Fangraphs Interview with Shewmake

[ramadon101]

Shewmake sounds like a future quality regular (as a floor) with a much higher ceiling than I think most currently project. He has a quality approach at the plate and good bat to ball skills. Curious to see how his body fills out and whether that forces him off of SS or if he's going to be a big body SS that retains his defensive prowess going forward.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/braves-p...-pitchers-cap/

[Super]

man, i love this dude.

[50PoundHead]

Good interview. He seems to have a great idea of what he wants to do as a hitter.

[thewupk]

If the Rays wanted him then I'm glad we took him.

[Enscheff]

Depending on his exit velocities, and how they progress, he might need that awful approach coached out of him. It is the typical "make the terrible fielders you currently play against get you out" approach that infects so many amateur players.

He literally just comped himself to Yelich, stated he didn't know he was going to become an MVP, and then failed to realize Yelich became an MVP caliber player the moment he abandoned that awful approach and started hitting the ball in the air 25% of the time and stopped slapping it the other way as much.

[Super]

If the Rays wanted him then I'm glad we took him.

Kiley posted something on twitter today sort of about this:

There's a funny thing I've noticed in prospect calls this year. Teams are normally eager to tell me which prospects draw the most trade interest, but are especially eager this year to pinpoint when the Dodgers or Rays have interest. "We aren't sure why, but they asked for him."
Kiley McDaniel
@kileymcd
·
2h
I had an exec from one of those clubs tell me about an instance where they asked for a mediocre player in a trade and the other team balked because they didn't know why LAD/TBR asked for that player, assuming they knew something the other team didn't, and literally said that.


if the Rays wanted him, i have faith.

[CJ9]

ZIPS top 100 lists Shewmake at 29: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/zips-202...100-prospects/.

[bravesfanMatt]

ZIPS top 100 lists Shewmake at 29: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/zips-202...100-prospects/.

They have tucker Davidson at 75????

[Super]

They have tucker Davidson at 75????

it's not calling him the 75th best prospect by any means.

[bravesfanMatt]

it's not calling him the 75th best prospect by any means.

I know zips is a projection process with some known errors built in but they still think he will be the 75 best Prospect. I really don’t know that much about him. Seems others in our system are better than him.

[Tapate50]

I know zips is a projection process with some known errors built in but they still think he will be the 75 best Prospect. I really don’t know that much about him. Seems others in our system are better than him.

Eh.

Hes apparently added some real velo and last year was supposed to be a big step forward for him. He's got a hammer breaking ball already.

[Super]

I know zips is a projection process with some known errors built in but they still think he will be the 75 best Prospect. I really don’t know that much about him. Seems others in our system are better than him.

i think all it means is that out of all the current prospects he's projected to put up the 75th most WAR this season. considering how many very good prospects are in A-ball and below and aren't projected to be in the big leagues at all, it's more a proximity thing rather than a talent thing.

[bravesfanMatt]

i think all it means is that out of all the current prospects he's projected to put up the 75th most WAR this season. considering how many very good prospects are in A-ball and below and aren't projected to be in the big leagues at all, it's more a proximity thing rather than a talent thing.

Oh. So their WAr is for the majors. I thought they were doing some sort of minor league calc somehow. Makes more sense now.

[OcalaBrave]

His interview kind of has echoes of how Soroka used to come off as a prospect. Seems way more advanced in his approach than would be expected. .320 with 60 doubles sounds like a fine approach to me.

[Enscheff]

It’s not a fine approach if he could be a .300 hitter with 40 HR power instead. Not sure if that’s at all likely for him though, but that’s the Yelich story.

The terrible approach he has is very typical of amateur players, and is typically coaches out of them if they become MLB players with playable HR power.

[bravesfanMatt]

It’s not a fine approach if he could be a .300 hitter with 40 HR power instead. Not sure if that’s at all likely for him though, but that’s the Yelich story.

The terrible approach he has is very typical of amateur players, and is typically coaches out of them if they become MLB players with playable HR power.

I think the approach is fine for developing players. Having the ability to hit the ball to all fields is fine. Once he hits AAA and majors he can adjust his swing to attack and drive more.

[Tapate50]

What he said is being taught at lower levels too... make sure you can handle away first.

[Super]

I think the approach is fine for developing players. Having the ability to hit the ball to all fields is fine. Once he hits AAA and majors he can adjust his swing to attack and drive more.

yeah, we've seen a lot of guys recently come up in the MLB who didn't show a ton of pop in the minors but could hit, and then found that pop after being just plain good hitters before.

[Russ2dollas]

FF still says he tries to hit the ball over the SS head every time. Now he's FF but that is what he says.

If you are going to be an impact hitter today you have to have power. Maybe that is a ton of doubles for him and less HRs. But you have to hit for extra bases.

It's also big for him if he stays at SS. I know some keep trying to move him off of SS and to a utility role. I'm not sure I've seen anyone project him to hit enough to be a plus at 3B or a corner OF. I think those who are bullish are calling for a good hitting SS with average SS defense. If he's not a full time SS then he's going to have to hit even more.

After a year doing whatever he did at the alternate site, it will be interesting to see what he does at AA and maybe AAA. Doubt he's hitting many dingers in AA.

[Enscheff]

Freeman may say he tries to hit liners over the SS, but the facts are he hits 35% of his balls in the air, and pulls 40% of them. He is an elite hitter, and has a batted ball distribution of an elite hitter.

If Shewmake wants to model himself after Yelich he would do well to understand what actually makes Yelich a great hitter. Here’s a hint: it isn’t spraying the ball the other way.

Of course Shewmake may not have the exit velocities to support being anything other than a gap to gap hitter, which makes the Yelich comp and any discussions about his approach at the plate pointless.