Comments on: Previewing the 2010 San Antonio Missions: Batting

By: Tom Waits

Tom Waits — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:28:47 +0000

Wow, people are awfully kind when it comes to Hunter’s 2009. A 625 OPS with a 294 OBP and a 70 ISO isn’t mediocre and it isn’t ok and it isn’t slightly bad. It sucks. That’s not the same as saying that Hunter sucks, but his 2009 campaign was terrible. Many people were concerned long before 2009 about his offense being so dependent on batting average, and last year that chicken came home to roost. He could easily rebuild his value with a good 2010 campaign, but we can at least be honest about his 2009.

Even if he regains his form, you have to wonder how valuable a singles-hitting CF who swings too much, walks too little, and doesn’t have good speed or great defense is worth to a major league team.

Darnell’s much more athletic than Headley. I don’t think he’s athletic enough to move to 2b, as some stories have suggested. The talk of him going to C always seems to be a misreading of comments about Forsythe, who was pegged as a possible catcher before he was drafted.

Don’t expect Darnell to come all that close to Headley’s raw numbers, because he doesn’t get to turn around and hit LH in San Antonio.

By: Ben Davey

Ben Davey — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:50:15 +0000

I think David hit the nail on the head. It was “ok” leaning on the slightly bad for the season. The problem is that for a top prospect “ok” is not good enough. Right now I dont see Hunter as more than a 4th OF at best, but the FO still see a lot in him. He has the ability and tools to get it done, and they often point to his 11 HR in LE in 08′ as a sign that the power is coming along, but I will believe it when I see it.

Ray, offensively Headley and Darnell are extremely comparable. They have almost identical HR, 2B, and R (per PA) #. Remember Headley skipped Ft Wayne and went straight to Lake Elsinore. Darnell might have a slightly better eye at the plate, and a bit more pop but other than that they share a lot of the same skills. The biggest difference right now and will probably the thing that ultimately decides who plays 3rd for the Padres is defense. If Darnell cant stay at 3rd it wont matter much. San Antonio was where Headley went from pretty good to legit top 50 MLB prospect. Lets see if Darnell can come close to replicating Headley’s success (.330/.437/.580/1.016 20 HR, and won the MVP)

By: Ray Lankford

Ray Lankford — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:44:23 +0000

How does Darnell compare to Headley, at least at this point in their development?

By: David

David — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:00:48 +0000

In response to Daniel’s comment, it’s way to early to give up on hunter. Last year was his first “bad” year and it wasn’t anywhere close to Antonelli-bad. It really was just a mediocre year. He was only 21 years-old last year, still quite young for the league. With a better OBP he actually would have had a comparable season to Durango (who most people feel had a great season and is two years older than Hunter). I think a repeat at AA this year will serve him well. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him come charging out of the gates and work his way up to Portland later in the year.

By: Daniel Gettinger

Daniel Gettinger — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:54:31 +0000

I’ve pretty much given up on Hunter. Is that fair, or is there true reason to believe he can be a productive major leaguer at some point?