Orioles 2nd round pick - CF Xavier Avery (HS)

[joldey]

If the date on the mlb.com video is correct... it was shot after his junior year of high school. I hope a lot of things have changed since.

His front foot is all over the place and the huge clutch in his swing where he has to move his hands back to get good speed only has disaster written all over it.

I wish they had a more recent video...

[Skywalker76]

I didn't see any links in this thread so I thought that I would offer some.

Here's the bio from the UGa Web site, obviously football-oriented. Worth noting is that he was a three-star prospect according to Scout.com, which is good but not great: http://www.georgiadogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8800&ATCLID=1383264

Here's his profile from the 2007 AFLAC all-American team: http://www.aflacallamerican.com/2007/Roster/index.cfm?id=165

During his junior season, he had 5 HRs, 47 steals and hit .668.

Baseball Prospectus projected him as the Braves pick at No. 40:

"It’s certainly no secret that the Braves scout heavily in their own back yard – having the East Cobb program there certainly helps matters. A big projectable pitcher like Marietta’s Zeke Spruill will likely be in the picture, but the Braves could also be hoping that outfielder Xavier Avery could last ten picks after the first round. He’s a bit of a project, but his tools are first-round worthy in the eyes of many."

And here is the Atlanta Constitution Journal story about Avery and other UGA draftees, which says there is there is "a very, very slim chance" of Avery playing college football instead of baseball: http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/shared-blogs/ajc/cfbrecruit/entries/2008/06/05/georgia_fb_sign.html

If the Braves considered him as a 2nd round pick he can't be that much of a reach. Maybe the plan is to convert him to SS or 2B?

[AgentOrange]

I'm guessing more like throw a dart at the dartboard pick...

That is a pretty disrespectful statement to all of those that spend their time and effort trying to make the Orioles a better organization.

Feel free to question the pick or get upset if you don't understand why we picked that player, but comments like this are unacceptable, IMO.

[DrungoHazewood]

It worked out really well with Darnell McDonald. If they hadn't paid him huge money to not go to U of Texas Rochester wouldn't have been able to stage those McDonald vs. the Horse races as a promotion.

[Moose Milligan]

JTrea, continuing to make wise assessments wherever he goes...

I kinda like this pick, as I like the type of player. Yeah, he's an athlete and we've been bad at developing athletes over the years, but that was 10-15 years ago. If he pans out, he's being comped to Carl Crawford...that's not a bad thing.

OTOH, the part that alarmed me was that he wasn't playing against stiff competition in HS.

But that's what the draft is....a ton of these guys aren't going to pan out, but that's alright...you just hope for the best.

[AgentOrange]

JTrea, continuing to make wise assessments wherever he goes...

I kinda like this pick, as I like the type of player. Yeah, he's an athlete and we've been bad at developing athletes over the years, but that was 10-15 years ago. If he pans out, he's being comped to Carl Crawford...that's not a bad thing.

OTOH, the part that alarmed me was that he wasn't playing against stiff competition in HS.

But that's what the draft is....a ton of these guys aren't going to pan out, but that's alright...you just hope for the best.

I don't think that should alarm you. He can only play against the teams that are on the schedual.

[Moose Milligan]

I don't think that should alarm you. He can only play against the teams that are on the schedual.

Yeah, but I remember back to my HS days, the schools we played against were jokes. I mean, there were some Babe Ruth teams that could hold their own in our league.

I just think its something that should be taken into account...if you're doing well against the top level HSers out there, you're a better ballplayer than someone who's dominating against weak competition.

But with this pick I'm assuming he's going to be starting in the low levels..I guess it doesn't really matter.

[lovetoaster]

OTOH, the part that alarmed me was that he wasn't playing against stiff competition in HS.

True, but he also played, apparently quite well, for the East Cobb program in the offseason, which is some of the best competition in the country.

[Mashed Potatoes]

This is the other aspect to this...I guess you could always shift Jones to LF(or this kid) but I don't get spending such a high pick on a position you should have filled for the next 8-10 years.

I wonder if there's been any thought about moving him to SS. He's an amazing athlete, although his arm strength is only average. Just a thought.

[Moose Milligan]

True, but he also played, apparently quite well, for the East Cobb program in the offseason, which is some of the best competition in the country.

Good call.

We'll see, I think we could have done a lot worse with this pick as there are certainly some things to be excited about with him.

[hoosiers]

True, but he also played, apparently quite well, for the East Cobb program in the offseason, which is some of the best competition in the country.

And he performed very well in the showcase events last summer.

I think Jordan took a player who is a safe bet to make the majors in the first round and took a bit more risk in round two. The more I read on Avery, the more I like this pick.

[Old#5fan]

I don't like this pick at all...Too many better prospects there for them to take a project right here, especially one who sounds like another Lorenzo Scott/Darnell McDonald guy.

I agree totally. It always seems they miss the boat. This guy would likely have been around in the next round. Why take a project so early on? The Rays are now good because they kick @ss in the draft comparatively speaking to the Orioles. It shouldn't be that way. The Orioles since they have been losing for so long should have invested in the best draft gurus and scouts they could find. This doesn't sound like a pick that was a product of sound logic, experience and judgement to me. Not at all.

[Old#5fan]

Apparently Xavier Avery is signed to play runningback at the University of Georgia. The first 5 threads off google for his name are all football related. Should the Orioles have drafted someone out of high school who might not be fully committed to baseball?

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=47780&season=2008&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncf%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fplayer%3frecruitId%3d47780%26season%3d2008

*NOTE* I am not sure how to move this thread. It should be in the amateur section instead of on the actual Orioles thread. So, disregard...

To answer your question, no, NO and HECK NO! They should not have drafted this guy in this round period. I just don't get it. It certainly seems like logic and common sense got thrown out the window by someone, and it really is irritating. Again, someone needs to be accountable.

[AgentOrange]

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/060508/baseball_20080605042.shtml

To answer your question, no, NO and HECK NO! They should not have drafted this guy in this round period. I just don't get it. It certainly seems like logic and common sense got thrown out the window by someone, and it really is irritating. Again, someone needs to be accountable.

I suppose that was a misquote then...

[DrungoHazewood]

I agree totally. It always seems they miss the boat. This guy would likely have been around in the next round. Why take a project so early on? The Rays are now good because they kick @ss in the draft comparatively speaking to the Orioles. It shouldn't be that way. The Orioles since they have been losing for so long should have invested in the best draft gurus and scouts they could find. This doesn't sound like a pick that was a product of sound logic, experience and judgement to me. Not at all.

I think Orioles fans are jaded because we've seen Darnell McDonald and Lorenzo Scott. We tend to think that all athletic, multi-sport players fit into the same pigeonhole.

What we don't know is what particular, specific information Jordan had that might separate Avery from these prior failures. I'm going to withhold judgment until we see how Avery performs.