Ryan Cordell

[billymac]

With a lot of OF options at the MLB and minor league level, what are thoughts on having Ryan Cordell play 1B this year at Colorado Springs? We lack big sticks in the minors and don't really have anyone lighting up the minors at 1B close the major league level. Cordell is a very good athlete with plus defense, but he has been viewed more as a 4th outfielder. He has played 1B at every level so far as a pro, not much but he has experience there and is a big target there. He could have a faster track to the MLB level if the Brewers see him as an option their versus the OF and could look to move Thames for other pieces a year or 2 down the road if Cordell could take over for him.

 

Thoughts?

[Outlander]

I really don't think Cordell's bat is good enough to be a regular at 1B especially if he is viewed as a 4th OF but if they want to use him at OF/1B then sure play him some at 1B to give him some versatility.

[pacopete4]

Square peg, round hole.

[FVBrewerFan]

Well, I think any player that isn't a stud better learn to play as many positions as possible. Cordell, yea, if he can play corner OF and 1B it would help his cause. You just never know if a guy's bat will be better than projected. And you don't know if/when injuries, trades, poor performance happen and there's Cordell with exactly what you need at the time.

 

They're never going to have 8 All Stars in the line-up, so it's nice to have guys like Perez, Thames, potentially Corder that can contribute.

[clancyphile]

I like the idea of putting Cordell in all three OF slots and all four IF slots. Over the past two seasons, he's done most of that in the minors (he hasn't played first, but he played second, third, and short in 2015).

 

I love that versatility and that 20+ HR power.

[MKE81]

Vast majority of publications grade him as a 4th OF. I think he's definitely underrated and becomes a solid starting OF. The Brewers don't need him to move to 1b as he has a starting OF spot locked up in AAA and Thames was signed for 3yrs. Cooper can develop at 1b in AAA. It never hurts to have Cordel learn 1b and fill in on occasion to increase his versatility but he's an OF at the end of the day who does everything average or better.

[JohnBriggs12]

I don't get the excitement over Cordell. He put up good numbers at High Desert at age 23? Not impressed. He'll turn 25 in March and has yet to play a game above AA and he's coming off a year where his OBP was .319. He's got some power but he's never hit more than 19 in a season. In short, he's just a guy.

[sveumrules]

Out of 41 qualifiers in the Frisco League in 2016 Cordell's 127 wRC+ ranked 10th. Sure he might have "only" hit 19 home runs but his SLG of 484 (4th of 41) & his ISO of 220 (3rd of 41) are probably more indicative of his power potential relative to his peers. He's also an above average runner to go along with his plus power.

 

I think he's got a sneaky chance to be a poor man's Corey Hart, which is fine for someone who projects to be your 4th OF and is hanging out in the teens on a prospect list.

[And That]

His ability to play CF well will at the very least keep him around, unless his bat drops off the face of the earth.

[MKE81]

I don't get the excitement over Cordell. He put up good numbers at High Desert at age 23? Not impressed. He'll turn 25 in March and has yet to play a game above AA and he's coming off a year where his OBP was .319. He's got some power but he's never hit more than 19 in a season. In short, he's just a guy.

Stop solely looking at numbers and watch him play, even if it's whatever youtube videos you can find. His athleticism is highly praised (not just us but in TX too) and it's not talked about much but his bat to ball skills are pretty darn good. There's a reason he was ranked in the Rangers Top 10 and that was prior to us acquiring Brinson/Ortiz and them getting rid of another top prospect. He has 20HR power with plus speed. At age level for A, A+ he put up excellent numbers. Last year he was playing with injuries all season and still put up decent numbers in 400 AB. He plays good defense and is versatile playing all 3 spots. He's a late bloomer and at age level every step so he's not going to get as much love as the other OF prospects. Doesn't negate his talent though. Worst case I see him as a 4th OF that can back up all spots and perform well, which makes him very valuable. I personally think he has starter ability.

[MKE81]

Out of 41 qualifiers in the Frisco League in 2016 Cordell's 127 wRC+ ranked 10th. Sure he might have "only" hit 19 home runs but his SLG of 484 (4th of 41) & his ISO of 220 (3rd of 41) are probably more indicative of his power potential relative to his peers. He's also an above average runner to go along with his plus power.

 

I think he's got a sneaky chance to be a poor man's Corey Hart, which is fine for someone who projects to be your 4th OF and is hanging out in the teens on a prospect list.

Context matters. Thanks for posting this. Reminds me of Phillips - if you look up his rankings within his league last year he performed rather well. But if you look at his overall numbers on the surface there wouldn't be many positives to draw from it

[clancyphile]

I don't get the excitement over Cordell. He put up good numbers at High Desert at age 23? Not impressed. He'll turn 25 in March and has yet to play a game above AA and he's coming off a year where his OBP was .319. He's got some power but he's never hit more than 19 in a season. In short, he's just a guy.

Stop solely looking at numbers and watch him play, even if it's whatever youtube videos you can find. His athleticism is highly praised (not just us but in TX too) and it's not talked about much but his bat to ball skills are pretty darn good. There's a reason he was ranked in the Rangers Top 10 and that was prior to us acquiring Brinson/Ortiz and them getting rid of another top prospect. He has 20HR power with plus speed. At age level for A, A+ he put up excellent numbers. Last year he was playing with injuries all season and still put up decent numbers in 400 AB. He plays good defense and is versatile playing all 3 spots. He's a late bloomer and at age level every step so he's not going to get as much love as the other OF prospects. Doesn't negate his talent though. Worst case I see him as a 4th OF that can back up all spots and perform well, which makes him very valuable. I personally think he has starter ability.

 

Over the last two seasons, Cordell has played all three OF positions, plus SS, 1B, and 3B. And he has 20 HR power.

 

Seriously... I love this guy as the next Hernan Perez - or alongside Hernan Perez on the Brewers bench.

[billymac]

Trying to find the interview, but I remember seeing an interview where Lewis Brinson said that Ryan Cordell was the best player he's ever played with. There were some really good players that Brinson played with in the first couple years of Pro Ball too.

[ZBTMP]

One weird stat on Cordell is his BABIP went from .349 in the first half to .230 in the second half last season. Don't know if he forgot how to hit the ball hard or if it was an injury or if he was just went from lucky to pretty unlucky over night.

[And That]

BABIP takes about 750 PA to become reliable, so within the confines of a single season I think luck has a lot to do with it, unless like you said he was injured somehow that didn't make it onto a medical report while he was still playing. His career BABIP is .319, which is a bit above average, and something we'll hopefully see production of in the ballpark going forward.

 

Also wanted to note that his age has been brought up a few times. I do agree he's probably a little old to be an elite prospect, but relative to other players, he's really not old. Age relative to league since he began his pro career:

 

2013: -0.2

2014: +0.2

2015: -0.3

2016: +0.3

 

In other words, almost spot on average for his league(s).

[MKE81]

One weird stat on Cordell is his BABIP went from .349 in the first half to .230 in the second half last season. Don't know if he forgot how to hit the ball hard or if it was an injury or if he was just went from lucky to pretty unlucky over night.

He was injured at some point in June I believe and ultimately shut down for the season at the end of July or beginning of Aug. His April/May slash line was 315/368/954 with 39 runs, 13 doubles, 3 triples, 10HR, 40rbi, 5 SB - that was spanning 48 games. This is in line with his seasons in A and A+ the previous 2yrs but with a slightly lower OBP but higher OPS. BA is spot on