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Monday, October 15, 2007
Braves’ CF prospect starts fast in Fall League
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While some of us chug coffee to stay awake for LCS games and wonder what the weather’s going to be like when we get to Denver next week for the World Series — still wrapping my brain around that concept, World Series in Denver — there is day baseball being played, good people.
And one of those fellas playing it out in the prospect-filled Arizona Fall League is a name that’s quickly found its way into the collective consciousness of Braves/MIB denizens and hardcore Braves fans everywhere.
Jordan Schafer.
Let me be the first to give you a Fall League update on the future (as in 2009 or 2010) Braves CF: After four games with the Peoria Javelinas, the kid’s hitting .412 (7-for-17) with two doubles, a homer, league-high eight runs, four RBIs and two stolen bases in two attempts. With one walk and two strikeouts.
He was named AFL Player of the Week for the first week of the season, but the week ended abruptly: He sustained a minor concussion Saturday when he ran into the outfield wall while attempting to catch a fly ball.
“It won’t be the last time he runs into a wall, trust me,” Braves player-development director Kurt Kemp said. “Some kids back off, and some kids don’t. To him, the ball’s more important. That’s the way he plays. He’s an awful lot of fun to watch.”
(UPDATE: It’s Tuesday afternoon, I just talked to Kemp, and he told me Schafter took batting practice Monday and is in the lineup Tuesday.)
The Javelinas led the league in hitting during their 4-1 start, and it’s not uncommon for top hitters to hit .350 or better out there. So keep it in perspective.
That said, this kid’s going to make everyone forget Andruw Jones within a year….
(I’m kidding. Just wanted to see if you’re reading closely.)
Every year or two a prospect captures the imagination of the team’s fans, doesn’t it? Last year it was Yunel Escobar, who had the whole super-talented Cuban thing going along with the stories of his whistling throughout minor league games, which supposedly upset some opponents and Braves officials and blah blah blah.
His notoriety and popularity really began to take off when he blazed in the Arizona Fall League last year, winning the AFL batting title (.407). Braves fans wanted to see him, read more about him when he continued to shine in spring training, then got to see for themselves what all the fuss was about when he was called up to the big club in June and had a clutch hit in his debut at Wrigley Field.
It was quickly apparent that Escobar was much more than hype. He’s the real thing, as evident by his .326 average with 30 extra-base hits and .385 OBP in 319 at-bats and 94 games for the Braves this season, including a .333 average with runners in scoring position, a .355 average against lefties, and his .336 average and .876 OPS in 64 games after the All-Star break.
It’s going to be interesting to see where he fits in next season, what moves the Braves might make this season to open a spot for him, or whether they’ll bring him back in a “super-utility” capacity to back up two or three positions.
But while we wait for that to play out, and for the Tom Glavine thing to play out after the World Series, this seems like a good time to continue obsessing over Schafer, the Braves’ future center fielder.
Let me be clear: I don’t believe Schafer is over-hyped.
I do believe he’ll be the Braves’ starting center fielder at some point during the 2009 season or no later than 2010, and that there’s always an outside shot we could see him in some capacity late next season (hey, it happened sooner than expected with Francoeur).
Schafer is, by all accounts, the real deal. When I asked roving instructor Joe Breeden about him in September (I’ve known Joe since he was on the Marlins’ coaching staff in the 1990s; he was brought up for a couple of weeks this September), he raved about the kid.
Schafer’s stock has soared since a year ago. Let’s put it this way: He was only rated the Braves’ No. 27 prospect by Baseball America last winter, behind the likes of Brayan Pena and Clint Sammons.
I’d be shocked if he’s not rated among their top five prospects when the new lists come out this winter, and perhaps as high as the top three.
After batting .228 over his first two seasons in the minors, Schafer, a 21-year-old former third-round draft pick from Winter Haven, Fla., began to put it all together this winter in A-ball, hitting a combined .312 with a .374 OBP and .513 slugging percentage between stops at low-A Rome and high-A Myrtle Beach.
The left-handed hitter scorched at Rome with a .372 average, five homers, 20 RBIs and a .441 OBP in 30 games.
He led the minors with 176 combined hits at both stops, and ranked third with 49 combined doubles and sixth with 76 extra-base hits.
Perhaps most importantly, and made impressive adjustments after the jump to Myrtle, struggling some early before finishing with a .294 average in 436 at-bats, with 52 extra-base hits (8 triples, 10 homers) and 19 steals in 30 tries.
He was impressive enough there to be named the No. 1 overall prospect in the Carolina League in Baseball America’s year-end review. “A left-handed hitter with a line-drive stroke that generates above-average loft power,” said the BA synopsis.
“An above-average runner with outstanding range and a plus-plus arm in center field, though he needs to improve his instincts to become a more effective basestealer.”
Here’s the part that some of you might like: “Think Grady Sizemore meets Steve Finley,” one American League scout said. “All five tools profile, and he’s a gamer with tremendous work ethic.”
Folks, I can tell you that “plus-plus” grades are rarely given out by scouts, so you can be assure this kid’s got a cannon comparable to Francoeur’s.
I just got off the phone with Kelly Johnson this afternoon, and he added to the chorus of praise I’ve heard about Schafer. Kelly saw him in 2006 at Rome (Kelly was rehabbing early in the season), when Schafter was still trying to figure things out at the plate, etc.
But he made a big impression, especially with a catch he made in right field in a rainy game.
“He made one of the best catches I’ve ever seen,” Kelly told me. “He was going back in right, the field was slippery, wet, swampy. He somehow lost his glove, I can’t remember if he kicked it off his hand as he was backpedaling or what, but he fell backward and caught the ball barehanded. It was unbelievable.”
Kelly also confirmed the arm strength, said the kid’s got a gun.
OK, that’s it. We’ll keep you informed and try to give you a scouting update from a Braves official in coming weeks, someone who’s seen him out in Arizona or whatever.
I wish the World Series was going to be held in Arizona, because I’d go see him play myself. Alas, I’ll be chilly in Colorado. Oh, well. Maybe we can get out to Arizona at the end of the Fall League. If not, I’ve got a feeling we’ll see him plenty in spring training.
Oh, by the way: Kelly Johnson hasn’t been told to work on his outfield play or anything like that this winter. Frank Wren called around to all the players last week after Wren took over as GM, and his message to Kelly was something along the lines of, he liked how things worked out at 2B last season.
Not saying that means he’ll be back there, won’t be traded, etc. Just saying, the Braves haven’t instructed him to refresh his outfield play or anything like that.
Of course, he’s played out there before, so it wouldn’t require the type of crash course that he took last winter in learning to play second base. So probably best not to try to figure out anything just yet.
Neil Young out next week: Read some reviews of the new Neil album “Chrome Dreams II,” due out next Tuesday, and all agree it’s fantastic. It’s a sequel of sorts to the often-bootlegged but never released “Chrome” album from the 1970s….
I’m listening to a new band called Alberta Cross, at least I think they’re new. It’s a six- or seven-song CD I got at Criminal Records for some absurdly low price, $2.99 or something, and it’s really, really good. Those of you who did My Morning Jacket and/or The Band, imagine a cross between them….
Also highly recommended by me: New CDs by Shout Out Louds; the unfortunately named but nevertheless strong band Tigers and Monkeys; Atlanta’s own Black Lips’ latest “Good Bad, Not Evil;” and the just-released “Scene of the Crime” by Bettye LaVette with Drive-By Truckers backing the 61-year-old soul legend. It’s more LaVette and Muscle Shoals-soul than DBTs. It’s pretty great.
Oh, and Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.
“SOLSBURY HILL” by Peter Gabriel
Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
I had to listen had no choice
I did not believe the information
Just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom boom boom
“Son,” he said “Grab your things,
I’ve come to take you home.”
To keep in silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Tho’ my life was in a rut
“Till I thought of what I’d say
Which connection I should cut
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom boom boom
“Hey” he said “Grab your things
I’ve come to take you home.”
Yeah, back home.
When illusion spin her net
I’m never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don’t need a replacement
I’ll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart going boom boom boom
“Hey” I said “You can keep my things,
they’ve come to take me home.”
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