Instructional League

[battlekow]

Guessing we probably won't hear much about what goes on in instructs, but the league kicked off today, with Cody Scarpetta getting the start for the Brewers. Also, D'Vontrey Richardson continues to impress:

Player in Instructs that caught my eye today was D'Vontrey Richardson - #Brewers. Power/speed combo, very raw but athletic and decent swing.

[Tedaldtada]

There is Brent Brewer raw and there is Lo Cain raw. D'Vo is much closer to the latter.

[CheezWizHed]

Is this the league that replaced the Hawaiian League? Kind of a sub-AFL type thing?

[colbyjack]

IIRC, D'Vo impressed at last year's instrux as well. Bill Mitchell is good for baseball in many ways...

[dadofandrew]

Cheez, instructionals are just that, teaching young players finer points of the game. Stats are barely kept, it's all about the kids getting reps and learning their trade.

[battlekow]

Bill Mitchell is good for baseball in many ways...

Ha, I probably could have mentioned whose opinion I was citing, huh? I don't know the man, but I definitely enjoy both his photography and his tweets. He's pretty much the only source of info for what's going on down in the desert.

[CheezWizHed]

I guess calling it a "League" threw me a bit... I figured that meant they were competing against other teams.

[And That]

They do compete against other teams, they just aren't formal games.

[colbyjack]

A few comments on Kentrail Davis and Erik Komatsu from instrux:

 

http://baseballbeginnings...-instructs-pt2#more-9786

 

Finally had my first look at outfielder Kentrail Davis, a thick-build left-handed strong man with vicious bat speed. He hits out of a straight stance and drops his hands, so it’s on him to show that he can succeed with that trigger in pro ball. He pulled a ball to right-center for a home run in one at-bat and got himself out by popping up to the left side in the next at-bat, so that pretty much tells the offensive tale of where this young player is. I did like him quite a bit and I think he has a chance to be an impact middle-of-the-order bat. No other tool will match his power for pure raw strength, but he’ll be just fine at an outfielder corner in terms of arm strength and speed.

 

Erik Komatsu is a guy who just hits wherever he goes. A left-handed hitter who was the Brewers minor league player of the year in 2010, he has a live body and good bat speed. He also has a good approach and showed me the ability to drive the ball to all fields. He’s athletic enough to play every day and I think can swing it enough to stick.

[TooLiveBrew]

That's awesome to hear on both those guys. Is that pretty much in line with what you think of them, cj?

 

 

I did like him quite a bit and I think he has a chance to be an impact middle-of-the-order bat. No other tool will match his power for pure raw strength, but he’ll be just fine at an outfielder corner in terms of arm strength and speed.

 

This made me very happy to read.

[colbyjack]

I can't comment on Komatsu, who I only saw play 1 or 2 games for Cal State Fullerton prior to the team drafting him. The writer didn't really go in depth on him anyway.

 

As for Davis, who I have seen a lot, I agree with his overall assessment, but I don't know if I agree with his raw power potential, or at least him becoming a middle of the order bat. He has the potential to hit 20 home runs a season, but I see him more as a doubles/line drive type of hitter. Obviously he still has a lot of value if he's able to hit 20 or so home runs and 35-40 doubles with 5 or so triples. I've mentioned this before, amidst a lot of comparisons to Kirby Puckett given their body types, he reminds me a lot of Shannon Stewart, who had some pretty good seasons with the Blue Jays. If I remember correctly, Stewart was never known for his defense, and had below average arm strength, a big part why he played LF despite having the wheels for CF.

 

From what I saw of Davis last summer, he still holds the same profile he did coming out of high school and again coming out of college. He's a guy that could hit 1-3 in a lineup, can steal some bases for you (although I could see him becoming less of a speed threat as he approaches 30) and can be a sparkplug type of offensive player towards the top of the lineup. He's somewhat similar to Rickie Weeks in that regard, and like Weeks I think he'll draw his fair share of walks and continue to strike out at a high rate. He's a patient yet aggressive hitter, in that he'll take a lot of pitches and draw some walks, but he also will continue to chase bad pitches, especially soft stuff, low and away.