He could of course develope power and many hs players take longer to get to their power and he is only in his second year. Trout also only hit 10 hr his second year.

 

The reason for concern is more that Rutherford was old for a hs draftee so people expected the power to come quicker as most power growth tends to come from 18-20.

 

However part of his lack of power is swing plane/launch angle so maybe there might be some free power there when developing his swing and decreasing his grounder rate.

 

Next season in A+ ball will go a long way towards helping us understand what we have in Rutherford. Either he will take a step forward and assert himself, showing off developing power and plus hit tool, or he will take a step back and fall out of the top 100 prospects.

I get that power is important for a likely corner OF, but with all the power of Jimenez, Moncada, Burger and Sheets, et. al. in the system, I would rather Rutheford turn into a high average/OBP guy with middling power than a low average/OBP guy with a significant amount of homeruns. Basically, I hope his power develops, but I also hope he doesn't "sell out" his approach for dingers.

He's young so I'll give him some benefit of the doubt, but at the same time if he is truly an elite prospect he should be doing more than just holding his own.

 

Next season will be telling as he gets bumped up to A+ Winston Salem. We need to see more pop and arguably more from the bat in general.

Oh so true.

 

We have to remember, the Yanks are very shrewd. That is, they might have given up on Rutherford as an "elite" prospect. Otherwise, they would not have let him go, possibly.

 

AFL might be very good for him.

 

Oh so true.

 

We have to remember, the Yanks are very shrewd. That is, they might have given up on Rutherford as an "elite" prospect. Otherwise, they would not have let him go, possibly.

 

AFL might be very good for him.

 

The other thing about elite talents is they do sometimes go through stretches of just holding their own and then suddenly the stars align and they just start killing it. Eloy didn't do a whole lot in his first couple years in pro ball. Reynaldo Lopez hung around for several years without doing much before just getting it figured out.

Biggest concern for me is the reports that he makes a lot of soft contact. Just following the game logs since he was traded, seems like a ton of soft ground outs.

He could of course develope power and many hs players take longer to get to their power and he is only in his second year. Trout also only hit 10 hr his second year.

 

Trout was also in the majors by the time he was Rutherfords age.

The comp that gets thrown on Rutherford a lot is David Justice. Thats not a bad player, will probably get you 25-30 HR's at his peak, get on base at a high clip, be an asset in the field and steal 20-30 bases.

Trout was also in the majors by the time he was Rutherfords age.

 

Wait, so you are saying it is unlikely that he will turn out to be a historically great player? Rats.

The comp that gets thrown on Rutherford a lot is David Justice. Thats not a bad player, will probably get you 25-30 HR's at his peak, get on base at a high clip, be an asset in the field and steal 20-30 bases.

 

Huh?

 

I would be absolutely thrilled if Rutherford ended up having a career anywhere close to David Justice^

 

Justice was a career .279/.378/.500 hitter with 40.5 career WAR and 305 home runs. While not a superstar, that is rock solid production.

Huh?

 

I would be absolutely thrilled if Rutherford ended up having a career anywhere close to David Justice^

 

Justice was a career .279/.378/.500 hitter with 40.5 career WAR and 305 home runs. While not a superstar, that is rock solid production.

 

Thats why I said, that nots a bad player to have.

 

People seem to think that everyone one of these guys should be superstars, but you need guys like this to really put your team over the top. Another guy that could be a comp would be Yelich in Miami.

If Rutherford were expected to be anything like the player, that Trout turned out to be, it would have taken a lot more than what the Sox gave up, in order to get him. Failing to be realistic is going to lead to a lot of very serious disappointment. He doesn't need to become a "Super Star' to be an important part of this rebuild. The Sox already have 3 other potential young star outfielders in Jimenez, Robert and Adolfo so he doesn't need to be a big star. Wouldn't you guys be happy with a solid defensive left fielder who hit something like Melky, but with more speed?

Edited August 14, 20178 yr by Lillian

If Rutherford were expected to be anything like the player, that Trout turned out to be, it would have taken a lot more than what the Sox gave up, in order to get him. Failing to be realistic is going to lead to a lot of very serious disappointment. He doesn't need to become a "Super Star' to be an important part of this rebuild. The Sox already have 3 other potential young star outfielders in Jimenez, Robert and Adolfo so he doesn't need to be a big star. Wouldn't you guys be happy with a solid defensive left fielder who hit something like Melky, but with more speed?

 

While MIcker Adolpho has a very high ceiling, he also has the floor of a low minors bust due to his K rate. Rutherford might not have a 40 homer ceiling, but everything else about him is higher than Micker.

While MIcker Adolpho has a very high ceiling, he also has the floor of a low minors bust due to his K rate. Rutherford might not have a 40 homer ceiling, but everything else about him is higher than Micker.

 

Which of our top 4 outfield prospects turns out to be the best is unknowable, at this point. So far, Jimenez is the only one who seems like a sure thing. My point was that Rutherford does not need to be a super star, like Trout, to be a big part of the rebuild.

Which of our top 4 outfield prospects turns out to be the best is unknowable, at this point. So far, Jimenez is the only one who seems like a sure thing. My point was that Rutherford does not need to be a super star, like Trout, to be a big part of the rebuild.

 

It is unknowable, but the odds are much higher for Rutherford.

This trade still blows my mind. Put me down as someone who thinks that Kahnle alone will have a higher career WAR than Rutherford