The common thread among the disappointing careers for the two Youngs, Hermida and Francoeur is that pitchers have exposed their plate discipline in the majors. But with the exception of Francoeur, that wasn't a major issue for any of them in the Double-A Southern League four years ago.

 

Delmon Young, whose performance I addressed in the May 19 Ask BA, could have drawn a few more walks but he didn't strike out excessively and did a good job of using the whole field and hanging in against breaking balls. He walked 25 times in 84 games for Montgomery and has taken just 90 free passes in 565 games since.

 

Hermida led the SL with 111 walks and a .457 on-base percentage in 2005, and while he isn't the free swinger the other guys are, he hasn't been nearly as disciplined with the Marlins. I hold out more hope for him than the rest of this group, and I wonder if Hermida has focused too much on trying to hit homers rather than letting them come naturally.

 

Francoeur struck out four times as much as he walked in the SL, and after he had a strong second half with the Braves in 2005, big league pitchers realized he'd get himself out if they'd let him. Francoeur hasn't adapted his approach, and athleticism alone isn't going to save him at the plate.

 

Chris Young walked 70 times in the SL, and though he had 129 strikeouts in 466 at-bats, he was making progress against offspeed pitches and using the whole field. His strikeout rate has stayed the same but his walk rate has dropped significantly, and if a hitter is going to chase out of the strike zone, major leaguers will let him.

 

Francoeur's struggles could have been forecast, but I don't know if anyone could have foreseen the extent of the Young's and Hermida's difficulties. I think this serves as another example of how developing and forecasting prospects is more art than science, and there always will be elite prospects who succeed in Double-A but can't get over the hump against better competition two levels higher in the major leagues. Our rankings are based on extensive conversations with scouts, player-development officials and managers, which gives us the weight of multiple looks at players from several different sources.

 

from baseballamerica.com, jim callis

 

Send Hermida our way

Arizona sent Chris Young to AAA in August, and he hit .370 in 13 games; still not hitting in NL, however.

Arizona sent Chris Young to AAA in August, and he hit .370 in 13 games; still not hitting in NL, however.

just recently had a 3 homer game and then hit another homer the next day. Of course, those are his last 4 hits too

The White sox sure seemed able to predict that Chris Young might have difficulty hitting in the bigs. Or they wouldn't have traded him. Looks like the sox were correct, as the D-backs are stuck with Young on a really bad deal.

The White sox sure seemed able to predict that Chris Young might have difficulty hitting in the bigs. Or they wouldn't have traded him. Looks like the sox were correct, as the D-backs are stuck with Young on a really bad deal.

And yet the Sox kept Brian Anderson...

I guess it was the first time ever that a player has had over 300 ABs, and hit three homers, while still hitting under .200.

And yet the Sox kept Brian Anderson...

Revisiting the trade, I forget, did the sox hold on to Anderson over Young or did the DBacks only want Young? I do remember KW saying out of all the minor leaguers he's traded Young was probably going to end up biting him in the behind.

Revisiting the trade, I forget, did the sox hold on to Anderson over Young or did the DBacks only want Young? I do remember KW saying out of all the minor leaguers he's traded Young was probably going to end up biting him in the behind.

I believe it was some of both.