Here is a continued look at Mets Prospects and
Players as we get ready for the 2021 Baseball season, today: Drew
Ferguson.
Background: Outfielder,
Bats Right, Throws Right, DOB 8/3/1992, Drafted by the Houston Astros in the 19th
round, 2015 June Amateur Draft, Pick: 4, Overall: 559.
In the December 2018 Rule 5 Draft, Major League
Portion, the San Francisco Giants drafted Drew Ferguson in the 2nd
Round.
MLB
Trade Rumors: March 21, 2019, Giants designate Drew Ferguson for
assignment.
CBS
Sports: March 22, 2019 Drew Ferguson cleared waivers and was returned to
the Astros per the Rule 5 Draft stipulations.
Also per CBS Sports, he was added to the Astros 60
Man player pool but was never activated as part of the MLB Roster.
This last December 2020, the Mets claimed Drew
Ferguson in the Minor League portion of the Rule 5 draft which means that he
does not need to be added to the 40-man MLB roster to stay with the Mets.
He has all 3 MiLB options remaining.
Drew was a highly touted prospect coming out of
college after slashing .344/.459/.589 in his Junior Year and .397/.486/.685 in
his Senior Year.
Some
like ClimbingTalsHill feel like “Drew Ferguson…a talented prospect lost in the
crowd”. They noted last year – “Ferguson has held his own with a
consistently high level of performance ever since that 2015 draft. In his five
years of Minor League play, he has a slash line of .293/.394/.452 and averaged
near double digits in both home runs and stolen bases. But somehow, he has
managed to crack the Astros Top 30 Prospects list just once when he was ranked
#26 in 2016.”
When he
was selected in the 2018 Rule 5 Draft FanGraphs noted this: “Ferguson is a
hitterish tweener outfielder with a good combination of bat-to-ball skills and
plate discipline. He has a very short, compact stroke that enables him to punch
lines drives to his pull side and he’s tough to beat with velocity. Ferguson
doesn’t really run well enough to play center field and lacks the power for a
corner, so his likely ceiling is that of a bench outfielder.”
Also
Per FanGraphs, they note that Drew had a 21.7 K% with 102 Ks over 483 Plate
Appearances. For 2021 they project Drew with
10 HR, 54 RBIs, .226 Batting Average with 91 hits and 124 Ks.
Per
Baseball Savant, while he naturally
hits the majority of his home runs to Left Field, he also has HR power to
Center and Right and does sprays the ball around.
4 comments:
When trying to build a championship team, your spare outfielders should have no more than one limitation, so they can start if need be. Taking Keke Hernandez as an example, these guys need to have some power or some speed, or maybe an elite defender. Having no elite tools is more like a placeholder. The Mets don’t need placeholders. Hernandez, Marwin Gonzalez, and several others like them are free agents, that can be signed at the right price. They are borderline starters that are good at the right price. Ferguson seems like a AAAA player.
Texas Gus, I agree. We can't have the mindset of a 70 win team any more. Player upgrades top to bottom are what you need to be in the 95 to 100 win category.
Lack of plus speed and plus power in addition to the Ks are a problem. I agree with Gus - too many limitations.
While he is a little older, you have to like his 2019 AAA numbers. I know the PCL is a hitters league, but .836 OPS with a .395 OBP is pretty decent anywhere. I like the 27 SBs and 68 BB in 402 AB (so about 470 or so plate appearances).
Remember that this guy was selected in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft, so he will not take definite roster space. Most of his defensive innings are in center field and without getting into deeper stats, he looks OK. I see the comment that he doesn't run well enough to play center, but his 27 to 6 SB to CS numbers don't scream slow guy to me. If he can play the position with decent routes and a good glove, that speed doesn't matter that much.
I like this selection and think there is a breakout candidate as a good utility/bench guy. Carrying a guy like this for minimum wage makes more sense to me than the popular Pillar/Marisnick chatter.
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