If you follow me on twitter, you probably know what I'm going to highlight this morning as I sort of hinted towards it last night. Mike Kvasnicka can hit, it's just as a right-fielder instead of a catcher or third base. Yes, I realize we are talking about a grand total of eight games, and I really don't care. We are talking about a 23 year old that was drafted in the supplemental first round. Despite popular opinion of this pick, Kvasnicka was projected to be picked in his area since he was shooting up draft boards because they though he could stick at catcher and have a good ceiling there. But, he was still a 2nd/3rd rounder as a RF with a safe floor. So, my point is that he has the talent to hit.
In this small sample size of eight games, he's 10 for 28. I'll do the math for you, it's a .347 batting average. He also has two walks and four strikeouts in that those games. Here's the bigger news, he has hit for some power too, with three doubles and three home runs.
If there's something you can hold on to with him as still a prospect, is that he has doubled his home run total in less than half of the plate appearances, with eight total. In the month of June, Kvasnicka has a slash line of .361/.410/.722! That's an OPS of 1.132, and a lot of it has been because of his time in RF.
Why is he hitting better in RF? Well, last season as a 3B, he was concentrating so much on that transition that he lost real development time at the plate. This season as a catcher, his body was probably wearing down and just fatigue was limiting his performance. As a RFer, he has more downtime and rest time which allows for better focus at the plate.
Am I saying he's a big prospect now? Heck no! It's a small sample size that warrant monitoring. I don't think he will be a big time outfielder that plays everyday, but because of his history in the field now, he has a lot of versatility. And, if he can develop his bat as a RFer, once he gets closer to the majors, he can provide a lot of versatility since he can be a 3rd catcher, 3B, 1B, RF, LF, and DH by that time. You take what you can get.
Games Scores Added
Oklahoma City RedHawks lost 3-0
- Wes Musick-5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO, 5/3 GO/AO, 100 pitches GS: 56
- Chris Hicks-1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
- Nothing notable at the plate, just picked up two hits
Corpus Christi won 10-6
- Jake Buchanan-7 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO, 9/3 GO/AO, GS: 53 101 pitches-All four runs in the 1st inning
- Kevin Chapman-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
- Jair Fernandez 3B-2-2, 2B, BB
- Jordan Kreke-3B, SS-2-5, 2B, SO, CS
- Jonathan Singleton 1B-0-3, BB, 3 SO
- Drew Locke RF-1-4, HR, SO-Another Grand Slam
- Adam Bailey LF-2-4, 2B, SO, SB
- Chris Wallace C-3-4, 2 2B, SO
- Drew Muren CF-1-3, 3B, BB, SB
Lancaster JetHawks lost 3-2
- Jorge De Leon-5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR, 2/8 GO/AO GS: 53
- Zachary Grimmett-2 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 2/2 GO/AO
- Ben Orloff SS-2-4
- Domingo Santana RF-1-3, BB, SO
Lexington Legends won 9-2
- Micheal Foltynewicz-6 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR, 9/2 GO/AO-Solid GS: 56
- Evan Grills-2 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 4/2 GO/AO
- Delino DeShields Jr. 2B-2-5, 2B, SB-42 bases on the season
- Chan Moon SS-1-2, HR, 2 BB-2 HR's in last three games
- Mike Kvasnicka RF-2-5, 2B-Hitting so much better as a RFer
- Jesse Wierzbicki DH-0-3, 2 BB
- Brandon Meredith LF-1-3, 3B, 2 BB
- Roberto Pena C-2-5
- Justin Gominsky CF-2-5
DSL Astros lost 10-5
- Luis Abad-3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 5/1 GO/AO GS: 39
- Mesac Laguna 1B-2-5, HR
- Michael Medina DH-1-4, 2B, 2 SO
- Arturo Michelena SS-1-4, 3B, 2 SO