Josh Vidders. Who is he?

[FalcoAtL]

Yes, I realized you were talking about Avg. It just didn't seem to correlate to what I said prior to your post.

I think you're really putting a bit too much emphasis on the stats (Vitters did not play all season), but I respect your argument. I just really am frustrated by people who automatically assume the player drafted ahead is the better player.

[dcskater619]

lol all he did was look at stats.. has no idea about either one of them.. vitters is a FAR better hitter then moustakas.. the royals took him 2nd because he can play all infield spots and they are gonna pray he will be their answer at shortstop sometime.. trust me they are the only 1 out of 32 teams that would pass on vitters (they have a guy named alex gordon)

[nate050904]

Well, after all of my preperations including a couple mock drafts etc. I have to agree that I like Mike Moustakas more then I like Josh Vitters. Moustakas has outstanding power for a high school player and can hit for a good average as well. I honestly think Moustakas was the best HS bat in the draft. I'd even argue while he was taken later in the 1st round that Jason Heyward is a better bat then Vitters as well.

[ukjohn]

I didn't just look at the stats. Baseball America had Moustakas ranked 4th and Vitters 5th overall before the draft. Here is what Jim Callis had to say in a chat after the first day:

Q: Steve from Kansas City asks:
Hi John, Jim! Do you believe Moustakas can play short at the Major League level? And any thoughts on the other first day picks made by the Royals?

A: Jim Callis: I don't but I think he had the best bat in the draft and will hit enough to play anywhere. I'll say he'll be an all-star corner outfielder.

Those are just two examples (coming from the draft website, and maybe the best draft writer)

[nate050904]

I completely agree with Jim Callis. I email him often to get his thought's on certain players. You'd be interested in know that he also believes that Parker had the best stuf out of any of the prep pitchers this year. I learned that from an email I sent him about 2 weeks ago.

[Fantasy Man 27]

I'm not sure how Vitters hitting in the mid-.300's in high school has any relevance to what I said.

Why is it even a good point that he did it in high school? Moustakas was in high school as well, what makes him better? I could see why you emphasized Vitters playing in high school if Moustakas had played in college, but they are both high school players.

I personally favor Vitters as do most of the experts.

look at my post...i was talking about the batting average. i know it doesn't mean a lot, but someone who bats 150 points more at the same level, gets picked over the other player while still not really having a position to play defense at seems to be the logical choice as the better hitter.

A lot of scouts had Moustakas over Vitters anyway

Are you a scout? You seem to know what you talk about, yet you don't bring up the reason Vitters hit that low. He had a bad case of pneumonia and was sick for a few weeks. With the pressure of the draft coming up, he decided to go ahead and start playing, even though he was not even close to 100%.

How about you go and play baseball when it is hard to even breathe. Now I am by no means an expert, but I do know from experience that baseball is a very hard sport to play when you are constantly tired. Batting averages in high school are irrelevent anyway, most of the top prospects in high school baseball are pitched around and swing at bad pitches because they are tired of getting walked.

Also, this guy hit 3 doubles against Michael Main, Matt Harvey, and Rick Porcello this year, that isn't too shabby. Take high school stats with a grain of salt, there are way too many factors. Players get roughly 70-80 ABs a year. If you really want to compare Josh Vitters to Mike Moustakas, and their .150 batting average difference that is a difference of roughly 9 hits. Factor in Vitters losing 10-15 pounds, I would say their averages are roughly the same.

But yeah, the moral of the story is high school stats are misleading. Jonny Damon hit under .300 as a senior in high school, he has turned out to suck, right? Let the scouts do their job. Also, Moustakas, IMO, won't be able to stick at the SS position.

As for the original poster, he was one of three HS hitters that were very close. Josh Vitters, Mike Moustakas, and Jason Heyward. I personally see them as Heyward, Moustakas and Vitters, in that order. Of course, this is coming from a Braves fan

Vitters doesn't have the best defense, so the Cubs picked him assuming that he would move to the OF most likely. A rule of thumb in the draft is always take BPA, and that is what the Cubs did (in their minds.)