Nothing runs like a Ford

[wvpowerblkwel]

Anyone notice that Darren now has 50 Stolen bases on the year? I think that only leaves one other guy in all of minor league baseball ahead of him at 54, and considering he seems to steal them in bunches like the 3 from yesterday, he could take the lead by monday! I just wish I was still getting to watch him here in Charleston, but happy to see the BA coming up in Brevard!

[DrWood]

I'd be really pleased if he stole half as many bases, and struck out half as many times.

[tyguy20204]

Too bad there's no correlation between SB totals and K totals then.

[Never Outhustled]

Ford is definately an ascending prospect. He is outhitting both Cain and Gillespie at BC, and I'd expect him to leapfrom both on the next P50. The FSL is such a tough place to hit, I can't wait to see what he does in the SL next year, despite that being a pitchers league too. The K totals aren't an issue with me, as he will only hit for more power as he increases his pitch recognition.

[Boy Jeenius]

The K's do not bother me much at all either. He has addressed and worked on the K issue, and is showing marked improvement. His off the chart speed will grant him the luxury of the the fact that the Brewers will be patient to the last measure. I'm old enough to have seen the Royals take the same type of player - Willie Wilson - and turn him into a dynamic lead off hitter. Obviously, with his speed, the more he puts the ball in play, the more effective he'll be, but the dude's only 21. His growth curve looks very, very positive.

[colbyjack]

Ford has been a lot of fun to follow, but I am concerned with the Ks. Yes, he's young and has plenty of time to improve (although he hasn't shown much improvement in this area yet), and yes, strikeouts don't matter as much as a lot of people think, but for his style of play it just bugs me that he strikes out as much as he does as he could be creating a lot more problems for opposing teams by putting the ball in play more than he does.

 

I have heard that he is the fastest players in all of the minor leagues, which is exciting in itself.

[sbrylski]

Ford is one of my favorite prospects. Very nice to see him hitting so well, he's like Gwynn only he actually does have top notch speed and also enough potential in the power department to eventually become a ML starter. His OBP is still a little BA driven though, so unless he improves on that I'm not sure I'm ready to proclaim him as a quality leadoff candidate.

[tigerbrew]

Just wondering which Ford runs faster, T.J. or Darren?

[igor67]

I've been skeptical of Ford because of the very high K rate for awhile, but he has improved a modest amount since last year rate wise, and appears to have have had a small improvement even jumping up to Brevard County. If you game him a full leadoff season you'd expect about 145 Ks which of course is a lot for a top of the order guy traditionally, but not the kind of super high rate that leads you to believe he's going to fail because his other tools are pretty good. I'd venture to say that so far he's been everything Krynzel was supposed to be.

[Brian the Automator]

[ His OBP is still a little BA driven though, so unless he improves on that I'm not sure I'm ready to proclaim him as a quality leadoff candidate. ]

 

I suppose it depends... Are his hits of the seeing-eye variety, or are they infield hits that he's going to be able to consistently run out?

[pogokat]

Darren Ford clobbers the ball...he's not an infield hit kind of guy...he's a line drive hitter with tons of gap power...think a beefy kenny lofton

[agent39]

I love Darren Ford.

[DrWood]

"I'd venture to say that so far he's been everything Krynzel was supposed to be."

 

exactly my point. There is a "Dave Krynzel Disease" (DKD) that is epidemic in the brewer's system--too many strikeouts for the player's power production. Look up and down the stats pages for the minor league teams. That's why someone like Brantley sticks out so much..

 

DKD in a player does NOT project well.

 

Since you bring up Dave, Does Ford have as a good an arm as Krynzel?

[danzig6767]

I understand why in todays baseball the walk and three run homer mentality is the main style of play given the dearth of pitching and small parks.

 

With that said,i love watching very very fast guys do things like hit triples,steal bases,or fly around the bases after another batter gets a hit.From just an entertainment perspective,i'd love to have a Carl Crawford type on the Brewers.Ford most likely won't ever be that good,but i'd love to see speed like his at Miller Park one day if he develops enough to make it.

[tyguy20204]

Hmmm, I think Ford has a ceiling far above that of Carl Crawford.