A couple of days ago I included
some of my thoughts and observations about a number of players from the
Burlington Royals, and today I am going to discuss what I saw from their
opponents from July 4-6, the Bristol White Sox.
As I mentioned previously, I wrote a feature article on the White Sox’s
first-round draft pick, Courtney Hawkins for Baseball America (link).
The BA article was predominately
positive, as it highlighted Hawkins’ raw tools and potential for future
success. Indeed, there is much to like
about Hawkins. Like Starling, Hawkins’ body immediately
stands out. However, unlike Starling,
Hawkins does not need to add and probably should not add more muscle mass at
this point in his career. The
18-year-old is listed at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, which definitely appeared
accurate in person. Based on his size
and athleticism alone, one can easily project power in Hawkins’ future, and a
scout in attendance noted that Hawkins generates plus bat speed with his strong
wrists. While he patrolled center field
for Bristol, the scout felt that Hawkins may have to move to a corner outfield
spot down the road. I agree and was a
little disappointed by his speed, as Hawkins consistently turned in 4.4 and 4.5
seconds on home-to-first splits. He does
feature strong arm and looked to make instinctive reads off of the bat, so he
should be fine in either outfield position.
At the plate Hawkins struggled a bit throughout the series. The first game he was pitched backwards
almost every at-bat, which he clearly was not expecting. He took a couple of
ugly swings and did not hit a ball hard.
However, he showed some flashes of his potential in the final two games
of the series, and he showed the ability to adjust to how pitchers attacked
him. After striking out on three
straight fastballs in his 1st AB of the second game, he jumped on a
first pitch fastball and drove it for a double into the right-center field gap
in his second at bat. Similarly, later
in the series he put together some good AB and drove a 2-2 slider back up the
middle for a hard-hit single. While I
was at first expecting a bit more out of the first-round talent, I learned that
it would be foolish to expect too much from a teenager getting his first taste
of professional ball. The bottom line is
that Hawkins has the physical tool to succeed at the highest level—the ability
to make key adjustments and respond to failure will ultimately determine just
how far Hawkins will go.
Unfortunately, none of the other
players that I saw for Bristol particularly caught my eye. I asked the scout that I sat with for two of
the games if there were any players to look out for, but he also seemed to
think that Hawkins was the only real ‘guy’ that the team had. With that being said, I still took down some
notes on a handful of players, such as Nick Basto, James Hudelson, Steven
Nikorak, Jake Cose and Jefferson Olacio.
Olacio
is the player with the most potential, as the 18-year-old is a 6-foot-7, 230
pound left-handed pitcher from the Dominican Republic. In his previous start Olacio had mowed down
his competition, striking out seven in five innings of work and not walking
any. However, against Burlington both his stuff and command were lacking any
#veneno. It seemed as if his command
issue stemmed from inconsistent mechanics—he had a tendency to pitch with only
his upper half. An inconsistent release
point combined with some significant arm drag led to a rather unremarkable
performance in which Olacio’s fastball ranged from 87-90 mph and his breaking
balls (79-82) were too often either 58-footers or spinning across the heart of
plate. When it was all said and done
with Olacio had thrown four innings, allowed four runs on two hits and seven
walks, while striking out three. While the start was not impressive by any
means, it is important to recognize that Olacio is still on 18 years old and
may still be growing into his body. Over
the next few years he must continue to work hard to refine his movements, mechanics,
and feel for pitching in order to be more consistent.
Some brief thoughts on the other
guys that I mentioned:
·
I expected more out of Nick Basto.
The shortstop is a fifth-round pick from this year’s draft, but he is not an
elite athlete and will probably have to move to second, or more likely third
base down the line. He put together a couple of scrappy AB, but was overpowered
by fringe-average fastballs in on his hands. The scout that I talked to was not
very impressed and felt that he would turn into a punch-less 3rd
baseman.
·
3B Steve
Nikorak (R/R 6’2, 215) made some nice plays defensively—one to his left and
one to his right—that required accurate and strong throws from his knees. While he flashed the leather and had an
athletic body type, the bat was nothing special, and he is a 22-year-old that
was just drafted out of college (Temple), so one would be wise to remain
skeptical until he continues to hit up the minor-league ladder.
·
RHP
Jake Cose (6’5, 180) is 21-years-old in his 2nd year w/ Bristol
who was drafted in the 27th round of the 2011 draft. He showed some decent stuff (88-91 FB, 78-81
SL, 78-81 CH) and has a projectable frame, but I think that if he was able to put on some more muscle mass he would be able to add some velo and improve a fringy arsenal into a more potent collection.
·
RHP James Hudelson (6’4, 200) is a 22 year old
out of Missouri that is in his first season of professional ball. He featured a
¾ delivery that created some deception and a nice angle for his 88-90 mph
2-seamer. He also flashed a couple of
average sliders between 74-75 mph. Given
his age and limited upside, Hudelson’s ceiling appears to be a mid-relief type
of guy.
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