Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet

[Ozzie Ball]

6. Courtney Hawkins, lf, White Sox

Team: high Class A Winston-Salem (Carolina)

Age: 19

Why He’s Here: .393/.419/.857 (10-for-19), 7 R, 4 2B, 3 HR, 14 RBIs, 2 BB, 8 SO, 1-for-1 SB

 

The Scoop: After a dreadful year with the Dash in 2013, Hawkins is out to prove he can hack it. He’s made some tweaks to approach, including lowering his hands, closing his stance and minimizing a leg kick. So far, the changes are paying dividends. He’s blasted three home runs and four doubles in the early going, which is a complete 180 from last year, when he collected 14 hits all of April. He also didn’t hit his first double of 2013 until April 30. Buyer beware, however. One scout we spoke with believed Hawkins’ bat was slow and noted that he swung through plenty of fastballs in the series he viewed.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/pros...ys-at-triple-a/

[Lillian]

To be playing and excelling at that level, at his age, is impressive. It's interesting that through the first 10 games, he has all of the Dash's homers.

Huge improvement over last season.

 

[danman31]

To be playing and excelling at that level, at his age, is impressive. It's interesting that through the first 10 games, he has all of the Dash's homers.

Huge improvement over last season.

He's certainly not excelling. 13 strikeouts in 41 plate appearances is still way too high.

[Soxfest]

He's certainly not excelling. 13 strikeouts in 41 plate appearances is still way too high.

Yes it is.

[NorthSideSox72]

The improvement is real - not just the offensive numbers, but specifically encouraging were reports on him adjusting to breaking balls at least a couple times and staying back a bit further.

 

On the other hand, the K rate is still far too high (though it's early). And what bothers me more is, some of the reports Wittman had (again, ignore his analysis and go with just his action reports) are saying he's still chili-dipping and flying open on inside pitches. This time last year, he had that same exact problem with pitches on the inner half, plus the flailing and breaking balls on the outer half.

 

So it sounds like he's made marginal improvement in one area, but none (or little) in the other. That doesn't mean it is write-off time - it just means the process of improvement will be slow with him.

 

[Balta1701]

If we're going to pay this much attention to his K-rate in his first 10 games then I might as well add the numbers.

 

Hawkins's K/PA in 2013: 37.6%

K/PA in 2014: 31.0%.

 

 

[fathom]

Meanwhile, Tim Anderson with an 18/44 ratio = 40.9%

[Ozzie Ball]

Micah Johnson in at #7 yesterday:

7. Micah Johnson, 2b

Micah Johnson

Team: Double-A Birmingham (Southern)

Age: 23

Why He’s Here: .407/.515/.556 (11-for-27), 4 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBIs, 6 BBs, 6 Ks, 5-for-6 on SBs.

 

The Scoop: Johnson is doing exactly what he’s supposed to do as Birmingham’s leadoff hitter. He gets on base and steals bags, although the rest of the Barons lineup has had a little trouble getting him in. Take away the three home runs, and Johnson has scored only nine times in 39 times on base.

 

Jacob May in the Not Hot:

Jacob May, of, White Sox: Maybe he’s tired from playing 170 games last season between college, the regular season and winter ball in Australia? No matter the case, May, 22, has started cold this season with high Class A Winston-Salem, where he’s hitting just .130/.231/.188 over the first 19 games. He had just one hit in 18 at-bats this week.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/pros...sheet-april-25/

[Ozzie Ball]

And from last weeks Hot Sheet chat with Ben Badler:

 

Nate (Chicago): Ben, I am cautiously optmistic with the video of a simplified swing and stats Courtney Hawkins is putting up. Are the reports positive from people seeing him more often than one or two at bats?

Ben Badler: A lot of his struggles last year were from an assignment he wasn’t ready for, so I cut him some slack there. You take one of the smartest kids in kindergarten and send him to the third grade, he’s going to embarrass himself because he can’t read yet. That said, I’m not a big Hawkins believer. The raw power, the bat speed, the athleticism, that’s all easy to see. But the pitch recognition and the holes in his swing still jump out to me, and those aren’t easy issues to address.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/pros...adler-april-18/

[Ozzie Ball]

And from this weeks hot sheet chat with JJ Cooper:

 

Sergio (Miami, FL): Slow start for Jacob May, as mentioned in the Hot Sheet.....is he worth being patient with, still profiling as a leadoff hitter with SB potential??

J.J. Cooper: Absolutely worth being patient with. We’re way too early in the season to be making sweeping generalizations about a player because he’s been struggling.

 

Carlos Camejo (Maracay - Venezuela): What are your thoughts on Cleuluis Rondon (SS Kannapolis / White Sox), What is his ceiling? thanks.

J.J. Cooper: The glove is pretty special. If he can hit at all he could be an Adieny Hechavarria/Jose Iglesias type player. So far, he hasn’t shown potential to be more than that at the plate.

 

Todd (MD): As a big Whitesox fan, an OF of Garcia, May, and Eaton would be interesting.....what do you see in May, and is the best comp his (possible) future teammate in Eaton? Thanks!

J.J. Cooper: Can’t got that far on May as Eaton showed WAY better hitting ability at every stop up the ladder. Eaton was a .348 career minor league hitter, which is borderline insane. May has had one month in his young career when he’s topped that .348 average

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/pros...ooper-april-25/

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

We are about a week short of my arbitrary benchmark for Hawkins to compare him to last season....

 

Yeah, Hawkins had 10 HR, 24 RBI in his first 27 games last season. But he was batting .200 and had 51 Ks by then too.

 

If he gets to 10 HR by his 27th game this season, I hope to god he is hitting above .240 and has no more than like 30 Ks, which is still too many, but digestible with that much power.

 

After 20 games, he is currently at 5 HR, has 25 K, and is hitting .280. So this start may actually be worse than last year's start if he surpasses the K mark and his HR number is half as much.

[Ozzie Ball]

Ravelo "In the team photo" last week:

 

Rangel Ravelo, 1b, White Sox. While Ravelo hit just four homers in 84 games in a hitter-friendly ballpark at high Class A Winston-Salem last season, he’s also a career .301 hitter who manipulates the barrel and takes his walks. If the 22-year-old grows into over-the-fence power, he has serious upside potential. So far, so good. Ravelo went 11-for-20 (.550) with five doubles, three walks and no strikeouts this week at Double-A Birmingham.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/pros...s-for-top-spot/

 

And from the associated chat (with Josh Norris):

Kenny (Highland Falls, NY): Whats wrong with Matt Davidson? Time to bail on him yet?

Josh Norris: After 25 bad games in a league where he’s much younger than the competition? Absolutely not.

 

Bob (Madison NC): who are your top three middle infield prospects in the South Atlantic League this year?

Josh Norris: J.P. Crawford, Abiatal Avelino, Cleuluis Rondon

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/pros...h-norris-may-2/

 

 

[caulfield12]

Ravelo "In the team photo" last week:

 

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/pros...s-for-top-spot/

 

And from the associated chat (with Josh Norris):

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/pros...h-norris-may-2/

 

 

Honestly, what credible commentator is going to answer "yes" to that question?

 

It's like the articles saying the Rangers are doomed to have a "bad" Prince Fielder for the rest of his contract. Now if it's a pitcher with dramatically reduced stuff or changed mechanics, like Sabathia, that's an entirely different question than a hitter struggling for a month or two.

[The Ginger Kid]

All we ever hear about is Hawkins' offense (for obvious reasons), but how is his defense?

[NorthSideSox72]

All we ever hear about is Hawkins' offense (for obvious reasons), but how is his defense?

Mixed reports. He was moved to a corner this year, which was thought to be his eventual role anyway. Generally, in CF, he was considered raw, but not as bad as some thought he may be. Still wasn't really a comfortable position for him. He's got some speed, and a very good arm, so you'd think he should be able to settle into a corner OF slot just fine.

 

[The Ginger Kid]

Mixed reports. He was moved to a corner this year, which was thought to be his eventual role anyway. Generally, in CF, he was considered raw, but not as bad as some thought he may be. Still wasn't really a comfortable position for him. He's got some speed, and a very good arm, so you'd think he should be able to settle into a corner OF slot just fine.

thanks