How Do We Feel About Corey Ray At This Point?

[sheetskout]

I see all the talent in the world, but I am torn at this point.

 

Let me get your honest opinions on where you feel Corey Ray is at this point.

[trwi7]

He's been terrible his entire minor league career. I doubt anyone is encouraged by anything he's doing right now.

[Lathund]

Underwhelming, but it's only been little over a season as a professional so far so I'm not writing him off. Haven't seen much of him this season so beyond the stats I don't know much about what's up with him. I'll happily wait until this time next year before really forming an opinion.

[82brewcrew82]

I think the first two responses are perfectly representative of what you are going to hear with this question and I'd be willing to bet there is a strong correlation between the former response and folks who didn't like the pick to begin with.

[brewmann04]

i think he was overvalued but willing to give him one more season

[adambr2]

I got excited about this thread when I first looked because my screen at the main forum cut it off at Cor. I thought it was going to be about Corbin Burnes. I feel pretty good about him.

 

Corey Ray, not so much.

[LouisEly]

I didn't like the Ray pick, I've been critical, but I'm more at the "disappointing" part of the spectrum and hoping he turns it around. My criticism has been relative to where he was picked and who was picked next. It is starting to look like that is a below-average draft class, but I can't help but look at the next pick (Puk) and think how good a lefty starter with 13 K/9 and 3.7 K/BB would look in this system.

 

If the Brewers had Puk instead of Ray would they have been willing to trade one of Woodruff/Hader/Ortiz/Burnes for a starter with multiple years of control? Would people have cared if the Brewers had traded one of those pitchers if they had Puk?

 

What concerns me is that Ray is in the same league as last season and has showed zero improvement. His K rate actually increased significantly over last year - from 21.5% to 31%. I get that he was hurt at the beginning of the year, but I don't see how a bad knee causes you to strike out more. I can see a bad knee robbing you of power and hitting into more outs, but not affecting your strike zone judgment and ability to make contact.

[Brewer Fever]

His showing to this point has been less than ideal

[JohnBriggs12]

I felt he was a reach when the Brewers drafted him. I still feel he was a reach. 5th overall picks out of college should be finished products or darn near close. Ray was far from that. He's a fine athlete with the kind of back story MLB wants to see more of and a toolsy guy but there's pressure that comes with being a top 10 overall pick. He didn't have the advantages of guys who played year round against top competition in their age group growing up so that's making the adjustment more difficult to pro ball. But you just don't draft guys that high who need extra time to develop. Many never make it.

[brewcrewdue80]

Even worse than hating the pick on draft day because the hate of the selection is increasingly becoming a complete failure on what you'd suppose was the safest selection.

[Outlander]

My expectations were probably higher than they should have been for him as I kept on hearing from some people that he should rise fast and could even be with the Brewers by sometime in 2018. That obviously hasn't happened and the injuries have hurt. I do realize he has only played professionally for less than two years and still have hope that things will click but don't consider him a top ten prospect for the Brewers at this point.

[jerichoholicninja]

I'm only going off of scant memory but wasn't he considered one of the best bats in the draft?

[KeithStone53151]

I honestly thought we drafted Ray and Clark entirely to be trade chips. At the time of both picks, we had a nice core forming...especially in the outfield. I felt like we were to some degree trying to corner the CF market and use it to acquire impact pitching when the time came. Hitters are generally safer picks and less likely to flame out completely before hitting the upper minors.

 

That said, I think we need a bit more patience with Ray. I know looking at Harrison/Gatewood is a bit different because they weren't college picks, but Ray might just need some more development time for things to click. The natural ability is there, and we have time before we would need to put him on the 40 man. I won't get overly concerned about him being a bust unless he has another terrible year.

[LouisEly]

Just went back and read the comments in the draft forum immediately after the pick. Very interesting to say the least.

 

Some of my favorites:

 

"5 years from now we will look back on passing on Puk/Groome. Hopefully glad we did passed on them."

 

Didn't even take that long.

 

"Oddibe McDowell comp... um... wow?"

 

"You know how this will go. Jason Groome and AJ Puk will get to greet Corey Ray in 2019 with Golden Sombreros"

[jerichoholicninja]

"You know how this will go. Jason Groome and AJ Puk will get to greet Corey Ray in 2019 with Golden Sombreros"

 

Isn't that insinuating Ray would be in the majors and wouldn't that be a good thing?

[patrickgpe]

I wanted Groome, Puk, or Lewis over Ray. I was just as surprised and disappointed with the pick as I was in 2017 with Hiura.

[FVBrewerFan]

I don't get into the draft, other than spending a lot of time on draft day and days after reading the forums here to learn more about players we drafted.

 

I mention that because my opinion has nothing to do with whether he should have been our pick or not. No, I look at results at what scouts have to say since he picked up a bat professionally.

 

Hope I'm wrong, but I don't see him panning out. He's on the smaller side, not a ton of power, doesn't walk, and strikes out a lot. That will take a whole lot of improvement to become a good MLB player. Since power will never be his main tool, his hit tool will really need to be what he hangs his hat on, and he's shown little evidence he can.

[homer]

Kenny Lofton didn't have a season over .800 OPS until he was 23 years old. I realize this is a very much a glass is half full take but that's how I roll.

[reillymcshane]

I am concerned about Ray's early performance, no question. You want a college bat to show more at this stage. However, as I have said before, it's still barely 1.5 years of play.

 

I guess I'd say I'm cautiously optimistic - but I'm bracing for the worst. In the end, I like the guy's tools and make up, and am anticipating seeing him at full strength in 2018 after playing last year coming off knee surgery.

[Never Outhustled]

Kenny Lofton didn't have a season over .800 OPS until he was 23 years old. I realize this is a very much a glass is half full take but that's how I roll.

 

Kenny Lofton went to college on a basketball scholarship, and didn't play college baseball until his junior year, as a 2 sport athlete.

 

Lofton showed steady development despite a late start, Ray has stalled since his freshman year of college.

[SomewhereInTime]

Looks like a complete bust. Number 5 overall pick, college player and we're over a season in and he can't hit in A ball.

[TURBO]

I'm hoping we can dupe someone into thinking he is a valuable trade asset.

[Never Outhustled]

I'm only going off of scant memory but wasn't he considered one of the best bats in the draft?

 

Nope, wasn't a top college bat at all. Lowest college OPS of a top 5 pick in the last 20 years. Maybe longer, I only looked up the last 20.

[Eye Black]

I didn't like the Ray pick, I've been critical, but I'm more at the "disappointing" part of the spectrum and hoping he turns it around.

This would sum up my thoughts also. I wasn’t a fan of the draft pick, but despite the disappointing results there are still elements of his physical abilities that leave hope he can develop into a major league contributor. It seems like scouts have always been higher on Ray than public opinion, and I think there are scouts that still see plenty of talent. That being said, I think next year is really important in terms of seeing improvements on the statistical end such as reducing his strikeout rate and elevating his on-base %.

[JohnBriggs12]

I didn't like the Ray pick, I've been critical, but I'm more at the "disappointing" part of the spectrum and hoping he turns it around.

This would sum up my thoughts also. I wasn’t a fan of the draft pick, but despite the disappointing results there are still elements of his physical abilities that leave hope he can develop into a major league contributor. It seems like scouts have always been higher on Ray than public opinion, and I think there are scouts that still see plenty of talent. That being said, I think next year is really important in terms of seeing improvements on the statistical end such as reducing his strikeout rate and elevating his on-base %.

 

So what you are saying this was a pick that was overthought. When picking 5th, it should be a no-brainer, not something scouts see in a guy that the rest of us don't. Scouts earn their money finding guys throughout the draft. The top guys are generally obvious to all.