| By Jason A. Churchill |  | By 06-25-2012 |
I just sat and watched, at Everett Memorial Stadium, the Everett AquaSox take batting practice. I got a good look at the swings of several prospects.Here's what I jotted down in my legal pad:
Marcus Littlewood, C
LH: Consistent swing, goes the other way without concerted effort and with doubles power. Good pull power, timing is consistent.
RH: More of a line drive swing. Seems to have timing issues with hands, doesn't get his front foot down early enough at times. Did same thing last year with the Sox in games.
Taylor Ard, 1B
Easy power from RCF to straight-away LF. Very stable in box, strong hands, wrists and forearms, plus bat speed. Creates good leverage.
Alfredo Morales, RF
Plus bat speed, good bat control, swing in zone throughout. Out front some, perhaps he doesn't trust his hands enough. Swing generates natural loft and backspin.
Chris Taylor, SS
Setup and load restricts bat speed and plate coverage; swing prevents leverage and loft and needs to be completely reworked in offseason. Average bat speed, quick wrists. Showed off ridiculous hands and actions on defense before his round of BP. Alex Liddi no longer has the best hands in the organization.
Patrick Kivlehan, 3B
Swing is understandably raw; somewhat stiff from hands to elbow; Showed bat speed and strength. Swing plane works for power. Likely holes away and down in zone.
Photo above is Marcus Littlewood
bp-observations:-everett-aquasox
Comments
The following 15 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: teddyb on 06-25-2012 18:48:14 any news on how close the M's and Zunino are? |
| 2. By: Lailoken on 06-25-2012 19:29:57 Everybody's favorite baseball beat writer (sarcasm alert) Geoff Baker posted a blog piece about an hour ago saying that the M's are expected to announce Zunino signing shortly. Link |
| 3. By: teddyb on 06-25-2012 19:48:24 i know then says might not be until july 6, thats not shortly lol |
| 4. By: Alex Carson on 06-25-2012 21:48:56 Well, cosmically speaking, it's very much shortly! |
| 5. By: dawgncarolina on 06-25-2012 22:30:40 Ard's swinging a nice stick to start the year. Littlewood seems to be swinging the bat a little better himself. I love the info on Chris Taylor's hands and actions. Good stuff. |
| 6. By: Jason A. Churchill on 06-25-2012 22:35:33 Zunino and the M's have been on the same page since day 1. It'll get done and as Baker reported, it'll be done soon. Last I heard it was crossing, dotting, coughing. Thing is, he was always going to be given a little time between playing for Florida and suiting up for the M's in the minors, so his start time as a pro has not changed. I don't expect him to play until after the MLB all-star break. |
| 7. By: Juan Valdez on 06-26-2012 00:32:56 Any news on Paxton's injury status? |
| 8. By: Slack on 06-26-2012 07:45:19 Considering the power and bat speed that Ard seems to possess, what got him down to the 7th round? |
| 9. By: maqman on 06-26-2012 11:35:27 Good input Jason, thanks. Didn't read Baker, don't trust his objectivity. However I figure Zunino will sign shortly, they had to have had a number in mind before they went over slot with so many draftees. |
| 10. By: Jason A. Churchill on 06-26-2012 12:35:30 Slack, Ard was a college senior, for one. It's one less year of development left. Second, he's a first-base guy only and is one dimensional. Chances he's a big league regular are not good. |
| 11. By: seafarer on 06-26-2012 16:53:51 Thanks for the analysis. I'm guessing you feel Taylor has a chance to stick at SS defensively? In your opinion, are the changes to his swing an "easy fix" and given that his current slash line is exceptionally good (albeit in a very limited number of ABs thus far) do you see the M's working on that in the offseason...that is, are the flaws in his swing that noticeable to the trained eye? Bear in mind I have no real background in the sport other than being a fan of the game |
| 12. By: DUWORKSON on 06-27-2012 14:16:45 Another prospect player that's having a good year is SS Brad Miller. With the M's having a logjam in the infield. I wonder if Miller can play above defense in one of corner outfield position?? |
| 13. By: dawgncarolina on 06-27-2012 22:31:57 DUWORKSON, I believe Jason has mentioned the possibility (likelihood?) that Miller could be moved to CF at some point. He's believed to have the speed/athleticism for it, assuming he could read the ball well enough. |
| 14. By: DUWORKSON on 06-27-2012 22:55:37 @dawncarolina, wow that's very promising! I didn't know that Miller was athletic enough to play centerfield? |
| 15. By: dawgncarolina on 06-28-2012 00:20:49 Miller has the athleticism to play shortstop, he just doesn't have the consistency with his hands or his arm. IOW, he has the range but makes too many errors. Theoretically, that should translate pretty well to CF. We'll see. |
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