his strikeout rate (without losing anything in the power department which is a huge plus) but his walk rate is still below average. His power has kept his hitting at just below league average but his contact issues and below average walk rate have held him back. If he builds on the second half of last year things should look up for him going forward.
Ceiling: Joseph has a number of things going for him that make him an enticing prospect to watch, he has light tower power that would be excellent for a catcher and he is still very young. This coming season will be his age 20 season with him turning 21 in July so even if he takes a couple years to work on things in double-A and a season in triple-A he is still on track to make the majors before his 24th birthday.
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