Hawkins in August: New Hope?

[QuickJones81]

Before someone states the obvious, I am well aware that 6 games is too small of a sample size to really make a judgement call. With that being said Courtney has been doing much better since the calendar turned over to August, and maybe all hope is not lost yet.

 

In the 6 games in August:

.280/.280/.560 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, .375 wOBA, and a K% down to 28%. 28% is not good, but relatively speaking it is phenomenl for Courtney. I would think most people would be ecstatic if his numbers stayed similar to this moving forward for the rest of the season.

[witesoxfan]

Honestly, that's not enough of a difference for me to care. I am going to take this year at face value - signs of an incredibly talented player who has a very flawed approach at the plate - and check back next year. If he shows no signs of improving his strikeout percentage after 2 years, then I'm pretty much going to forget about him as anything other than maybe a poor man's Chris Carter.

Edited August 8, 2013 by witesoxfan

[southsider2k5]

Hopefully it means his pitch recognition is getting better

 

[Cerbaho-WG]

Before someone states the obvious, I am well aware that 6 games is too small of a sample size to really make a judgement call.

 

It is, and something like looking at the splits in a calendar month is horrendously ignorant.

[Chicago White Sox]

The K rate improvement is nice, but the complete lack of BBs is not good.

[NorthSideSox72]

If the K rate stays demonstrably lower for all of August/September for him... then I think it will be an indicator. Still an iffy one, but, at least a hint of improvement, which is good.

 

6 games though? Meaningless. He had a brief run of games where the K rate went down noticeably right before his injury too.

 

[QuickJones81]

It is, and something like looking at the splits in a calendar month is horrendously ignorant.

 

That is a bit extreme. How about keeping the conversation to the topic and not personal attacks.

[Y2Jimmy0]

Nathaniel Stoltz from Fangraphs wrote a fantastic, long piece on Courtney Hawkins today. It contains info that many of us have been waiting for.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/dissectin...-and-potential/

[fathom]

Just an incredible job by Stoltz

[OilCan]

And those videos to illustrate what he has seen and scouted puts everything in perspective about Courtney. Good stuff!

[Balta1701]

Nathaniel Stoltz from Fangraphs wrote a fantastic, long piece on Courtney Hawkins today. It contains info that many of us have been waiting for.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/dissectin...-and-potential/

TY Very much for sharing.

[Y2Jimmy0]

TY Very much for sharing.

 

 

No problem. For those of you that have twitter, Stoltz is a fantastic follow. He also sees a lot of the White Sox young players quite often.

[The Ginger Kid]

Nathaniel Stoltz from Fangraphs wrote a fantastic, long piece on Courtney Hawkins today. It contains info that many of us have been waiting for.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/dissectin...-and-potential/

Thanks for that -- great analysis.

After all, I’d rather have Hawkins struggling to lay off breaking pitches than struggling to hit the hittable ones. I’d rather have him have flaws in his hitting mechanics than just lacking bat speed or hand-eye coordination. Discipline and mechanics can be worked on, but the more natural athletic elements are far more difficult to repair, and those are rock-solid here. Until he falls behind players of his own age and development level, Hawkins remains an intriguing prospect, not a punchline.

[NorthSideSox72]

Very good article. Also very LOOOOONG.

 

Stoltz and I worked together a bit when I did a similar, much shorter, article back in April. Some of the conclusions we came to then still hold now, which you can see if you read both articles.

 

But this new one has much more detail, videos, and good recent information. Worth the long read.

 

[witesoxfan]

That was a wonderfully written piece. That certainly paints Hawkins' future much brighter than his numbers themselves do.

 

 

[winninguglyin83]

So here is the obvious question:

 

Why don't the White Sox have a hitting coach who is eliminating the flaws in his approach and swing?

[Boopa1219]

Even after this year I am still pretty high on Courtney Hawkins, like the article stated the issue he is going through can be fixed easily, and there are signs that he has the potential to be an impact player at the major league level, like his athleticism, ability to hit for power and his ability to hit mistakes. I think that his flaws are being highlighted due to the fact that he is playing against players with much more experience. His swing needs to be tightened up though, but it wouldn't surprise me if he has a good year.

[witesoxfan]

So here is the obvious question:

 

Why don't the White Sox have a hitting coach who is eliminating the flaws in his approach and swing?

 

Because if eliminating holes, refining mechanics, and improving tendencies were that easy, every guy who could hit the ball 500 feet would be Barry Bonds. It's not an easy process.

[Eminor3rd]

Even after this year I am still pretty high on Courtney Hawkins, like the article stated the issue he is going through can be fixed easily, and there are signs that he has the potential to be an impact player at the major league level, like his athleticism, ability to hit for power and his ability to hit mistakes. I think that his flaws are being highlighted due to the fact that he is playing against players with much more experience. His swing needs to be tightened up though, but it wouldn't surprise me if he has a good year.

 

No reason not to be. He had an aggressive promotion because he was raking at age-appropriate levels. He needs to be challenged so he is forced to improve his mechanics and approach. At this point, he's got every bit the ceiling we originally thought we had. If he toils all of next year and shows no improvement, then we can start to worry.