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.
October 28, 2057: Kamloops – Tony “The Pearl” Munyiga comes from Kroonstad in South Africa. Luckily he keeps a home now in the states, which made is easier to let me take a look at his winter workout. There’s no Come Together Door in Kroonstadt, it seems, though the schedule says it’s coming soon.
All good.
Bottom line is that the kid was a first torund pick back in 2055, and at 21 he’s grown in a steady fashion since arriving in the organization, Hitting .209 and posting 1.7 WAR that first season in Rookie ball, then having a workable season in A-ball interrupted by a fractured finger last year. He was back for a full tilt in AA AKamloops, though, and the numbers were almost exciting. The left-handed bat hit .320 in Kamloops, and posted 3.7 WAR, with offense augmented by 54 stolen bases.
Interesting, right?
If he could play any real defense, maybe you’d say he’s got a little something going on.
Looking at the scout numbers, you have to like what you see.
6’5” and athletic. He’s had a couple fractures and a sprained ankle in his past, but that’s a sign of a little aggression, which you have to like a little.
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OFFENSIVELY: Bottom line: the kid has hit everywhere he’s been. He’s also stolen a ton of bases, though pitchers and catchers in AA seemed to teach him that he’s got a thing or two to learn about reading situations (he stole 54 of 76 attempts, only 71%). His power numbers jumped this year (19 homers), and the sweet, gap-finding stroke seemed to blossom (31 doubles). He’s the kind of guy you’d love to plop into the lead-off spot and let him rip.
At question, though, is whether you can put someone whit his plate discipline into that kind of position. He struck out 99 times, and drew only 29 walks, numbers that played in AA, but that you’d like to see improve at the next level.
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DEFENSIVELY, While not exactly a butcher in the field, Munyiga posted a quite sub-par -5.2 ZR in left field this season. Technically that’s better than the -5.3 he posted in Lime City A-ball last year, but trying to die on that hill is a bad bet. He’s not particularly error prone, but the guy can’t seem to get a jump even if you plug the cales in right and kickstart the engine.
Another prospect where you ask yourself if the bat’s value outweighs the glove’s burden.
- - -
DEVELOPMENT: Baseball folks say Munyiga’s development is on track. As a young player a long way from home, he seemed to suffer some home sickness early, leading some scouts to downgrade his upside, but 2057 saw him regain some of that.
I’m sure the team is going to see what they can do about getting him some time with someone who knows how to read pitchers. If his SB% rate could get up around the 80s, his utility would be that much more rounded.
- - -
PERSONALITY: Munyiga has a big smile and an easy way with fans, and they seem to really love him. He works hard, too, indicated by the fact that it wasn’t hard to find a time to go to the hitting cage to see him work out. He’s only 21, and he’s still maturing, but he shows every indication of being a Bikini fan favorite.
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2058 Projection: Some of Munyiga’s future could be told by the decision that Theo Bourges faces on his player option. Bourges is a left-handed hitting outfielder, and with the emergence of Graham Aubrey in the role of “left-handed-kid outfielder #1” if Bourges sticks around like most everyone thinks he will, that probably punches Munyiga’s ticket to Pasco.
If Bourges leaves to thworetically greener pastures in fee agency, like most in the front office probably hope he will … well, that opens the possibility that 2058 could see Munyiga step up.
Time and business will tell. Expect to see him at spring camp.
- - -
October 28, 2057: Kamloops – Tony “The Pearl” Munyiga comes from Kroonstad in South Africa. Luckily he keeps a home now in the states, which made is easier to let me take a look at his winter workout. There’s no Come Together Door in Kroonstadt, it seems, though the schedule says it’s coming soon.
All good.
Bottom line is that the kid was a first torund pick back in 2055, and at 21 he’s grown in a steady fashion since arriving in the organization, Hitting .209 and posting 1.7 WAR that first season in Rookie ball, then having a workable season in A-ball interrupted by a fractured finger last year. He was back for a full tilt in AA AKamloops, though, and the numbers were almost exciting. The left-handed bat hit .320 in Kamloops, and posted 3.7 WAR, with offense augmented by 54 stolen bases.
Interesting, right?
If he could play any real defense, maybe you’d say he’s got a little something going on.
Looking at the scout numbers, you have to like what you see.
| LVL | Player Name | POS | B | T | OVR | POT | ConP | GapP | PowP | EyeP | AvKP | Con | Gap | Pow | Eye | AvK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-AA | Tony Munyiga | LF | L | R | 40 | 50 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 6 |
| Source | Age | Ht | Wt | SPD | STE | RUN | CAB | CAR | IFR | IFE | IFA | TDP | OFR | OFE | OFA | |
| D55.1 | 21 | 6'5" | 200 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
- - -
OFFENSIVELY: Bottom line: the kid has hit everywhere he’s been. He’s also stolen a ton of bases, though pitchers and catchers in AA seemed to teach him that he’s got a thing or two to learn about reading situations (he stole 54 of 76 attempts, only 71%). His power numbers jumped this year (19 homers), and the sweet, gap-finding stroke seemed to blossom (31 doubles). He’s the kind of guy you’d love to plop into the lead-off spot and let him rip.
At question, though, is whether you can put someone whit his plate discipline into that kind of position. He struck out 99 times, and drew only 29 walks, numbers that played in AA, but that you’d like to see improve at the next level.
- - -
DEFENSIVELY, While not exactly a butcher in the field, Munyiga posted a quite sub-par -5.2 ZR in left field this season. Technically that’s better than the -5.3 he posted in Lime City A-ball last year, but trying to die on that hill is a bad bet. He’s not particularly error prone, but the guy can’t seem to get a jump even if you plug the cales in right and kickstart the engine.
Another prospect where you ask yourself if the bat’s value outweighs the glove’s burden.
- - -
DEVELOPMENT: Baseball folks say Munyiga’s development is on track. As a young player a long way from home, he seemed to suffer some home sickness early, leading some scouts to downgrade his upside, but 2057 saw him regain some of that.
I’m sure the team is going to see what they can do about getting him some time with someone who knows how to read pitchers. If his SB% rate could get up around the 80s, his utility would be that much more rounded.
- - -
PERSONALITY: Munyiga has a big smile and an easy way with fans, and they seem to really love him. He works hard, too, indicated by the fact that it wasn’t hard to find a time to go to the hitting cage to see him work out. He’s only 21, and he’s still maturing, but he shows every indication of being a Bikini fan favorite.
- - -
2058 Projection: Some of Munyiga’s future could be told by the decision that Theo Bourges faces on his player option. Bourges is a left-handed hitting outfielder, and with the emergence of Graham Aubrey in the role of “left-handed-kid outfielder #1” if Bourges sticks around like most everyone thinks he will, that probably punches Munyiga’s ticket to Pasco.
If Bourges leaves to thworetically greener pastures in fee agency, like most in the front office probably hope he will … well, that opens the possibility that 2058 could see Munyiga step up.
Time and business will tell. Expect to see him at spring camp.
- - -