I've seen the future of CF and his name is Jennings

by JWallace on Jun 29, 2008 7:02 PM EDT Comment 20 comments

Poor relay throws, lousy baserunning, misjudged fly balls, ugly instincts....

That pretty much described last night's Vero Rays vs. Reds game. It was sad watching most of the action....

Then came Desmond.

There was a shot heading for the gap in right-center field and the moment it left the bat, Jennings was on the move in the right direction (very un BJ like). And honestly, it didn't look like he was running that hard....but all of a sudden he was Andruw Jones, circa 1999, tracking the ball down. It was just beautiful. All of a sudden BJ's refusal to sign long term seems less troubling.

Though he had only one hit, each swing was really solid. Even his outs were hard outs. Anyhow, everything he did justified him being our best outfield prospect in the system.

Now for the ugly (and there was plenty):

-If that is the way Rocco Baldelli now has to run...Yikes. I mean there's a beatable infield hit and he is in a deliberate trot. I believe David Ortiz could have beaten him to the bag. Now, maybe he had just given up on the play as he came out of the box, given it is an A ball game. But boy, if that's how Rocco is going to play for now on, he's of no value. Will he be able to get to second on a shot in the gap?

- Evan Longoria shouldn't be worried at all about Cesar Suarez replacing him at third ever. Ranging two steps right or left is clearly asking too much for Suarez who made this silly dive to his left in which I swear if he just made two steps over he'd have had it. All night it seemed like he was in concrete shoes.

-Neil Walton gets lots of praise as having a great infield arm. And he sure does. He took a relay through from right field and launched a throw to the back stop on a rope. It was 10 feet higher than the catcher. I wondered if his eyes were open when he threw the ball.

-And LF Garrett Groce did his best BJ Upton. At the crack of the bat he started going back on the ball, which then dropped in front of him for a run scoring singled...sheesh. And at bat, he looked back at the ump on several called strikes.

Anyhow with David Price and Jeremy Hellickson gone, it appears Jennings is a man among boys in High-A ball.

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Nice report

... except for the BJ Upton hatred.

by Ben Tumbling on Jun 29, 2008 7:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Not hate

Look I love BJ’s bat, but defensively he’s made a lot of mistakes….yesterday for instance on the ill advised back handed play…..the run-ins with Ruggiano and Crawford…the break in break outs…. Maddon last week had to have a meeting with him again. His bat is good enough to be a franchise player, but his defense is akin to Soriano. I don’t know if its loss of focus or bad instincts…but its clear he’s not a natural centerfielder. Great athlete, not a great CF. Doesn’t mean I hate him.

Secondly, BJ and his brother clearly will test the open market. There’s no long term deal here. He knows he can get Soriano money from the Yankees when he comes due. I can see a big money deal to play left field in Yankee stadium. We’d better be grooming potential replacements now. Jennings looks like he could be that guy. I hope I’m wrong and BJ instead decided to leave millions on the table to stick around here….but it seems that’s not likely.

by JWallace on Jun 30, 2008 1:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

How was Desmond at the plate patience wise?

by R.J. Anderson on Jun 29, 2008 7:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Whenever I have seen him

he seems to have a good eye and has good plate patience.

Top Josh Paul Pornos- Big Navi Stroking, 2pitchers1cup, BJ to the Balls

BELIEVE in 08!

by SRQman on Jun 29, 2008 11:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not much to report there

I wasn’t paying too close attention to his patience, sorry. It was the first time I watched him and didn’t know that was a question. But, he didn’t chase any bad pitches and made solid contact on the pitches he got a bat on.

by JWallace on Jun 30, 2008 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

When I have seen him

he took a lot of pitches. In fact, until his last 2 at bats against Clearwater last Wednesday, I had not seen him swing at a first pitch or first strike even in about 7 ABs or so. Then he did swing at the first pitch in those 2 ABs, and got hits each time. Otherwise he always got into deep counts.

He looks like a good ballplayer. Seems to hit a lot of ground balls (he is very fast) and is very smooth in CF. He hits the ball hard. From what I have read, he is quite advanced in his skills and my observations back that up.

He has had a problem staying healthy; that has to be a concern.

As an aside, I am unhappy too about Upton’s recent troubles in CF, but my guess is he is simply having a bad week. Fans seem to think he gets distracted or is lazy out there, but I think that is nonsense. He is very gifted and does many things effortlessly so it sometimes appears he is loafing when it is simply talent that makes everything look easy.

Riggans does need to be more alert behind the plate. Can’t complain given his contributions today, but this is at least the third instance of brain fart for him. Between him and Upton, they probably cost Sonnanstine 7 shutout innings.

by bobr on Jun 29, 2008 8:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Fernando Perez?

In the name of Sinji Mori, we shall win!

by thebaddancingraysfan on Jun 29, 2008 9:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

no

maybe in years past, but I’ve seen FP 6 or 7 times this season and he does not look like a MLB starting outfielder. He may very well have staying power in the league because of his speed but we are going to be in trouble if he is starting in CF for us in the next 2-3 years.

by Dbullsfan on Jun 30, 2008 1:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Gathright?

Longlorious.

by RATW on Jun 30, 2008 1:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

How long has Desmond been playing outfield?

Compared to BJ?

Amazing how it seems people don’t mind if BJ is even on this team.

by tallyray on Jun 29, 2008 10:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Criminal.

by R.J. Anderson on Jun 29, 2008 10:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I mind.

Longlorious.

by RATW on Jun 29, 2008 10:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

BJ is right

DJ in CF plz??

Top Josh Paul Pornos- Big Navi Stroking, 2pitchers1cup, BJ to the Balls

BELIEVE in 08!

by SRQman on Jun 29, 2008 11:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

why wouldnt anyone love (a) BJ?

desmond jennings might be the future centerfielder but jwallace why are you so down on BJ? i hope that he signs and soon because even though his power numbers are down his plate discipline is just amazing and he has a cannon out there in center i cant believe people still run on his arm, and bj has become a pretty good SB threat this year so i hope bj signs sometime this year or this offseason because no one can replace him

by RaysOfHope on Jun 29, 2008 11:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If you don't get frustrated watching his mental errors....

then I don’t know what to tell you. BJ could be a great player, but he’s not one yet. I hope he decides to become one soon.

The artist formerly known as TonyT

by acelion on Jun 30, 2008 2:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He's a great player right now...

But anyway, what does “I hope he decides to become one soon” mean? Does BJ have some ridiculous control over his ability that other players don’t have? Are we asking Jason Bartlett to decide to hit the ball harder soon? Or asking Gabe Gross to decide to hit lefties? Or asking Gary Glover to decide to have better stuff? Did we ask Jorge Cantu or Brendan Harris to decide to player better defense so they could be better members of the team?

Why is it that everyone thinks B.J. Upton has control over all of his unlimited talents and abilities while other players are playing within theirs? It’s it totally unfair and detracts from how great a player he is, even with the flaws.

Did you know BJ Upton has the second highest OPS+ in baseball among players 23 or young? Only Evan is higher. Did you know B.J.’s OBP his forty points higher than any other player 23 or younger? If Upton finishes the season with his current OBP he will have the eighth highest OBP since 2000 of players 23 or younger. Who’s ahead of him? Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Joe Mauer, Austin Kearns, Troy Glaus, and Adam Dunn.

Upton is so advanced for his age that people forget he is 23. I could understand if people said “B.J. Upton is a very good player but he still makes some bad plays and needs more experience in center.”

It isn’t that, instead the comments are “B.J. Upton is lazy and needs to start playing better, he’s really wasting a lot of talent.”

by tallyray on Jun 30, 2008 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's not that he's lazy...

He’s just not a natural centerfielder. His defense is way behind his offense. No one is arguing that he’s not one of the best hitters on the team. His bat speed is astounding. He’s Alfonso Soriano like. He just makes a lot of mistakes in calling off other fielders and misjudges some balls he should be able to get to. Hopefully his bad breaks on balls gets corrected with time.

Again, this post wasn’t meant to detract from BJ (I didn’t think I was being that rough on him) as much, as it was to show how good Jennings is coming around and how he could be a viable replacement when/if BJ walks in 2012.

by JWallace on Jun 30, 2008 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Apples and oranges

You cited several examples that are pretty unreasonable to expect. For exeample, i think we all know that Cantu and Harris weren’t cabaple of playing any better defense than what they were playing. They were doing the best they could do, and their failures weren’t due to a lack of effort and concentration.

Upton absolutely has the abaility to play better defensively because his problems stem from lack of effective communication and poor concentration, not to mention a lack of fundamentals (i.e. catch the ball before you think about throwing it).

I was very aware of B.J.’s offensive numbers., but great players are not one dimensionsal.

P.S. If the sight of B.J. dogging it down the line on a less than sure thing double play ball last night didn’t bother you, then again I don’t know what to tell you.

The artist formerly known as TonyT

by acelion on Jul 1, 2008 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Its not that I don't want him...

It’s just from what we have heard from the Uptons, they are both aiming to his the free market. Probably smart on their move because they will make gobs of money. I just think we need to be developing an answer when Upton gets a $15-18 million a year offer from a team in NY, Boston, or LA.

BTW, when is Upton’s free agent year? Anyone know?

by JWallace on Jun 30, 2008 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs