5/28/15 RICO'S THURSDAY THREAD ... Thankthank youyou, thethe

[rico43]

Was working on a note that Mallex Smith was leading the Southern League in hitting with his brisk .345 average. But one day later, two guys with borderline plate appearances appeared ahead of him. Writing about Smith being third in the league wasn't quite the same pop effect. Anyway, thanks for taking up my considerable slack.


ALL TIMES EDT

CLASS AAA

Game One
Gwinnett 3, Lehigh Valley 0 (7)

WP: Banuelos (4-0) 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K.
Fisher (Save, 2) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
Peraza 1-2, 2 RBI; A. Garcia 1-3, R.

Game Two
Lehigh Valley 6, Gwinnett 4 (8)

SP: Texeira 4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K.
LP: Boggs (1-1) 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
A. Garcia 1-4, HR (2nd), RBI; Peraza 1-4; Kleinknecht 1-3, 2B, R.

CLASS AA

Mississippi 4, Pensacola 2

WP: Jenkins (4-2) 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 5 K.
J. Reyes (Save, 2) 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.
Rohm 1-3, R, 2 RBI; Ruiz 2-4; Joseph 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI.

ADVANCED CLASS A
(Carolina 0-12 since bus crash)

Game One
Myrtle Beach 5, Carolina 3 (7)

LP: Gil (0-8) 3.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K.
Hyans 1-3, 3B, RBI; Godfrey 1-3, 2B, R; Meneses 1-2, RBI.

Game Two
Myrtle Beach 6, Carolina 3 (7)

LP: Furney (0-2) 4 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 0 K.
Curcio 2-4, R, RBI; Giardina 1-4, 2B, RBI; Odom 1-2, 2B.

CLASS A

Rome @ Hickory, ppd.

[Tapate50]

Not sure how we missed this MILB.com article on Mallex but here it is:

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20150526&content_id=126510268&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb


Southern notes: Smith earns high praise

M-Braves outfielder drawing lofty comparisons from new organization







Smith plates a run00:00:36

5/21/15: Mississippi's Mallex smith plates a run in the Braves' 8-7 win over the Jacksonville Suns
Twitter
Facebook
Email


Mallex Smith, acquired from San Diego in the Justin Upton trade over the winter, got some high praise during Spring Training with the Atlanta Braves.

Hitting coach Kevin Seitzer likened the young center fielder to former Major League standout Kenny Lofton after seeing him lay down some bunts, and Braves director of baseball operations John Hart seconded that thought.

As lofty as those comparisons were, though, it may have shortchanged Smith a little in the speed department.

Asked to compare the now 22-year-old Mississippi Braves player to the top Major League speedsters of today, Fredi Gonzalez put him at or near the top.

"Oh, it's right up there," the Braves manager said of the organization's No. 15 prospect. "Billy Hamilton-type speed, maybe just a tad below. I was really impressed. His speed is there with Hamilton, Dee Gordon."

Smith, who led the Minors with 88 stolen bases last year in Class A, has had to go through a bit of a learning curve on the bases in Double-A. That doesn't mean, though, that his speed isn't paying off.

Taking advantage of the bunting ability that impressed Seitzer and Hart, Smith went into Memorial Day leading the Southern League with a .348 batting average.

"I lay down at least one bunt every series," the left-handed batter said. "It works two ways. It's hard to throw me out, so they have to play in. Then when they do, I can hit it by them."

Smith, who took over the Southern League batting lead by going 9-for-15 in a five-game stretch, has only seven extra-base hits, but a single or walk can quickly turn into much more. His on-base percentage was .395 and he had scored 23 runs and driven in 16.

Maybe too eager to match last season's steals total, Smith in the first four weeks of the season was picked off six times -- twice on Opening Night.

Catchers, though, have caught him stealing just twice in 17 attempts. He is 8-for-10 on steals of second base and 7-for-7 going to third.

"I'm getting back in the groove now," said Smith, who had seven stolen bases in his past five games. "The pickoffs affected me for a while. I lost my confidence a little bit, but now it's back."

Confidence is something in which the 5-foo-9 native of Tallahassee, Florida, isn't usually lacking.

A defensive back in high school, Smith once thought his future was in football. But the college offers he had hoped for didn't materialize, and he headed to Santa Fe Community College to play baseball.

"I didn't choose baseball -- baseball chose me," said Smith, who was taken in the fifth round of the 2012 Draft by the Padres after stealing 37 bases as a freshman and was given an over-slot bonus of $375,000.

Smith hit a combined .310 last season for Class A Fort Wayne and Class A Advanced Lancaster while running wild on the bases, then hit .305 in the Arizona Fall League. The Braves loved his speed and made sure he was included as part of the Upton deal.

"To be traded by the Padres was a surprise," he said. "But I grew up a Braves fan, and the more I thought about everything, it seemed like a good opportunity."

Smith was 4-for-11 with a triple and stole two bases in three attempts during eight Grapefruit League games with the Braves, putting his speed on display of the whole organization.

"He just needs games to kind of polish him off," Gonzalez said. "The tools are there, and he's certainly not shy to go get balls in center field. We saw that in Spring Training. We had to tell him he's not the only one out there. There are two more guys, one to his right and one to his left."

Unless he is sidetracked, one day Smith will become the first Major Leaguer named Mallex. Where did that name come from anyway?

"Everyone in my family has a first name starting with 'M'," Smith said. "But there was a smart kid in our apartments named Alex. My mom liked his name. So I became Mallex. I'm Alex with an 'M'."

[Dunit24]

Sounds like our future leadoff, maybe even next season. Him and Peraza could form an interesting 1 2 in the order. Imagine if we landed Lucroy via trade, and sign Upton back... Smith, Peraza, Freeman, Upton, Lucroy, Markakis, Peterson, Simmons

[thethe]

Sounds like our future leadoff, maybe even next season. Him and Peraza could form an interesting 1 2 in the order. Imagine if we landed Lucroy via trade, and sign Upton back... Smith, Peraza, Freeman, Upton, Lucroy, Markakis, Peterson, Simmons

That lineup is good enough to win the world series for sure as long as Peraza/Smith don't have too steep of a development curve at the major league level.

[Garmel]

I'm still surprised Mallex hasn't been promoted to Gwinnett. He needs to see higher level competition because AA is getting too easy for him.

[chop2chip]

I'm still surprised Mallex hasn't been promoted to Gwinnett. He needs to see higher level competition because AA is getting too easy for him.

It won't happen until the Braves figure out what to do with Eury Perez.

[nsacpi]

It won't happen until the Braves figure out what to do with Eury Perez.

Not necessarily. Eury wasn't even playing center when Todd Cunningham was in the lineup. I can see a AAA outfield of Eury, Mallex and Cedric Hunter.

[CJ9]

I'm still surprised Mallex hasn't been promoted to Gwinnett. He needs to see higher level competition because AA is getting too easy for him.

He has 39 games above A ball.

[Garmel]

He has 39 games above A ball.

So? If he's proving to be too dominant for the level of play there's no point keeping him there.

[thethe]

So? If he's proving to be too dominant for the level of play there's no point keeping him there.

Yeah, I'm not sure why that matters. If not for his earlier injuries this season his numbers might be even more impressive.

[thethe]

Smith also appears to be becoming a better basestealer this year.

Last year he was successful at a 77% clip and so far this year he has been swiping bags at a 89% clip. That is a skill that improves as well but doesn't get discussed often.

[Garmel]

Yeah, I'm not sure why that matters. If not for his earlier injuries this season his numbers might be even more impressive.

Especially his stolen base numbers.

[gilesfan]

So? If he's proving to be too dominant for the level of play there's no point keeping him there.

That's a bit early to make that conclusion (170 PA). Daniel Castro has a .389 BA, should he be promoted as well?

The guy is an interesting speed guy, what is the harm in letting him stay in AA, I'm sure he will go through some struggles at some point this year as he's not going to maintain a .424 BABIP. He has the 26th best OPS in the league, that's not really considered dominant, is it?

[nsacpi]

I think he'll get promoted to AAA in June.

His numbers so far this year: Walk rate 8.8%, strikeout rate 18.8%, BABIP .424, ISO .080

The walk rate has been trending up but is still a bit lower than his numbers from prior seasons. His entire record in that regard makes me optimistic he can sustain a walk rate in the 10-13% range.

The strikeout rate is consistent with the numbers from earlier in his career. Obviously, it would be nice for that to come down, but I think he can be a more than useful major league player even if it stays in the 18-20% range.

The BABIP of over .400 obviously is not sustainable. But given his speed and BABIP track record in prior seasons, I think he'll be a high BABIP player.

He has two home runs this season. Given his size and track record, he is not going to hit many. For me, one key for guys like Smith, Peraza and Albies is whether they develop some doubles and triples power. It is unrealistic to expect home runs from them, but if they can get the ISO above .100 and can sustain that in the majors, then they become possible All-Star players given their other attributes (speed, defense, ability to play a premium position). If they can't do that then they are more like a Ben Revere type player-useful, but not a player that is part of the foundation for a championship team.

Jose Altuve has a career ISO of .101. Last year his ISO was .112 and this year it is .129. Looking at Smith, Peraza and Albies, I'd say the more realtistic projection for each is Ben Revere and their 95th percentile upside is Altuve. Of the three I think Albies has a bit more overall upside, but obviously the other two have higher floors given they are playing at higher levels.

[Garmel]

That's a bit early to make that conclusion (170 PA). Daniel Castro has a .389 BA, should he be promoted as well?

The guy is an interesting speed guy, what is the harm in letting him stay in AA, I'm sure he will go through some struggles at some point this year as he's not going to maintain a .424 BABIP. He has the 26th best OPS in the league, that's not really considered dominant, is it?

In case you didn't notice Daniel Castro was promoted and is in Triple A. He's not with Mississippi any more. Mallex is a speed guy and will never have a high OPS. All he needs to do is hit, have a high on base percentage and an ability to steal. He's doing all of that quite well.

[chop2chip]

Smith also appears to be becoming a better basestealer this year.

Last year he was successful at a 77% clip and so far this year he has been swiping bags at a 89% clip. That is a skill that improves as well but doesn't get discussed often.
Those numbers are skewed because he's been picked off 6 times this year.

[thethe]

Those numbers are skewed because he's been picked off 6 times this year.

How many times was he picked off in the past?

[chop2chip]

How many times was he picked off in the past?I can check that for you, but it doesn't dismiss the fact that that number is way way way too high.

[Braves1976]

Here's another new article on Mallex Smith: http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/baseball/mallex-smith-leading-the-way-for-mississippi-brave/nmQ5c/?ecmp=ajc_social_twitter_2014_braves_sfp#eb7c432c. 3828699.735747

[thethe]

BTW Rico, I love the subject line. Nice touch.