Rebel Ridling

[mul21]

I know he's kind of an off the radar type of guy, but what kind of ceiling does he have? Just ran across his minor league stats, and while he's getting to be a bit old for a legit prospect, his numbers have been really good outside of 2010 in the FSL. He does strike out a decent amount, but the OBP is good and so is the power. Is he destined to be a 4A guy or can he be a decent contributor at a corner OF spot in the next few years?

[toonsterwu]

The general expectation is that he's likely more of a 1st/corner OF depth guy, big bat off bench type. He had a solid year, but it was 2 strong months (starting and finishing the year (april/august)) with inconsistency in b/w, last I checked. There's some good raw power, but the swing can get a bit long at times and he's viewed as having more than a couple holes in his swing. He actually has a decent approach at the plate. Defensively, he plays a solid first base, and can play a decent corner OF, as there's enough range to not be a problem.

 

It's not impossible to envision him as a starter if a couple things improve, but one comparison that was made before (h/t AzPhil) was to Micah Hoffpauir, which sounds fair at this stage of his development. He'll likely be in AAA to start 2012 (could be a part of a real solid AAA club), and while he likely won't go on the 40, could get a look if injuries happen.

[Brett]

The general expectation is that he's likely more of a 1st/corner OF depth guy, big bat off bench type. He had a solid year, but it was 2 strong months (starting and finishing the year (april/august)) with inconsistency in b/w, last I checked. There's some good raw power, but the swing can get a bit long at times and he's viewed as having more than a couple holes in his swing. He actually has a decent approach at the plate. Defensively, he plays a solid first base, and can play a decent corner OF, as there's enough range to not be a problem.

 

It's not impossible to envision him as a starter if a couple things improve, but one comparison that was made before (h/t AzPhil) was to Micah Hoffpauir, which sounds fair at this stage of his development. He'll likely be in AAA to start 2012 (could be a part of a real solid AAA club), and while he likely won't go on the 40, could get a look if injuries happen.

 

Yeah, if Ridling can be a decent bat off the bench in the bigs, I'd say it's been a successful development.