DEL.ICIO.USBraves’ prospect Flowers blossoming
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Mesa, Ariz. — A glimpse at the hulking Braves catching prospect does not conjure thoughts of flowers. Colossal big flies like one he hit Monday over a 50-foot-tall screen in center field, yes.
But flowers, no.
Phil Skinner/pskinner@ajc.com
Tyler Flowers, a 6-foot-4, 248-pound Marietta native, has drawn plenty of notice in Arizona. At high Class-A Myrtle Beach, Flowers hit .288 with 32 doubles, 17 homers and 88 RBIs in 122 games, with 98 walks and a .427 on-base percentage.
Tyler Flowers, 22, generated buzz with his batting-practice blasts at big-league spring training with the Braves eight months ago. He’s doing it again with epic shots for the tiny crowds in the Arizona Fall League — crowds that usually include a dozen or more scouts from major league clubs.
He’s done it in batting practice and games for the Mesa Solar Sox, carrying a .352 batting average with seven homers in 54 at-bats before Tuesday, while leading the prospect-laden league with a 1.324 on base-plus-slugging percentage (OPS).
“Talk about standing out from the league — he’s got tremendous power,” said Hall-of-Famer Ryne Sandberg, the former Chicago Cubs second baseman and a Solar Sox coach. “And it’s just a short swing. Tyler’s got a good, simple swing. There’s not much there [in his swing], which is good.
“He’s a quality hitter. He’s got a sense of the game and what the situation calls for. He makes contact. He has that different sound about his bat.”
Top-rated Braves pitching prospect Tommy Hanson, a Solar Sox teammate, has received national attention this fall, dominating the AFL and being mentioned in trade rumors (the Braves flatly refuse to trade him).
But Flowers, a 6-foot-4, 248-pound Marietta native, has drawn plenty of notice in Arizona. He’s led home-run leaders for much of the fall despite getting fewer at-bats while splitting catching duties with two others.
At high Class-A Myrtle Beach, Flowers hit .288 with 32 doubles, 17 homers and 88 RBIs in 122 games, with 98 walks and a .427 on-base percentage.
Despite having three-time All-Star catcher Brian McCann, the Braves don’t plan to move Flowers to first base, where he spent part of the 2007 season for low-A Rome while recovering from knee surgery.
“I want to be a catcher,” Flowers said. “Until that point comes where they feel like I can’t get the job done, that’s where I want to be.”
He feels good about his chances of reaching the majors before too long.
“I think if I keep going how I’m going, if I keep learning, keep getting better, it’s a definite possibility,” he said. “That’s my ultimate goal, obviously. Obviously I’d rather it be with the Braves, my hometown, but anywhere [in the majors] is the goal.”
General manager Frank Wren said the Braves want Flowers to focus on continuing his development as a hitter and catcher, rather than worry about switching positions. His value is presumably higher as a catcher than a first baseman, provided he’s solid behind the plate. By all accounts, Flowers is.
“I love having him behind the plate,” said Hanson, a teammate for parts of three seasons in the minors, including 2008 at Myrtle Beach. “He’s the best catcher I’ve ever thrown to in my life. He’s a huge target, and we’re always on the same page, me and him. That makes it a lot easier.”
Hanson is 3-0 with a 0.48 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 18-2/3 innings for Mesa entering his scheduled start Wednesday. He was thankful he hasn’t had to face Flowers.
“Definitely,” he said, laughing. “I mean, you saw what Flowers did in batting practice. He has unreal power.”
Flowers said his hitting performance this fall was helped by an adjustment he made to his hand positioning in his swing following the season at Myrtle Beach.
Mesa manager Rocket Wheeler, also his manager at Myrtle Beach, has seen steady progress, particularly with the catcher’s defense.
“He’s very good at calling a game back there,” Wheeler said. “Big target. Pitchers love throwing to him. He’s quiet back there. Blocks balls extremely well. If there’s one facet of the game he needs to work on, it’s his throwing. He knows that.
“He’s got a strong arm, but he’s got to keep his footwork intact to throw because he does have that big body. A lot of times he stands straight up to throw and ends up tailing the ball off.”
Sandberg said, “To me, he’s a full-package guy. The pitchers all say they like the way he calls a game, the way he looks back there.
“From Day 1, the pitchers have really seemed to have a lot of confidence in his game-calling, too. He seems to be really in tune with the hitters and keeps them off-guard.
“He’s working on his throwing. He has a good release, he’s just working on the flight of the ball a little bit, to take a little of the tail off it. When he does things right, it’s right there; it’s good enough.”
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