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Wednesday, July 20, 2005Scouting Report: Brandon WoodBio:
Stats (complete):Name: Richard Brandon Wood Birthday: March 2, 1985 (20 on Opening Day 2005) Height: 6'-2" Weight: 180 Bats: Right Throws: Right Position: SS Acquired: Draft Drafted: 2003, 1st round (23), ANA Roster: Minor League Contract: n/a Hitting:YEAR(L) G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS ----------|---|---|--|---|--|--|--|---|--|---|--|--|----|----|----|-- 2003(r) 19 78 14 24 8 2 0 13 4 15 3 0 .308 .349 .462 811 || (R) 42 162 25 45 13 2 5 31 16 48 1 1 .278 .348 .475 823 2004(a) 125 478 65 120 30 5 11 64 46 117 21 5 .251 .322 .404 726 2005(A) 90 368 71 118 31 3 31 82 34 79 5 2 .321 .385 .674 1059 The numbers speak for themselves. Wood has tremendous power for the position, and it's developing earlier than anyone could have expected. With his size and power, one can't help but make the obvious comparisons. However, unlike Rodriguez and Jeter, Wood has never shown the ability to control the strike zone. As I've said many times before - the strikeouts by themselves just don't bother me. But Wood does need to show that he can work counts. Sure, he can hit any mistake for miles, but at higher levels he's going to have to learn to force the pitcher into throwing his pitch. That's my only worry, and it's a rather quibbling one considering his youth.Defense/Baserunning: Wood is not celebrated for his glove work. In fact, just today in his excellent Wait 'Til Next Year feature, Bryan Smith concluded that with Wood and McPherson "the left side of the Angels won't be winning any Gold Gloves from 2007-2012." Fair enough. But I remember that there was a time when Adam Kennedy was also considered something of a defensive liability. Don't ask me why, but I get the feeling that Wood - despite the fact that he's oversized for the position - is the kind of guy who's going to turn his raw athleticism and baseball intelligence into plus defense. Maybe never to the point of becoming a perennial gold-glove candidate like Kennedy, but the Angels shouldn't have any second thoughts about his manning the six.Outlook: Time to toot my own horn a bit: I've always held Wood in higher regard than the Angels' other, more highly touted middle infielders. He possesses the best combination of on-base and power out of the four überprospects (though Kendrick - who I grossly misjudged, it would seem - is giving him a run for his money). With the fall of Casey Kotchman, Wood now must be considered the organization's hottest property. See the complete list of scouting reports here. Comments:I think this guy is going to be good and if he learns to embrace his given name he'll be a star. Sportscasters would find ways to mention Dick Wood in every broadcast. Nice job. The interesting thing about his glovework is that he was considered a glove man before his senior year of high school, when he turned the offense on. Watching him in the Futures Game, he looked alright at the position -- certainly better than Joel Guzman looked at short during the Freeway Series this past spring. I think the most realistic scenario that has him moving off short would be if Aybar got to the majors in front of him and if McPherson totally bombs, in which case he could move to third (I think his arm is better suited to third, and there's no real reason to see Kendrick get moved off of second). |
