Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6’1″, 200 lbs
Acquired:5th rd ’07 (Alvernia College)
Born: 6/3/86, (Reading, PA)
Why Ranked Here: New York Penn League scouts loved Lutz’s bat. Even his outs were hit hard.
2008: Lutz tore the cover off the ball for a month… and then got hurt. Whereas in 2007, he broke his foot on opening night, in 2008 at various moments, he was diagnosed with a strained quad, a lower back problem and an ankle injury.
Dr. Pangloss Says: Lutz has the bat to play in the Major Leagues.
On the Flipside: He has to be healthy enough to do so. Moreover, Lutz will be battling for a spot on a full-season team with 74 career professional AB to his credit. Lutz will be 22 on Opening Day 2009, so time is no longer on his side.
Projected 2009 Start: A-ball.Either St. Lucie or Savannah, with the FSL a likelier possibility.
| G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SO | SB | CS | AVG | OBP | SLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSA | 24 | 72 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0.333 | 0.442 | 0.512 |
Can you put the position they play in these write ups? I have no clue who some of these guys are, and it would be interesting to know what spot they play.
He does seem to have a nice bat. Get over the nagging and/or fluke injuries, and rocket up the list!
Nice thing about guys that are pure hitters is they can usually hit anywhere, and it often does not take long to get ready to move up (once they start mashing at a level).
Lutz played 3B in Brooklyn. But I agree that it would be a helpful addition to have each player’s position(s) listed in these profiles. By the way, Toby, this is a great series. Kudos!
One of the things that impressed me about Lutz is that he walked more often than he struck out, which is not usually the case with big hitters, especially when they are young.
Toby — just a suggestion for people who are not as up to date on all the prospects — in each piece on the prospects on the list, it might make sense to also list their current position.
beat ya by 10 seconds on that request!
More of a suggestion than a request…
Lutz remains one of my favorite prospects. I hope he stays healthy and gets off to a fast start at A+. He really needs to make it up to AA by the end of the year to be on an age appropriate track.
Agreed — I have been high on Lutz and think he has a nice upside, although the age appropriateness thing concerns me. That being said, at some level, I find the age appropriate concept misleading in general in that one or two years age difference should not always make that big of a difference, and even if you disagree and think it should, different people develop at different paces (i.e., forgetting emotional or intellectual maturity, physical develop manifests itself differently in different people — look at LeBron or Dwight Howard at age 17 for example)
Lutz these last two years has lost a lot of time, and he has to complete a full year next season. He has to have a season of 300 plus ABs. The best part about him is the fact that his out are hit very hard, and much like David Wright, the ball jumps off the bat. I would like to see him play at St Lucie, for the simple reason the high level of play. Also with Lutz up at a higher level, it would give a 2008 draft pick (who filled in for Lutz) Eric Campbell a chance to play everyday. Campbell after college came to Brooklyn to play 66 games and in 215 ABs hit .260.
Lutz can play the game and plays it with heart.
I predict St Lucie for him.
Flores and Marte will guard the left side with Flagg (DH) splitting time with Ike Davis at 1st.