LSU junior JaCoby Jones was
selected by the Pirates with the 87th pick in the 3rd round, right about where his draft projection fell. He agreed to terms last week and officially signed yesterday for $612K, exactly slot value. Jones is 21, a 6'3" 200 lb. bundle of physical tools out of Richton, Mississippi. The Pirates list him as a CF though he played 2B for most of his career, and some speculate that he may have a future at the hot corner.
His Richton HS career was legendary. He batted .503 as a senior wth nine homers, 46 RBI
and 42 stolen bases, .517 as a junior with seven homers, 40 RBI
and 30 steals, .520 as a sophomore with eight homers, 33 RBI and
33 steals and .482 as a freshman with six homers, 30 RBI and 27 steals, ending his career as the state's all-time hit leader.
Jones was a four-time All-State selection, named to the 2009 AFLAC and Under Armor All America teams, and in 2010 he was honored with Wendy's High School Heisman
in Mississippi and chosen as the Mississippi High School Player of the Year, Louisville
Slugger Mississippi Player of the Year and to Baseball America and Rawling's second Team All America teams.
The Houston Astros drafted the prep senior in the 19th round in 2010, but they couldn't strike a deal and he went off to LSU. He had a strong commitment to the school that scared off some teams and likely cost him a selection somewhere in the first ten rounds.
In 2011, as a Bengal freshman 2B, he hit .338 with 11 doubles, one triple, four homers, 32 RBI, 36 runs and 12 stolen bases and was selected as a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American, Baseball America Freshman All-American (Second Team), and Freshman All-SEC. JaCoby came to earth in 2012. He played at second base and center field, batting .253 with
13 doubles, one triple, four homers, 29 RBI, 42 runs and a team-high 11
stolen bases. He topped off the summer by winning the home run derby at the Cape
Cod League All-Star Game.
After starting off the first ten weeks of the 2013 season in a major funk, Jones, returning to full time duty at 2B, caught fire to finish with a .283/.382/.417 line with 15 extra-base hits (five home runs), 12 stolen bases and 42/28 K/BB.
John Sickel of Minor League Ball gave Jones' synopsis: "Tools aren't the issue here; Jones has plenty. His arm strength, running
speed, and power potential all rank at least above average, the
complete physical package ranking among the best in the 2013 college
class. Jones has the range, arm, and athleticism to fit at
several positions, including all the infield spots as well as center
field.
However, scouts report problems with his swing mechanics that
hold back his offense. He has a reputation for getting down mentally
when things go against him, and his strike zone judgment is an obvious
negative."
Mike Rosenbaum of Bleacher Report agrees.
"While he’s flashed first-round ability at times in each of the last
three seasons, Jones’ baseball skills have simply never caught up. As a
result, he’s arguably the most intriguing and risky position prospect in
this year’s class. It’s going to take him significantly longer than
most of his peers to develop, but the final product could be a
power-speed monster."
His projection is the "Ceiling of an occasional All-Star and 30-30 candidate if all comes together; floor of a guy who possibly doesn’t make it to Double-A; very high risk."
And that fits the Pirate draft mode. They take a lot of high school kids and pure upside guys, passing on the safer established college player route to look for a kid with tools that aren't maxed out but they can coach up. That leads to a lot of grumbling among the fans, as the success rate isn't all that great, but it's the preferred Huntington method to bring top-end talent into the organization.
So it's off to Jamestown for Jones to begin his odyssey to Pittsburgh. It' should be an interesting path.
Showing posts with label jacoby jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jacoby jones. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
And the Draft Rolls On...Rounds 3-10
3rd round/87th overall: OF JaCoby Jones (LSU). The kid can fly, with a line was .273 BA, 38 runs, 10 doubles, 5 home runs, 29 RBIs and 12 stolen
bases in 15 tries; he also struck out at a 40% rate for the Tigers. Jones plays second for LSU, but the Bucs announced they were projecting him as a CF'er. He's a choice based mostly on impressive physical tools rather than performance.
4th round/119th overall: LHP Cody Dickson (Sam Houston State). Tall, projectable lefty...sound familiar? He throws a low nineties fastball that touches 95, a plus curveball and a changeup that could become a plus pitch. Jones has had control issues during his career, with a 9-5/4.26 ERA but averaging a K per frame. He's another fairly hard throwing southpaw the Bucs have added to the organization in a draft that was supposed to be deep in LHP, a need for Pittsburgh's lower levels.
5th round/149th overall: SS Trae Arbet (Great Oaks HS). Arbet was named a second-team high school All-American by Rawlings and considered one of the top ten SS in the draft, although scouts aren't sure if he can hang there or will have to move to second. He hit .309 with eight doubles, two triples and two homers, but his stick is a question mark at the pro level, with a long swing and mainly gap power.
6th round /179th overall: SS Adam Frazier (Mississippi State). He hit .352 with 16 doubles and six triples, but is pretty much a singles guy at the dish, having never homered in a college game. Frazier's calling card is his mitt; he led the SEC with 210 assists and took part in 54 DP, making the SEC's all-defense team, but is considered more reliable more than rangy. He projects as a potential utility player.
7th round/209th overall: RHP Buddy Borden (UNLV). MLB.com's report is "His fastball in the low-90s and has been clocked as high as 96 mph. Borden also throws a curveball and a changeup, both of which have the potential to be Major League-average offerings." He was 8-1/2.19 in a breakout junior campaign and was selected as the Mountain West's Co-Pitcher of the year with Nevada Reno's Braden Shipley. Borden has to develop both his offspeed pitches to stick as a starter.
8th round/239th overall: RHP Neil Kozikowski (Avon Old Farms HS). He's a 6'3" projectable pitcher (surprise), with a fastball timed in the upper eighties that's hit 90, and he also throws a change and slider/cutter. Connecticut isn't exactly a baseball hotbed, so we'll see what develops.
9th round/269th overall: RHP Chad Kuhl (Delaware). He's 6'3" and features a sinker in the low nineties. What more do you need to know? Oh, OK - Kuhl tosses a change and a curve also, and went 10-2/3.75 for the Blue Hens.
10th round/299th RHP Shane Carle (Cal State - Long Beach). He's 6'4" and his bread and butter is a sinking fastball - you've heard this before? - that sits in the upper eighties but can hit 94. Carle's off speed stuff isn't considered MLB quality, so he looks like a guy who's headed to the bullpen.
Today should set up some over slot selections for tomorrow; looks like there will be a few guys here that the Pirate FO can sign on the cheap to leave some play money in the pool, which is how they rolled with the new draft rules last season.
4th round/119th overall: LHP Cody Dickson (Sam Houston State). Tall, projectable lefty...sound familiar? He throws a low nineties fastball that touches 95, a plus curveball and a changeup that could become a plus pitch. Jones has had control issues during his career, with a 9-5/4.26 ERA but averaging a K per frame. He's another fairly hard throwing southpaw the Bucs have added to the organization in a draft that was supposed to be deep in LHP, a need for Pittsburgh's lower levels.
5th round/149th overall: SS Trae Arbet (Great Oaks HS). Arbet was named a second-team high school All-American by Rawlings and considered one of the top ten SS in the draft, although scouts aren't sure if he can hang there or will have to move to second. He hit .309 with eight doubles, two triples and two homers, but his stick is a question mark at the pro level, with a long swing and mainly gap power.
6th round /179th overall: SS Adam Frazier (Mississippi State). He hit .352 with 16 doubles and six triples, but is pretty much a singles guy at the dish, having never homered in a college game. Frazier's calling card is his mitt; he led the SEC with 210 assists and took part in 54 DP, making the SEC's all-defense team, but is considered more reliable more than rangy. He projects as a potential utility player.
7th round/209th overall: RHP Buddy Borden (UNLV). MLB.com's report is "His fastball in the low-90s and has been clocked as high as 96 mph. Borden also throws a curveball and a changeup, both of which have the potential to be Major League-average offerings." He was 8-1/2.19 in a breakout junior campaign and was selected as the Mountain West's Co-Pitcher of the year with Nevada Reno's Braden Shipley. Borden has to develop both his offspeed pitches to stick as a starter.
8th round/239th overall: RHP Neil Kozikowski (Avon Old Farms HS). He's a 6'3" projectable pitcher (surprise), with a fastball timed in the upper eighties that's hit 90, and he also throws a change and slider/cutter. Connecticut isn't exactly a baseball hotbed, so we'll see what develops.
9th round/269th overall: RHP Chad Kuhl (Delaware). He's 6'3" and features a sinker in the low nineties. What more do you need to know? Oh, OK - Kuhl tosses a change and a curve also, and went 10-2/3.75 for the Blue Hens.
10th round/299th RHP Shane Carle (Cal State - Long Beach). He's 6'4" and his bread and butter is a sinking fastball - you've heard this before? - that sits in the upper eighties but can hit 94. Carle's off speed stuff isn't considered MLB quality, so he looks like a guy who's headed to the bullpen.
Today should set up some over slot selections for tomorrow; looks like there will be a few guys here that the Pirate FO can sign on the cheap to leave some play money in the pool, which is how they rolled with the new draft rules last season.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)