Did the Dodgers just draft Jonathan Villar or Carl Crawford?

Phil Gurnee ♦ June 12, 2017 ♦ 1 Comment

Based on the pre-draft rankings the Dodgers just stole their number one pick Jeren Kendall with the 23rd pick. I’ll be misspelling Jeren for a while unless I get to write it often.

MLB had him as their 6th top prospect. Baseball America had him at 18. John Sickels felt he was a top ten pick. David Hood of TrueblueLA had him as his 3rd top prospect.
Per Keith Law:

Jeren Kendall has proved himself to be a toolsy college player with a solid upside.

Speed is a key part of Kendall’s game. He stole 19 bases as a freshman in 2015 and increased that total to 28 in 2016. His hit tool does leave something to be desired because of his propensity to swing and miss. He’s struck out 60 times in 204 at-bats this season, per Vanderbilt’s athletic website.

Striking out in nearly 30 percent of your at-bats in college, even against SEC competition, doesn’t necessarily bode well for things to come against professional competition.

MLB.com’s scouting report notes Kendall’s “overall game draws comparisons to that of Jacoby Ellsbury, though his arm is significantly stronger.”

Kendall seems to have all five tools with the only caveat being his strikeout rate. Given his speed, he seems like someone who could steal 50 bases. I thought Drew Stubbs might show up as a comp but Drew never played enough to get 50 stolen bases.

Just for fun, I did a search for every player since 2000 who stole at least fifty bases while striking out at least 100 times.

Jonathan Villar anyone?

Player            HR SB  SO Year Age  PA  OPS
Jonathan Villar   19 62 174 2016  25 679 .826
Hanley Ramirez    17 51 128 2006  22 700 .833
Scott Podsednik   12 70 105 2004  28 713 .677
Carl Crawford     11 50 112 2007  25 627 .820
Chone Figgins      9 52 100 2006  28 683 .712
Chone Figgins      8 62 101 2005  27 720 .749
Billy Hamilton     6 56 117 2014  23 611 .648
Tom Goodwin        6 55 117 2000  31 606 .698
Carl Crawford      5 55 102 2003  21 661 .671
Michael Bourn      3 61 140 2009  26 678 .738
Dee Gordon         2 64 107 2014  26 650 .704
Michael Bourn      2 61 140 2011  28 722 .734
Michael Bourn      2 52 109 2010  27 605 .686

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/12/2017.