S. Bruno and the life of the second (third?) tier prospect

[RynoRules]

To be honest I don't know that Bruno is even in our second tier as he is 24 and repeating AA, but he has hit at every level, plays three IF positions, and is off to a great start this season (.355/.412/.452). His example has me interested in where our second-tier guys fit-in (and what their ML ceilings might be) given the number of high-end young position players we have. In other systems - even those in the top 15 - guys like him might get more pub. Not sure if we really have a thread dedicated to that kind of discussion, so I thought we could update this one with news about those guys (i.e., Bruno, Villanueva, Zagunus, Brockmeyer, Chesney Young, Charcer Burks, etc.) and opinions on their development.

 

I'll kick it off by asking what we think about Mr. Bruno: he's hit well each year and at each level and plays 2B, SS, and 3B. Is he repeating AA because he wouldn't get playing time at AAA (Baez, 'Mendy, etc.)? Could he be playing a utility role at the ML level in 2016 or 17? Does he have trade value as such?

[Little Slide Rooter]

People were fairly high on him before we had real prospects to get excited over. I think there was even a Pedroia comp or two. Then he got hurt, and Almora, Soler, and Bryant happened, and his time as a thing came to an end.

[Guest]

Bruno has always been a personal favorite of mine. I think the positive outcome for him is something like a Jeff Baker/Clint Barmes/Willie Bloomquist type of role. He was a guy who hit for a ton of average before AA, so it's nice to see him getting a bunch of hits to start the year. He doesn't need to hit .350, but could stand to up the XBH and/or BB a bit, even if only slightly, to increase his odds of getting a chance to stick at the MLB level.

[craig]

No trade value. Probably a career minor-league guy. But hitting is the hardest tool, an IF he can hit enough, you never know. Unlikely, but might make it. It's hard, though, to make it as a infield sub when you're bad defensively. For a deficit-defense guy, you really need to hit well. In that sense he might be something of a Tommy LaStella wannabe, only without the walks. (Bruno's career: 145K/6HR, 145K/52BB).

[Guest]

Did not realize Bruno was at Iowa

[Guest]

People were fairly high on him before we had real prospects to get excited over. I think there was even a Pedroia comp or two. Then he got hurt, and Almora, Soler, and Bryant happened, and his time as a thing came to an end.

 

Almora was drafted (hours) before Bruno. Soler was kind of ours for months already but not officially.

[JeffH]

Did not realize Bruno was at Iowa

 

He's not, unless that just happened.

[Guest]

Did not realize Bruno was at Iowa

 

Nevermind...Phil Rogers duped me

 

@philgrogers: An interesting Cubs hitter flying under radar: 2B Stephen Bruno, a .317 career hitter as a pro batting .355 in AAA. His career OBP is .390.

[RynoRules]

The only reason I can think of for him not to be at AAA is playing time.

[toonsterwu]

I've always liked Bruno a fair amount (UVA player), but the one thing I said about him was that he's going to have to prove that his hit tool holds up as he moves up each level. It's hard to rate a guy whose primary asset is his hit tool that high unless he continuously proves it. I loosely made the poor man's Pedoria comps early on (although off the top, I don't think I ever stated that directly). The reason he sort of got lost in the shuffle (beyond the lack of a huge ceiling and the number of MI prospects in the system) is that he got hurt in 2013 and tailed off the 2nd half of 2014 after a fairly strong start (he was raking that first half ... .291/.378/.471(.

 

I'm still of the belief that Bruno could've made a decent shortstop, but he was, rightly, pushed off short at UVA by Chris Taylor. He was a solid 3rd baseman in college (he was slated to be the shortstop, then got hurt, allowing Taylor to slide to SS from CF, which kicked Bruno to 3rd), and moved to 2nd as he moved up the ladder (correct me if I'm wrong, but I believed he played a decent amount of 3rd in A ball), which is where I expected him to end up. The hit tool's the primary asset, as noted, but he has a decent enough approach at the plate. He's always been an aggressive hitter in some respects (but not a hacker), and in some respects, there are some similarities, IMO, to Alcantara in that regards. I think there's more power than he's shown in AA so far, although to expect more than average power would be folly.

 

In many other systems, I think he would be a lot more intriguing. In our system, he's probably a 25-40 guy, depending on preferences. The most likely positive scenario is one where he becomes a utility player that mans mostly 2nd/3rd, but can pinch in at short and the OF spots. I wouldn't bet against him being a starter at some point in his career if the right opportunity presented itself. Hard to see that happening in our organization, though.

 

As for trade value ... he's never going to be the main asset to any deal. Does he have some value? Probably. Upper level player who has a solid hit tool and can play the 2nd/SS/3rd should attract some attention as some sort of 2nd/3rd piece to a deal, depending on the type of deal being put together.