Off Topic
Travelblog of Thom S. Hunter
Editor’s Note: Dammit. Far as I can tell this idiot idea of a beat reporter is going to stick. Guess he’s got low friends in high places. Or at least high friends. And I like to eat, and I got a wife and three kids (that I know of) who need clothes and sneakers. So I got nothing to do but to let the guy write whatever he writes. Good luck reading it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
September 12, 2057: Port au Prince – “Sometimes life is shit, but you just have to grin and bear it,” I said to the Goon as we sidled up to the bar at a place with a name that translates into The Blue Cup. I think it means “cup” like the idea of a beer mug, but it’s got a stink around it that could be more like “athletic.” Either way’s fine by me. And the Goon, for that matter.
Turns out Westy’s money spends in his hands as good as it does mine, and I like having a little muscle around when it comes time to get the hell outta … well … the Blue Cup because-a something about someone’s wife and a game of cards. Or something like that.
We got our drinks fine, though, and although it’s cold as shit up in the north, the sea breezes here carry the aroma of barbecue pork and fresh plantains.
Life can suck like this all day, I say.
The run is cold, too. Preemo.
Anyway, me and the Goon are here after spending the day at the hitting cage watching a kid from the team's Short A team here named Stephen Schmidt hit the crap out a baseballs. Which he’s doing pretty well in the cage.
Problem comes when he hits the field.
Let’s pause here, though and check out the guy’s raw numbers from the fancy-dancy reports that Westy’s meat crunchers sent me.
Looks like hs should be good, right? 65 Overall speaks. Or at least it otta.
6’2”, 175 pounds with a left-handed swing that looks good in the pictures.
Problem is that this represents his fourth season in Haiti. Which I figure must be on purpose. I mean, the island is a fun little place, after all. If you can avoid the heebejeebes that come with the VooDoo and the witch doctors and all that other stuff that seemd cliché until it’s 2AM and you’re stuck out in a copse of rotting mango trees and the Goon got siphoned off by a gal someplace else. That the time you start calling out for Santoria and Iwa or Papa Legba or whoever the hell else that’ll get ya home.
But I digress.
Turns out that as a 19-year-old, just turned 20, Schmidt hit .234/.306/.455 this year.
He hit .264/.322/.423 four years ago as a 16- year-old. Same league. Is that better? wRC+ says it is, but not by much. There’s 14 homers he got this year, which gives the scouts who say he’s got some power hope. But he hit them in 255 plate appearances, which again is a little better than his 4 in 163 two years back, and his 5 in 212 last year. But “65”?
I dunno Calvin, said to Hobbes.
But I gotta make a report, so here’s it go.
- - -
OFFENSIVELY: as I noted, the guy didn’t do a ton. I guess I can point to a .341 wOBA, which looks nice enough, but the 91 wRC+ shows that was made in league where wOBA is up there. His .240 BABIP was uninspiring. The -.05WAR even less so,
Dude’s gotta hit sometime, right?
If you’re getting worried that that time might be passing by, well, you might be right. Guess we’ll just have to sip the rum and see.
- - -
DEFENSIVELY I’d say that the numbers say that defensively, Schmidt can pass for “not good.” He’s got that lackadaisical appearance of annoyance while wearing a glove that seems to beckon baseballs to come near. Three outfield errors in right, and a .974 fielding percentage is pretty ugly. Cap it off with a -4.22 ZR and you can see the kid’s got growing to do there, too. The arm is good, though. 10 outfield kills is kind of fun.
Still, if the glove don’t fit, you’d better hit.
- - -
DEVELOPMENT: Talking to the coaches gives a bit of a better feel, though. They like that his plate discipline looks like it’s bumped up a bit, and it’s true that the power got stronger, too. Turns out that chicks do tend to like the long ball, and Schmidt apparently likes the chicks. So, message sent.
Bottom line: while it’s true the top numbers didn’t skyrocket, Schmidt’s HR and K rates got better. Another, bigger year next year could be good news.
- - -
PERSONALITY: I should note that the guy is kind of a slacker. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to send a few of Westy’s bucks down here to get him to a personal motivation clinic.
- - -
2058 Projection: It’s probably time to push the kid outta the nest. Ready or not, Lime City might be best for him. He’s an ex-10th rounder who hasn’t see anything outside of his High school and Haiti. Maybe a look at the real world will do him good?
September 12, 2057: Port au Prince – “Sometimes life is shit, but you just have to grin and bear it,” I said to the Goon as we sidled up to the bar at a place with a name that translates into The Blue Cup. I think it means “cup” like the idea of a beer mug, but it’s got a stink around it that could be more like “athletic.” Either way’s fine by me. And the Goon, for that matter.
Turns out Westy’s money spends in his hands as good as it does mine, and I like having a little muscle around when it comes time to get the hell outta … well … the Blue Cup because-a something about someone’s wife and a game of cards. Or something like that.
We got our drinks fine, though, and although it’s cold as shit up in the north, the sea breezes here carry the aroma of barbecue pork and fresh plantains.
Life can suck like this all day, I say.
The run is cold, too. Preemo.
Anyway, me and the Goon are here after spending the day at the hitting cage watching a kid from the team's Short A team here named Stephen Schmidt hit the crap out a baseballs. Which he’s doing pretty well in the cage.
Problem comes when he hits the field.
Let’s pause here, though and check out the guy’s raw numbers from the fancy-dancy reports that Westy’s meat crunchers sent me.
| Player Name | POS | B | T | OVR | POT | ConP | GapP | PowP | EyeP | AvKP | Con | Gap | Pow | Eye | AvK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Schmidt | RF | L | L | 20 | 65 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 2 |
| Source | Age | Ht | Wt | SPD | STE | RUN | CAB | CAR | IFR | IFE | IFA | TDP | OFR | OFE | OFA |
| D54.10 | 20 | 6'2" | 175 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
6’2”, 175 pounds with a left-handed swing that looks good in the pictures.
Problem is that this represents his fourth season in Haiti. Which I figure must be on purpose. I mean, the island is a fun little place, after all. If you can avoid the heebejeebes that come with the VooDoo and the witch doctors and all that other stuff that seemd cliché until it’s 2AM and you’re stuck out in a copse of rotting mango trees and the Goon got siphoned off by a gal someplace else. That the time you start calling out for Santoria and Iwa or Papa Legba or whoever the hell else that’ll get ya home.
But I digress.
Turns out that as a 19-year-old, just turned 20, Schmidt hit .234/.306/.455 this year.
He hit .264/.322/.423 four years ago as a 16- year-old. Same league. Is that better? wRC+ says it is, but not by much. There’s 14 homers he got this year, which gives the scouts who say he’s got some power hope. But he hit them in 255 plate appearances, which again is a little better than his 4 in 163 two years back, and his 5 in 212 last year. But “65”?
I dunno Calvin, said to Hobbes.
But I gotta make a report, so here’s it go.
- - -
OFFENSIVELY: as I noted, the guy didn’t do a ton. I guess I can point to a .341 wOBA, which looks nice enough, but the 91 wRC+ shows that was made in league where wOBA is up there. His .240 BABIP was uninspiring. The -.05WAR even less so,
Dude’s gotta hit sometime, right?
If you’re getting worried that that time might be passing by, well, you might be right. Guess we’ll just have to sip the rum and see.
- - -
DEFENSIVELY I’d say that the numbers say that defensively, Schmidt can pass for “not good.” He’s got that lackadaisical appearance of annoyance while wearing a glove that seems to beckon baseballs to come near. Three outfield errors in right, and a .974 fielding percentage is pretty ugly. Cap it off with a -4.22 ZR and you can see the kid’s got growing to do there, too. The arm is good, though. 10 outfield kills is kind of fun.
Still, if the glove don’t fit, you’d better hit.
- - -
DEVELOPMENT: Talking to the coaches gives a bit of a better feel, though. They like that his plate discipline looks like it’s bumped up a bit, and it’s true that the power got stronger, too. Turns out that chicks do tend to like the long ball, and Schmidt apparently likes the chicks. So, message sent.
Bottom line: while it’s true the top numbers didn’t skyrocket, Schmidt’s HR and K rates got better. Another, bigger year next year could be good news.
- - -
PERSONALITY: I should note that the guy is kind of a slacker. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to send a few of Westy’s bucks down here to get him to a personal motivation clinic.
- - -
2058 Projection: It’s probably time to push the kid outta the nest. Ready or not, Lime City might be best for him. He’s an ex-10th rounder who hasn’t see anything outside of his High school and Haiti. Maybe a look at the real world will do him good?
