Nick Delmonico and Christian Walker

[xian4]

Did anyone see the game last night, they used a pinch runner for Delmonico in the ninth inning, was this precautionary or an injury ? Or was just a game situation to get a run across ?

[DrungoHazewood]

If Delmonico can stay on the field it looks like he might put up a big year and put himself on the top 100 prospect map.

I guess that's possible, but he has some questions to answer:

1) Can he stay healthy?

2) Can he play even fringy MLB-quality defense at third or second?

3) If the answer to #2 is no, then does he have to bat to play first in the majors?

Hopefully he just breaks out and all is well. But I fear he could end up a tweener, with not enough glove to stick at 2B/3B, but not enough bat to stick at 1B.

[hoosiers]

I guess that's possible, but he has some questions to answer:

1) Can he stay healthy?

2) Can he play even fringy MLB-quality defense at third or second?

3) If the answer to #2 is no, then does he have to bat to play first in the majors?

Hopefully he just breaks out and all is well. But I fear he could end up a tweener, with not enough glove to stick at 2B/3B, but not enough bat to stick at 1B.

Why do you project not enough bat at 1B? The kid is raking in High A two years from High School with a tremendous obp. The projections should be pretty strong for this one, IMO.

[DrungoHazewood]

Why do you project not enough bat at 1B? The kid is raking in High A two years from High School with a tremendous obp. The projections should be pretty strong for this one, IMO.

The bar is very high at first base. To be an asset he has to OPS .800 or .850 in the majors. And last year in the Sally League he OPS'd, what, .760? I'm cautiously optimistic but he's a long way from the majors and OPS'ing 1.000 for 80 PAs at Frederick is just a small piece to his overall evaluation.

Here's Jason Parks' assessment from BP earlier in the spring:

6. Nick Delmonico

Position: IF

DOB: 07/12/1992

Height/Weight: 6’2’’ 195 lbs.

Bats/Throws: L/R

Drafted/Acquired: 6^th round, 2011 draft, Farragut High School (Knoxville, TN)

2012 Stats: .249/.351/.411 at Low-A Delmarva (95 games)

The Tools: 5 potential hit/power; 5 arm What Happened in 2012: Making his professional debut, Delmonico jumped straight to the full-season level, where he showed an advanced approach and good pop in the Sally League.

Strengths: Solid athlete; good present strength; projectable hitting ability; potential for 5/5 hit/power; mature approach for age; tracks well; has a plan at the plate; solid arm; gamer type.

Weaknesses: Future tied to bat; lacks plus tools; glove/range not ideal at second base; most likely a corner defensive player; chewed up by arm-side pitching

Overall Future Potential: 5; second-division player

Explanation of Risk: High risk; good approach, but lacks plus tools; has to maximize on offense to have value

Fantasy Future: As a second baseman, a .265-plus hitter with 15-plus HR home run potential is a very nice player, but the same production doesn’t offer much if he has to move to first base down the line.

The Year Ahead: With only one season under his belt, there are still more unknowns about Delmonico’s game than knowns. The bat will have to play, and several sources were high on the potential, as the 20-year-old shows the ability to put the stick on the ball and make loud contact. Everybody seems to have an opinion about his future defensive home, be it as a fringe third baseman, fringe second baseman, or perhaps even a catcher, but the most likely home will be at first base, where the bat will need to exceed expectations to offer much at the highest level.

[Tony-OH]

I have little doubt Esposito would look like a much better prospect if MiLB allowed him to use metal bats, as the SEC did. With wood, the story is much different:

2010 Cape Cod - .246/.300/.292, 18% SO rate

2010 USA CNT - .273/.289/.386, 18% SO rate

2009 Cape Cod - .198/.233/.216, 26% SO rate

Very frustrating that those numbers were apparently discounted by the Orioles scouts. Numbers are not everything, but always say bad numbers in college tell you a lot more than good numbers. Bad K rates and a lack of power with wood bats should be red flags. Of course his poor K-BB ratio during his junior year with the metal bats should have been a red flag as well.

[Tony-OH]

2 more hits for Marin tonight as well. Has turned a .531 ops in April into .771 in May - though no improvement in the K ratios. .486 obp last 10 games.

Interesting stats to me are, like Schoop was earlier in the year, extreme home - away splits. .523 ops at home v .773 away. K ratio also impacted by the home-away numbers as it is 1:6 in K/BB at home, but about 1/2.5 on the road.

Delmarva has always been poor hitting ballpark, especially for right-handers. I've always thought there is something in the batters eye behind the pitchers that makes it tough to pick up. Perhaps a bad ad? It's also one of the reasons I put more stock in Frederick numbers than Delmarva numbers for both hitters and pitchers.

[waroriole]

Is there any chance Delmonico can play corner OF if he can't stick at 3B?

[eb45]

That's a bit more bearish on Delmonico than most other takes. I think Tony was a bit higher on his bat, maybe 5.5 hit/6 power? The glove is a question mark, to be sure, but the stat line looks like Nick Castellanos right now and that's nothing to be ashamed of.

[Tony-OH]

The bar is very high at first base. To be an asset he has to OPS .800 or .850 in the majors. And last year in the Sally League he OPS'd, what, .760? I'm cautiously optimistic but he's a long way from the majors and OPS'ing 1.000 for 80 PAs at Frederick is just a small piece to his overall evaluation.

Here's Jason Parks' assessment from BP earlier in the spring:

6. Nick Delmonico

Position: IF

DOB: 07/12/1992

Height/Weight: 6’2’’ 195 lbs.

Bats/Throws: L/R

Drafted/Acquired: 6^th round, 2011 draft, Farragut High School (Knoxville, TN)

2012 Stats: .249/.351/.411 at Low-A Delmarva (95 games)

The Tools: 5 potential hit/power; 5 arm What Happened in 2012: Making his professional debut, Delmonico jumped straight to the full-season level, where he showed an advanced approach and good pop in the Sally League.

Strengths: Solid athlete; good present strength; projectable hitting ability; potential for 5/5 hit/power; mature approach for age; tracks well; has a plan at the plate; solid arm; gamer type.

Weaknesses: Future tied to bat; lacks plus tools; glove/range not ideal at second base; most likely a corner defensive player; chewed up by arm-side pitching

Overall Future Potential: 5; second-division player

Explanation of Risk: High risk; good approach, but lacks plus tools; has to maximize on offense to have value

Fantasy Future: As a second baseman, a .265-plus hitter with 15-plus HR home run potential is a very nice player, but the same production doesn’t offer much if he has to move to first base down the line.

The Year Ahead: With only one season under his belt, there are still more unknowns about Delmonico’s game than knowns. The bat will have to play, and several sources were high on the potential, as the 20-year-old shows the ability to put the stick on the ball and make loud contact. Everybody seems to have an opinion about his future defensive home, be it as a fringe third baseman, fringe second baseman, or perhaps even a catcher, but the most likely home will be at first base, where the bat will need to exceed expectations to offer much at the highest level.

Everyone can certainly have an opinion, but his power projection is way off for me. I've seen nice loft and backspin during BP that indicates much greater power projection. He's already shown better power this year and he has no split difference this year albeit in a SSS against lefties. Too many "experts" out there were looking at his stats last year and not taking into considering several factors including a poor hitter's park and the fact he had a break in the middle of his season that took him a time to refind his timing once he returned.

I agree that his glove looks suspect right now and first base may be his ultimate home, but I think some "experts" have undershot his potential, especially capping him at 15 homers a year.

[Tony-OH]

That's a bit more bearish on Delmonico than most other takes. I think Tony was a bit higher on his bat, maybe 5.5 hit/6 power? The glove is a question mark, to be sure, but the stat line looks like Nick Castellanos right now and that's nothing to be ashamed of.

Yeah, I am a lot higher on his bat than some others obviously. But hey, if baseball prospectus said it, some people believe it like it's the word of God himself.

[DrungoHazewood]

Yeah, I am a lot higher on his bat than some others obviously. But hey, if baseball prospectus said it, some people believe it like it's the word of God himself.

I hope you don't mean me. BP and Parks are just one opinion, but he's definitely coming from the scouting side of things more than the hard-core analysis and number crunching.

Having said that... I put a lot of faith in BP's Nick Faleris!

[Tony-OH]

I hope you don't mean me. BP and Parks are just one opinion, but he's definitely coming from the scouting side of things more than the hard-core analysis and number crunching.

Having said that... I put a lot of faith in BP's Nick Faleris!

Well as long as you are not wasting your time with my opinions.

[Frobby]

Delmonico has gone from being a fairly distant no. 4 prospect to being right up there with Schoop in my eyes. It's very impressive how much of a jump he seems to have made from last year to this one. I'm very optimistic that his bat will play no matter where we put him (1B or DH included). Can't go too nuts based on 85 PA, but the power and discipline are both impressive. My only worry is his K rate, but guys who walk a lot tend to get their share of K's, too.

[DrungoHazewood]

Well as long as you are not wasting your time with my opinions.

Man, your opinion is just the de facto standard here. I wanted to quote someone else for once!

[hoosiers]

Delmarva has always been poor hitting ballpark, especially for right-handers. I've always thought there is something in the batters eye behind the pitchers that makes it tough to pick up. Perhaps a bad ad? It's also one of the reasons I put more stock in Frederick numbers than Delmarva numbers for both hitters and pitchers.

I agree, but I would expect the number of hitters having "success" at Frederick after escaping Delmarva to be better than our system has experienced.

The jump in competition is certainly one aspect as only a handful of our hitting prospects have emerged with much stronger Frederick numbers than Delmarva. I expected more from guys like Tripp, Welty, Spears and several others decent prospects in Frederick. What Delmonico is doing is what I remember Markakis doing, but few others.