And reading reports and understanding that the Braves are aggressively promoting him.
Mallex Smith promoted to AAA
- Thread starter thethe
- Start date
And reading reports and understanding that the Braves are aggressively promoting him.
yeezus
It's OVER 5,000!
He's clearly very difficult to get out. Obviously more than 9 XBH would be nice, but he's still just 22 in AA and ripped thru the league, plus it's a small sample (57 games). Last year he had 19 XBH in 65 games in the midwest league before being promoted *where he continued to rake, but those numbers don't count (at all).
*edit
yeezus
It's OVER 5,000!
I've brought up a ton of points.
Lower K rate, same BB rate while moving from A+ to AA. Fair point.
Comps that showed little power but similar other numbers and eventually found more power. Fair point.
Improving while moving up levels. Fair point.
19 xbh in 65 games in the midwest league. Fair point.
You forgot I said intelligent
yeezus
It's OVER 5,000!
Refer to the edited post. None of those points matter? They're all stupid, moronic points? Really?
We ALL read those same reports. Your opinion from reading those reports and boxscores is different than gf's. Mine might be different than both of yours.
The point is NONE of us are watching him play. This is why I prefer to trust those scouts and player development people that see him on a regular basis than any of us sitting here pecking on a keyboard in front of a computer screen.
I do watch him play on minorleaguebaseball.com and youtube. There are tons of videos of him.
yeezus
It's OVER 5,000!
And our scouts really liked him. One scout this week compared him to Kenny Lofton. Now that he's done what he's done in AA, I suspect he will get more attention on prospect lists. People can dismiss it if they choose, but what he did in AA this year was certainly impressive.
No one is saying he's a slam dunk, perennial all-star player . But it's really hard to find reasons not to be encouraged by what he's doing right now.
yeezus
It's OVER 5,000!
How convenient this gets ignored. Guess all of those points are just unintelligent.
Lower K rate, same BB rate while moving from A+ to AA. Fair point. Fair point brought up by others and just repeated by you
Comps that showed little power but similar other numbers and eventually found more power. Fair point. Means nothing
Improving while moving up levels. Fair point. This is arguable. Don't account for the affect the increased BABIP. Still encouraging even if someone considers he maintained his level of play.
19 xbh in 65 games in the midwest league. Fair point. 65 games?
YouTube videos provide very little context - when have you seen errors, strikeouts, weak pop outs, or caught stealing clips there?
All these things are so much easier if everyone just says they're stating THEIR OPINION based on whatever videos or handful of games they've seen sitting at their computer with little context or based on the reports and boxscores they've read online.
The point is that none of us have seen him play live on a regular basis - I'll trust the professionals opinions more than yours, thethe's, or mine TYVM. What's the harm in admitting you're a message board poster and not an expert folks???
yeezus
It's OVER 5,000!
Actually, who brought up that point before me? I've been bringing that point up for a while.
Those comps don't "mean nothing." They aren't super important, but have a place, and show that power can certainly come.
19 XBH in 65 games last year before being promoted to the league where his numbers don't count for anything at all.
I agree for the most part. But, when you watch his swing, it's tough to assume bc Lofton/Gardner made strides in the power department than he will too. Smith is a guy that bunts a ton and slaps the ball to left field. If you can project that to become a major leaguer with .120+ iso then kudos to you.
I don't think anyone is calling themselves and expert, but if all you want to do is go by Braves scouts, we might as well shut down the message board. People will have opinions; rightly or wrongly. Or you can just post like a teenager like Yeezus.
I'm guessing Mallex turns into Juan Pierre, the guy with a career .340+ OBP, 600+ SBs, and almost no power. I just hope Mallex doesn't have Juan's noodle arm.
Pierre never struck out, but Mallex may be striking out in an effort to draw more walks, which he does more than Pierre did at similar ages/levels. So if Mallex is a .290/.360/.360 guy with 50+ SBs a year while playing a solid CF for 10-15 years, I'm a happy camper.
Pierre never struck out, but Mallex may be striking out in an effort to draw more walks, which he does more than Pierre did at similar ages/levels. So if Mallex is a .290/.360/.360 guy with 50+ SBs a year while playing a solid CF for 10-15 years, I'm a happy camper.
Which I don't do. I have very limited understanding of what a .120 ISO even means, which is why I don't typically use statistics to pick my personal comps for players.
I've seen Smith very little, but from what I've seen he looks (and sounds in all the reports I've read) more like Otis Nixon or Vince Coleman than either of those guys. The difference (for me at least) is that I don't see ANY reason he needs to develop more power. The Hamilton comps seem understandable to me based on the eye test, and I'll even throw another name out there - Dee Gordon. Gordon may have a little more gap power but when you're picking from a list of Lofton/Gardner/Nixon/Coleman/Gordon, it seems to me that you're splitting hairs - I'd take any of them. I'd be thrilled if Mallex brought that kind of excitement to the top of the Braves lineup for several years.
That's how I differ because I wouldn't want Billy Hamilton in center field. At least not at the level he's played so far.
Dee Gordon before this fluky year........ehhh maybe.
Certainly not Vince Coleman or Nixon.
Would certainly take Lofton or Gardner.
Tapate50
Well-known member
Braves prospect OF Mallex Smith has been promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett from Double-A Mississippi.
Smith put together an outstanding first half at Mississippi, as he ranked second in the Southern League in batting average (.340), on-base percentage (.418) and stolen bases (23) at the time of his promotion. The only knock on the 22-year-old center fielder is that he possesses little power, evidenced by his two home runs and nine extra-base hits in 58 games this season. However, he more than makes up for it with his excellent contact skills (80% contact rate this season), plus-plus speed and strong defense at a premium position. He could be an option for the Braves at some point later this season.
Smith put together an outstanding first half at Mississippi, as he ranked second in the Southern League in batting average (.340), on-base percentage (.418) and stolen bases (23) at the time of his promotion. The only knock on the 22-year-old center fielder is that he possesses little power, evidenced by his two home runs and nine extra-base hits in 58 games this season. However, he more than makes up for it with his excellent contact skills (80% contact rate this season), plus-plus speed and strong defense at a premium position. He could be an option for the Braves at some point later this season.
I don't know why you wouldn't take the first 6-8 years of Coleman's career or the middle portion of Nixon's. They both ranged from slightly above-average to pretty good in this stretches. I think you're valuing OPS too much and not putting enough focus simply on OBP for these leadoff SB-heavy types.
I agree with you on Hamilton, though even he has been serviceable at least given everything he brings.
There's no doubt there is reason for caution when looking at Smith. AAA will be a big test for him, and that's where Hamilton was exposed to some degree. But there is definitely reason for hope and excitement, as pretty much everyone has said. Beyond that, we just have to wait and see.
It's interesting to me, though, that Hamilton became an elite prospect, into the top 20, after his AA season. Mallex still probably won't crack the top 100 and wasn't even on the radar before this year.
If I had to make a guess, I'd say Mallex becomes roughly a .275/.360/.335 type, and if he can get his defense to average or better with 60+ steals, I'll take it all day, even if his OPS is under .700.