I actually had them switched at one point. It really depends on what you want to emphasize; I liked Eierman more pre-draft so I stayed with it. He’s unrefined, but I love the offensive ceiling as a good athlete who provides speed and a lot of raw power.

It was funny, I actually had Eierman-Goetzman-Goeddel 46-47-48 on my draft board pre-draft. Found it humorous when they all ended up in Tampa Bay.

Goetzman has some excellent raw power (more than Eierman) but scouts I talked to projected him as more of a solid regular type rather than a star. His approach at the plate needs work.

Eierman is pretty similar to Goetzman… prep infielder who will end up in the OF (Goetzman in a corner, Eierman slightly better chance at CF). Good power and hit tool but raw approach. From what I’ve seen and the conversations I’ve had I feel that Eierman’s tools are a little louder and he also has a bit more foot speed. Eierman might have a tad more bat speed as well and he’s more of a fast twitch athlete – not that Goeztman isn’t athletic in his own right. They’re not dissimilar at all, though – and both are young and still growing into their tools & bodies. Really just illustrates how jumbled the back of this list/system is.

I (obviously) feel Goeddel isn’t out of this conversation either and wouldn’t be shocked to find a scout preferred him to both Eierman and Goetzman. Goetzman and Goeddel both just missed my list, by the way… Along with Brandon Martin, Jeff Ames, Jake Hager, Grayson Garvin, Josh Sale… All roughly the same quality of prospect – though I will say I do prefer most of the draftees to Sale, who hasn’t hit, is going to end up a below average glove in a corner, has mechanical issues with his swing and whose only standout tool is power.

Got very busy and I forgot to check back in here.

Can you explain how a guy is capable of hitting 15 triples in 500AB when he doesn’t really drive the ball at all?

Comes down to a few factors:
-He’s a very skinny guy without much strength. VERY skinny. There were some concern he’d be a guy who gets the bat knocked out of his hands in the majors.
-He doesn’t have the kind of bat speed that would create HR power to all fields, though will run into a few he squares up
-He leaks towards the pitcher and hits off his front foot, emphasizing contact at the expense of power/hitting the ball hard
-Simple swing without much loading of his hands, suited more to contact than power
-Line drive/groundball swing plane without much leverage, suited more to contact than power
-Goes oppo a lot, flinging the bat head out , which isn’t conducive to power

The feedback from scouts I asked about him wasn’t overly positive. I hesitate to mention it because I know you’re all going to hate it here, but one even suggested he’d fit better in a utility role, but I think I convinced him he’d have value than that even if he doesn’t hit much. Sidenote – this kind of disparity in opinions about a kid is not at all peculiar among scouts & should not be overemphasized. His general criticisms of Lee were very similar to my own above.

As for how he put up solid power numbers? Well, let’s break that down a little. First off, he played in a minor league park in the FSL in Charlotte that is actually very conduce to lefthanded power. Doubles factor of +109 and HR factor of +123 (for those of you not versed in this, 100 would be average & a typical hitter friendly park could have a factor of +105, so that’s pretty substantial). Overall the park plays pretty neutral for LHH, but it does boost their power. This is mitigated somewhat by Lee doing well on the road in a pitcher friendly league… but much of his extra base prowess comes from putting the ball in play in front of inconsistent, sub par minor league defenders and using his wheels to get extra bases out of it. His .416 SLG this year (and that’s not exactly Bondsian) was heavily aided by 15 triples (compared to only 17 doubles). How do you rack up so many triples in the minors? Wheels, Luck, Weird parks, Minor League Defenders, Friendly scoring. His wheels will get him extra bases in the majors, too… but don’t confuse that with an ability to hit for power.

So, from what I’ve seen and the impression others have given me I’m just not sold that Lee will be much of a hitter in general. He won’t be hitting in the middle of a lineup but you already knew that. Could develop into a good tablesetter, but he’s not going to any kind of offensive force, IMHO. He should still be a valuable player given his position and glove. He’s a legitimate shortstop who controls the strikezone well (does K a good amount, but is not averse at all to taking a walk) and should hit for a solid AVG. Should start at SS for the Rays for a long time and be a quality option. I just don’t know that the guy has a real good feel for hitting, a real good feel for squaring balls up, much in the way of major league power or any real kind of impact potential. I don’t think most of you will notice or care though, as he should hold his own and be an upgrade over what the Rays have had at the position.