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Acquired: Signed as an amateur free
agent in August, 2002.
B:
R T: R / Height:
6' 3" / Weight:
190 lbs / Birth Date: July
7, 1984
2007
Team/League: Clearwater (63 g), Lakewood (62 g)
Positions Played in 2007: 3B (124 g)
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When the Phillies initially scouted and signed Welinson Baez, nobody imagined
that he would have sunk as far as he has on the list of Phillies prospects. The
theory was that by about this time, Baez would be pushing his way toward the
majors and had a shot at being among the top ten prospects in the organization.
After languishing in the Gulf Coast League for two and a half seasons, Baez
still had a bright future because he was so young and the Phillies had figured
that it might take him a little time to adjust to life in the pros. Now though,
he's yet to show the type of potential that the Phillies expected and it's hard
to find too many in the organization that now believe he's going to ever reach
that promise.
Batting and Power: The real problem with Baez offensively has
been his strikeout numbers. For a guy with little power, his 315 strikeouts over
the past two seasons are way too high. The Phillies never expected power out of
Baez and they haven't gotten it, but they also haven't found the plate
discipline that they thought he would develop over time. Even with a career
average of .245 and a high strikeout rate, Baez has a career .321 on-base
percentage, which isn't all that bad considering his drawbacks. It's frustrating
to think about what Baez might be able to do if he were able to generate some
walks and cut down on his strikeouts. After slashing 34 doubles in 2006, he
dropped to 22 last season in twenty extra at bats, taking away another
potentially promising part of his offensive game.
Baserunning and Speed: Baez has slightly above average speed, but he
is a savvy baserunner and doesn't make too many mistakes on the bases.
Defense: After shuttling Baez back-and-forth between shortstop and
third base, the Phillies have simply planted him at third base for the past two
seasons. His defense is another drawback and even settling into one position
hasn't helped his development. The other disappointing aspect is that Baez has
worked hard to improve his defense and it just hasn't helped.
Projection: Baez is going to need a real turn around if he's going to
put himself back on the radar. There is so much for him to work on that it just
doesn't figure to be likely that he's going to become a real prospect. His big
saving grace right now is that he's still just 23 years old and has time to turn
things around, but considering that he's put honest work into his development
over five minor league seasons and it hasn't helped, you have to wonder if it's
going to click.
Welinson Baez' career stats
|
2003 |
GCL Phillies |
3 |
17 |
.246 |
41 |
142 |
20 |
35 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
12 |
37 |
.317 |
.366 |
|
2004 |
GCL Phillies |
4 |
18 |
.234 |
51 |
171 |
24 |
40 |
7 |
2 |
3 |
21 |
62 |
.320 |
.368 |
|
2005 |
GCL Phillies |
2 |
6 |
.267 |
15 |
45 |
6 |
12 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
14 |
.400 |
.533 |
|
2005 |
Batavia |
6 |
37 |
.324 |
45 |
170 |
34 |
55 |
14 |
1 |
2 |
22 |
45 |
.408 |
.524 |
|
2006 |
Lakewood |
6 |
51 |
.232 |
122 |
427 |
48 |
99 |
34 |
3 |
5 |
41 |
158 |
.305 |
.368 |
|
2007 |
Lakewood |
3 |
22 |
.219 |
62 |
215 |
28 |
47 |
9 |
2 |
5 |
23 |
71 |
.289 |
.321 |
|
2007 |
Clearwater |
6 |
30 |
.238 |
63 |
231 |
25 |
55 |
13 |
2 |
1 |
19 |
86 |
.296 |
.390 |
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Minor League Totals - 5 Season(s) |
30 |
181 |
.245 |
399 |
1401 |
185 |
343 |
87 |
12 |
20 |
146 |
473 |
.320 |
.388 |
Stats courtesy of The Baseball Cube.
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