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What is Blake Rutherford's upside?


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I don't think that rutherford has no power. Remember he is a HS draftee and those usually take a little longer to grow into the power even though he is old for a hs guy.

 

Longenhagen said his game power plays below his raw right now plus he is currently a grounder machine (has slightly improved this year). If he elevates more there probably is more power right now and there is strength to add too.

 

Fg has a 55 future power on him which is around 20 bombs and I think he can get there.

 

His arm plays better in left than in center or right though.

 

So 280/350/450 with some walks and 20 bombs plus above average D in left should be realistic. That would be like a 3.5 WAR player.

Edited by GermanSock
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QUOTE (GermanSock @ Jul 21, 2017 -> 04:17 AM)
I don't think that rutherford has no power. Remember he is a HS draftee and those usually take a little longer to grow into the power even though he is old for a hs guy.

 

Longenhagen said his game power plays below his raw right now plus he is currently a grounder machine (has slightly improved this year). If he elevates more there probably is more power right now and there is strength to add too.

 

Fg has a 55 future power on him which is around 20 bombs and I think he can get there.

 

His arm plays better in left than in center or right though.

 

So 280/350/450 with some walks and 20 bombs plus above average D in left should be realistic. That would be like a 3.5 WAR player.

 

I seen a comp while going back to his draft day of Brady Anderson minus the 50 HR season and better defense and a bit more average in RF.

 

also came across both of these profile pieces by the yankees on him

 

prospect watch & Orgins: Blake Rutherford

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QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 20, 2017 -> 10:24 AM)
Lillian's health, though, would be extraordinary.

 

You bet, "bmags"!!! If he played like Sizemore, before the injuries, we'd all be ecstatic. However, I really doubt that he'll be that good.

Look at Grady's 4 years, between ages 22 and 25. He was as a star. If Rutherford becomes that kind of player, the trade was a big win for the Sox.

Edited by Lillian
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QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 21, 2017 -> 08:46 AM)
Me too. I'd like to see him get up to .440-.450 slugging by end of year, but will feel okay if he just keeps his k:bb ratio and k% where it is.

I'm hoping he hits like his current road splits (.315/.373/.452) the rest of the year.

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QUOTE (Lillian @ Jul 21, 2017 -> 09:44 AM)
You bet, "bmags"!!! If he played like Sizemore, before the injuries, we'd all be ecstatic. However, I really doubt that he'll be that good.

Look at Grady's 4 years, between ages 22 and 25. He was as a star. If Rutherford becomes that kind of player, the trade was a big win for the Sox.

 

LF - Grady Sizemore

CF - Adam Jones

RF - Jermaine Dye

3B - Kevin Millar

SS - Alexei Ramirez

2B - Robinson Cano

1B - Jim Thome (later career)

C. - Mike Napoli

DH - Jose Abreu

 

It's gonna happen guys...

 

... hopefully. Please.

 

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Yeah I don't understand the concern on Rutherford. Probably a product of everyone expecting him to fly through the system after mashing rookie ball. Eaton didn't hit a single home run his senior year in college! And flashed none at the lower levels.

 

Dude literally just turned 20, and he's flashing good OBP and contact skills. Power is always the last skill to develop, we've seen it time and time again.

 

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QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 20, 2017 -> 09:57 AM)
I wouldn't say there's nothing to get excited about. He is only striking out 18% of the time, and walking a little over 8% of the time. The glaring part is power. And he is hitting doubles, he doesn't appear to be hitting a Collins amount of groundballs either.

 

It is just power. But if the power never comes he's useless. But it'd be worse if it was no power, no discipline.

Useless? So if he's a 310 career hitter who has a 380-390 OBP career, he's useless?

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QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Jul 21, 2017 -> 01:11 PM)
Useless? So if he's a 310 career hitter who has a 380-390 OBP career, he's useless?

 

He is not useless without power but 310 means he is almost an 80 hitter. Maybe he has a year or two with 310 but the scouts see him more as a 60 hitter which is still very good (around 280) and if he is a 280 hitter with average speed and arm in a corner and the power doesn't come the value is limited. Still a mlb player but probably a 4th of.

 

But if he does develop 55 power or so that is a much more valuable piece and a clearly above average player.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have been seeing more national love for Blake since the trade. The response on here was less than enthusiastic and there were some articles out there initially that were saying the Yanks were down on him but it appears there are definitely some people who really like his game out there.

 

mayo.PNG

 

 

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I will say this people on this site are way too down on this guy for some reason. Watch some of his videos the Yankees produced this kid has a really good head on his shoulders and I think mentally he will approach adversity well if he encounters it. Coupled with his talent I think he is a very good bet to be an impact player down the road. You have to be patient with the development of high school kids its rare for them to fly through a system even if they are a top 100 prospect.

 

As for the power? Get them in the weight room consistently and get them better food. Hear from former minor leaguers (not White Sox) about how bad the food options are as a minor league player. Coupled with more confidence from increasing reps in pro ball and that power will blossom. Same goes for Jimenez and others. Just requires some discipline.

Edited by soxforlife05
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Kid has a very good head on his shoulders. This is a good read and perfect timing for this thread.

 

https://www.milb.com/milb/news/kannapolis-i...250/t-185364810

 

.Whenever anyone gets traded, the first thing you want to do is get as comfortable as possible," the California native said. "I've been getting along with everyone. We have an amazing team with amazing talent and all of them have really helped me find a comfort level in a short amount of time. I'm thankful to all of them for helping me out."
Edited by BlackSox13
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  • 2 weeks later...

Blake is the youngest position player on the Kannapolis roster, and holding his own. He turned 20 in May, so it is way too early to be concerned.

 

This video provides some interesting insight into what kind of person he is:

 

Edited by Lillian
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Sounds like they'll have to work with him on his swing to improve his launch angle / elevation. If they can do that without messing anything else up, the raw power potential is there to be a pretty exciting offensive player. It's going to take time though. I think an ETA of mid 2020 is a best case scenario for him.

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QUOTE (Lillian @ Aug 10, 2017 -> 09:35 AM)
Blake is the youngest position player on the Kannapolis roster, and holding his own. He turned 20 in May, so it is way too early to be concerned.

 

This video provides some interesting insight into what kind of person he is:

 

 

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.

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QUOTE (Lillian @ Aug 10, 2017 -> 10:35 AM)
Blake is the youngest position player on the Kannapolis roster, and holding his own. He turned 20 in May, so it is way too early to be concerned.

 

This video provides some interesting insight into what kind of person he is:

 

 

Almost makes me feel bad that he got traded to us. A massive part of that video was his connection to the Yankees.

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QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 10, 2017 -> 05:17 PM)
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=m...itting/2017/ALL

Tucker went from 9 to 18 homers (so far) this season but he's not exactly tearing up AA. 785 ops.

 

Will be 21 at beginning of next year.

 

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.

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