Corey Hart vs current system

[BrewerKeg]

How was Corey Hart viewed as a prospect when he was drafted (11th round '00) and coming up the system? Are there any comparables in our system now that have or are receiving the same treatment Hart did years back?

 

I vaguely remember that he was overshadowed by Prince, Rickie, JJ... but he seemed to produce at every level.

[CheezWizHed]

I don't remember anything immediately after being drafted, but I know as he produced and moved up the ladder, he was firmly in the top 5 area. He was the MVP at AA. I'd compare him to Kh Davis and Erik Komatsu. Both were drafted higher than 11th round, but they were kind of overlooked and continue to produce.

 

Komatsu has a different skill set than Hart (OBP and better defense, less SLG), but if he continues at AA, he could easily be the Huntsville MVP and at least contend for league MVP.

 

Davis seems to be very similar to Hart in offense and defense (except in arm strength, which limits Davis to LF).

[DHonks]

Didn't Hart skip A and jump to A+? I remember thinking it was odd that we drafted a 6'6" shortstop, but he quickly was moved to 1b. Hart always hit well in the minors, but he was limited because of his lack of a position. He played 1b, 3b, and RF. Where I get concerned is that while he's settling in at RF, I am positive his speed has greatly diminished.

[Mass Haas]

Our all-too-impressive Power 50 Player Tracker allows you to pull up the comments and rankings for any player who has ever appeared on the Power 50.

 

Corey Hart's P50 commentary dates back to when Toby went solo and was a virtual machine, often with weekly Power 50's.

 

So you can get a sense of what folks were reading (and likely thinking) back during Hart's climb.

[dadofandrew]

Hart moved up quickly because he hit and hit for power at every level. I'm sure his athleticism played a role as well. Few 18/19 year-olds have much pop at all. When they do, they get noticed.

[foamboy1]

Khris Davis was the closest comparison I could think of - but someone already listed him. It's not that Davis is being overshadowed by anyone really. It's that we have a lack of sure-thing talent in the minors right now. Davis continues to perform at an All-Star caliber. I'm looking forward to seeingh him in AA later this year.

[monty57]

IIRC, Hart was a 1B, but since we had Fielder also rising through the ranks, Hart tried unsuccessfully to man 3B, before being moved to RF. Hit all the way up, but rough in the field, and was still relatively new to the OF when he made it to the Brewers, which makes it more surprising that he seems to be getting worse defensively as he ages.

[colbyjack]

He was moved to the OF relatively late during his minor league career. It should be pointed out that he made his MLB debut prior to Fielder (2004 vs. 2005), and was frequently compared to Richie Sexson (with more speed) early during his pro career. Lyle Overbay was in that picture as well, and Brad Nelson was also a factor at the time.

 

Hart was named MVP of the Southern League in 2003 where he was teammates with J.J. Hardy and Dave Krynzel. He really wasn't over-shadowed by Prince, Rickie, etc. until 2005 when the three were teammates at AAA.

[The Truth]

When Hart was the MVP in 2003 his OPS was only .807 ...I think he projected then to be what he is now, a solid MLB starter but not a star player.

 

Khris Davis .961 OPS at A+ ball is higher than anything Hart put up at that level. We'll see what Davis puts up in AA ball, but I think it'd be a real disappointment if its not significantly better than Hart's .807 OPS

 

I think Davis projects to be a better MLB OF than Hart, and I'm hoping he'll be ready to take over for Hart in 2013, 2014 at the latest

[endaround]

You can't compare lines today with Southern League hitting lines from the early 2000s. Its an entirely different place. That's how you get guys putting up monster line in Huntsville and doing very little later on.

[TheCrew07]

Or maybe that Huntsville team you are referring to had so much talent that they all just fed off one another since just about everyone from that team but Gamel and Salome are playing in MLB. David Price was one of the pitchers that season who shut them down early when the full line-up was intact and in that game Gamel homered off of him. Here's a link to that team, look how many bolded names are that list, it's unheard of to have that many prospects on 1 team at the same time.

 

http://www.baseball-refer...ors/team.cgi?id=69f58fd1

 

If you look at the SL leader boards for hitting, you'll find 2-3 players in a given year with an OPS over .900 and they are usually decent prospects, though there are players way too old for the league having success as well. The players above an .800 OPS are mostly a who's who of legitimate position prospects in the league... Alex Liddi, Josh Bell, Desmond Jennings, Mike Stanton just to name a few. Of course you'll always find some non prospecs having success in any given year as well. The farthest year back MiLB has is 2005 and the biggest name now on the OPS leaderboard then, Dan Uggla with an .880 OPS for qualified batters, there were actually 4 players with an OPS over .900 that year. Farther down the list were Russell Martin, Delwyn Young, and Elijah Dukes. Year in and year out the Southern League has fantastic talent in it.

 

In 2003, the year Hart won the league MVP, there were nine players with more than 400 PAs in the League with a higher OPS than him, Miguel Cabrera had a 1.038 OPS in 303 PAs but was promoted directly to MLB and the rest is history. Jeremy Reed had an even better season than Miggy, in 3 less games at the level. It's too bad he's never hit at MLB like he did in the minors. Had the better prospects stayed in the league all season he wouldn't have won the award, he had some good fortune to be the youngest player with the most ABs left standing.

 

The league hasn't changed much over the years and basing your claim that it has based on the relative success of 1 HVL team seams unresearched at best.

[gregmag]

The difference between Hart and Khris Davis as prospects at similar points in their careers is immense. Hart played in A+ and got his feet wet at AA in his age 20 season. Khris Davis is at that same point (hopefully including the bump up to AA) in his age 23 season. Hart's age 23 season was when he got his first serious taste of Milwaukee (63 PA) after lighting up AAA. I like what Davis is doing a lot, and he certainly could have a career. But Hart's advanced production for his age was a huge part of what made him special. Given Davis' age / level, he's a lot closer to being just a guy than he is to being the prospect Hart was.

[TheCrew07]

Which is why it's time to promote Davis again, all he's done is perform. Hart was a highschool kid, Davis was drafted out of a high profile college program.

[CheezWizHed]

Hart and Davis aren't a perfect comparison, but there is some overlap.

 

If I were to reverse it an compare Davis to our entire system, I'd have Braun at the high end and Hart a the low end.