Latest from Phil Rogers

[Guest]

He can't be having that much trouble with either laying off those pitches or making contact with them. It would be showing in his stats if he were.

 

Scouting wise as a shorter player, the high fastball would be a natural enemy. It's a pitch that looks tempting all the time, but it's arguably the toughest pitch to hit when set up correctly. At the major league level that's a fairly easy trait to exploit, and he'll have to make adjustments. That could take a while. He's also one of those guys who gets the body + athleticism tag. There's already worry that he fills out his lower body too much as he gets older and starts heading the way of an all or nothing guy.

 

As far as showing up in the numbers, just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. I have to bring it back to the leagues and parks he's played in. I believe that his K:BB is influenced by the very favorable hitting environments he's played in, and helped hide some of his weaknesses.

Those things get scouted and exploited VERY quickly at the major league level.

 

Is your argument that nobody has noticed that yet at the MLB level or that nobody has been able to exploit it yet?

[KingKongvs.Godzilla]

He can't be having that much trouble with either laying off those pitches or making contact with them. It would be showing in his stats if he were.

 

Scouting wise as a shorter player, the high fastball would be a natural enemy. It's a pitch that looks tempting all the time, but it's arguably the toughest pitch to hit when set up correctly. At the major league level that's a fairly easy trait to exploit, and he'll have to make adjustments. That could take a while. He's also one of those guys who gets the body + athleticism tag. There's already worry that he fills out his lower body too much as he gets older and starts heading the way of an all or nothing guy.

 

As far as showing up in the numbers, just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. I have to bring it back to the leagues and parks he's played in. I believe that his K:BB is influenced by the very favorable hitting environments he's played in, and helped hide some of his weaknesses.

Those things get scouted and exploited VERY quickly at the major league level.

 

Is your argument that nobody has noticed that yet at the MLB level or that nobody has been able to exploit it yet?

 

Patience possibly. I could be wrong on that point, but I'd still take Vitters in the long run (no homer).

[Backtobanks]

With all of the Moustakas vs. Vitters discussion, I guess we can agree that trading Garza (with extension) for him would be a bad move unless some really top prospects would be coming our way with him.

[Guest]

Those things get scouted and exploited VERY quickly at the major league level.

 

Is your argument that nobody has noticed that yet at the MLB level or that nobody has been able to exploit it yet?

 

Uh, he has a .574 OPS at the MLB level.

[SweetZombieJesus]

right, but that doesn't make a lot of sense. moustakas struck out in 15.4% of his minor league plate appearances. that's not a high number, and he's striking out at a lower rate in the majors. vitters has struck out in 14.9% of his minor league plate appearances. we're talking about a difference of half a percent. where are you getting this idea that moustakas is a wind machine with significant contact issues?

 

Moustakas' contact issue comes in the scouting. He swings at crap and still has trouble with breaking balls. He likes the high fastball too much, and it's an easy pitch to get beat on.

 

How exactly is this different than Vitters?

[TruffleShuffle]

He has a .574 ops for reasons that have nothing to do with what is being discussed in this thread.

[Guest]

He has a .574 ops for reasons that have nothing to do with what is being discussed in this thread.

 

Well no, you can't say that with any authority. I don't think Moustakas is terrible and would take him over Vitters, but it's foolish to say it's impossible that his early struggles have been due to pitchers exploiting a particular weakness, as was pointed out. Especially with Tim seemingly implying that it can't be the case because pitchers aren't having success against him.

[WeGotWood98]

right, but that doesn't make a lot of sense. moustakas struck out in 15.4% of his minor league plate appearances. that's not a high number, and he's striking out at a lower rate in the majors. vitters has struck out in 14.9% of his minor league plate appearances. we're talking about a difference of half a percent. where are you getting this idea that moustakas is a wind machine with significant contact issues?

 

Moustakas' contact issue comes in the scouting. He swings at crap and still has trouble with breaking balls. He likes the high fastball too much, and it's an easy pitch to get beat on.

 

How exactly is this different than Vitters?

 

No one's calling Vitters one of the best prospects in baseball for it to start.

 

Then Vitters is bigger, younger, a better athlete...Things I think play into their long term projection.

 

Here's a pretty solid 2011 report that highlights my thoughts on Moustakas:

 

http://projectprospect.com/article/2011/06/09/mike-moustakas-scouting-report

 

Hitting highlights:

His plate discipline has improved as he worked himself into hitter’s counts throughout the game. With that said, Moustakas still expanded the zone a number of times above the belt. His aggressiveness can be his both his biggest strength and his biggest weakness. Opposing pitchers continually attacked Moustakas in and up. Major league pitchers will most assuredly do the same.

 

Defense highlights:

Moustakas is a below-average athlete, and a bit slow-footed in the field. He does posses well-above-average arm strength, and his hands are decent. He can make all the routine plays, but lacks the range to be a plus defender at third base.

 

Appearance:

Moustakas was much shorter in person than I ever imagined. He looked to be only about 5-foot-10 and was not as muscular as I envisioned. His upper body still has room to add bulk. He has a thick lower half, which could be an issue down the road as he gets older. Maintaining his conditioning will be key for him staying at third base long-term.

 

Overall:

Moustakas has tremendous power potential, but concerns about making consistent contact are real. He still needs refinement on his approach and patience at the plate. His bat speed is real and his track record backs that up. He will never be a gold glove winner at third base, but is definitely not a liability currently. He has a chance to be an above-average big leaguer, but I don’t see star-level potential.

 

I'm just not a fan.