Number 16 Prospect: SS - Mychal Givens

[Tony-OH]

http://www.orioleshangout.com/plus/plusarticle.asp?ID=2327

[LookinUp]

A project. I don't love that we took him in the 2nd but my info is as limited as what others on this site have said.

There's another thread about knowing a guy is good by watching him. It doesn't seem like many people have confidence that this guy will be very good. He'll get his shot to prove them wrong though.

It'll be interesting to hear any reports about him from instructionals.

[Frobby]

I didn't know he was so old for his class - 4+ months younger than Avery and 2 months younger than Hoes but a year behind them in school and now 600 AB behind them as well.

[Three Run Homer]

I'm surprised that he's coming in ahead of Avery and Hoes, but if there are solid indicators that suggest that he's got a better chance than the Delmarva twins of turning his tools into production, then that's good news.

[thundercleetz]

Both Givens and Hobgood are a year behind their high school class. Both guys will turn 20 during the season. Like Tony said, if both guys can start at Delmarva next year, it should not be a big deal.

[QBsILLEST1]

Both Givens and Hobgood are a year behind their high school class. Both guys will turn 20 during the season. Like Tony said, if both guys can start at Delmarva next year, it should not be a big deal.

Well, the thing is, is that there is a big diff between the 2 as far as skill level. IMO if Hobgood is back to throwing in the low 90's touching 95/96, he should be fine at Delmarva. He has a NASTY curve and is developing a very good changeup which is inconsistent, but flashes "plus".

Givens should have a tougher time at Delmarva, he seems to be a bit more raw as a hitter than Hobby as a pitcher. I would rather see Givens get started off on the right foot, have some success and get his confidence starter on a high note, even if its in Aberdeen. I do know that we sure would get a lot more excited about Givens if he went to Aberdeen, and hit .320 there rather than go to Delmarva and hit .260......IMO if Aberdeen was a full season league, it would not be as big of a deal to push him to start in Delmarva....

[crawdad]

Why do you call him a project? From the reports I've read, he's supposedly pretty polished defensively and has an idea at the plate. Certainly he has a lot of improvement needed but you could say that about just about any HS player chosen in the draft. I wasn't crazy about the pick strictly from the age standpoint. From every other vantage point he seems like a good pick. A solid shortstop with some offensive upside and despite average speed, some basestealing potential due to excellent first step quickness, which BTW helps give him plus range in the field.

Well, his defense is not exactly polished. He has some bad habits and I question his range as he fills out slightly. Hitting-wise . . . basically I could see his bat as a Tim Beckham upside with less power. It just is not that interesting of a tool. I think his fielding will be fine at Delmarva, but his hitting will not go all that well.

My estimate is that they have him play SS this summer, next fall, and next summer. Then decide to scrap that and have him work as a pitcher in instructionals in 2011.

[BringBackMagic]

I'm not a Plus-member (I know, I'm shamed), and it may be against some rule to tell me such things, but can we please get an explanation on exactly what is WRONG with Givens at the plate? All we hear is how he won't hold up and how terrible of a selection he was because he supposedly can't hit.

Does he have bad mechanics, a poor approach, a slow bat, bad instincts... what is it?

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/articles/DisplayArticle.aspx?article=624

I don't know when this is from, but it projects Givens as a .280-.300 hitter with strong SB potential.

[crawdad]

I'm not a Plus-member (I know, I'm shamed), and it may be against some rule to tell me such things, but can we please get an explanation on exactly what is WRONG with Givens at the plate? All we hear is how he won't hold up and how terrible of a selection he was because he supposedly can't hit.

Does he have bad mechanics, a poor approach, a slow bat, bad instincts... what is it?

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/articles/DisplayArticle.aspx?article=624

I don't know when this is from, but it projects Givens as a .280-.300 hitter with strong SB potential.

I don't see a strong stolen base potential at all. He is pretty average with respect to speed for a SS.

I also imagine more scout centric guys can expound upon this, but what I see when he swing is that his leads too quickly with his front foot, resulting in a low and long swing where he has already disengaged his back foot. In short, he hits off his front foot with basically results in slapping the ball and missing it on pitches he is not expecting.

It seems he has average to above average power during batting practice, which suggests he may be able to get some help and refine his approach. I think that is a large project in the making.

So, in short, I think his bat is always going to trail him with his age and defense pushing him up to higher rungs. If he loses range and has to be slotted to third . . . that bat just will not work there.

Then again, maybe it works out. I just haven't seen a great deal of progress with toolsy bats in this system.

[BringBackMagic]

Thanks for the explanation. It's nice to hear details rather than "he can't hit."

I think that often we are too concerned with getting big offensive production out of our SS. This may be due to our years of spoiling between Cal and Miggy. We don't NEED 20+ HRs a year out of a SS. We need a solid OPS guy that makes contact consistently. If Givens can play plus defense and provide solid On-Base numbers, then I think he plays a role in this team's future.

[snatch311]

It's nice to have the pitching fallback. What's his ceiling there? Middle-relief?

[crawdad]

It's nice to have the pitching fallback. What's his ceiling there? Middle-relief?

He has flashed upper 90s, but more often seem to work in the low 90s. Pick up a slider and/or splitter and he could be a closer or setup man.

[Stotle]

He has flashed upper 90s, but more often seem to work in the low 90s. Pick up a slider and/or splitter and he could be a closer or setup man.

He really only dropped down to low-90s over the course of a five-inning start. In short stints, he's pretty comfy 94-97. A little straight, but the plus velo is easily there.

[QBsILLEST1]

He has flashed upper 90s, but more often seem to work in the low 90s. Pick up a slider and/or splitter and he could be a closer or setup man.

Ive never seen someone throw a low 3/4(side arm) splitter, have you? The slider would be the easiest pitch for him to throw from that angle. I'd think the changeup is even more doable from that arm slot than a split, but thats just me. If I remember cocrectly, Doug Jones used to have a pretty nice changeup as a side arm pitcher....

[thundercleetz]

Why do scouts give the Rays' Beckham such a high power projection? If I recall correctly, didn't everyone believe Beckham was around 6'2" 180 and he ended up being only around 6' 170? Givens is a legitimate 6'2" 185 pounds, he has an Adam Jones build. There has to be some solid power potential there with the right coaching.