27 replies to this topic

[EastCoasterOutWest]

Jeremy Hazelbaker


Born: August 14, 1987
Birthplace: Muncie, Indiana
Height/Weight: 6'2" / 175lbs
Position: CF (has played some 2B)
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
College: Ball State
High School: Wapahani High
How Acquired: 4th round pick in the 2009 MLB Draft (138th Overall)

SoxProspects Scouting Report
Centerfielder with an athletic frame and plus speed. Hazelbaker had a breakout year in 2009, showing an excellent ability to make contact and solid average power. In the outfield, Hazelbaker has above average range, but needs to work on making reads. Average arm strength.

SoxProspects Page

Minor League Stats Page - Portland Sea Dogs (AA)

Ranked 104th in the 2009 draft by Baseball America
Game By Game Splits (Ball State)
Drafting Video

Edited by EastCoasterOutWest, 06 July 2011 - 02:41 PM.

[EastCoasterOutWest]

Hazelbaker, a three-time MAC West Player of the Week, hit for the cycle in his first four at-bats against Kent State (March 27) with a first inning double, a second inning home run, a fourth inning single and a fifth inning triple. He tallied a team-high 30 multiple-hit games on the year and added 11 multiple-RBI games.

http://www.indysport...0,7266808.story

Edited by EastCoasterOutWest, 11 October 2010 - 02:25 PM.

[EastCoasterOutWest]

Hazelbaker played his first game with Greenville on June 30th and picked up his first RBI in the minors on a double in the top of the 8th.

[EastCoasterOutWest]

Hazelbaker's numbers after 9 games with Greenville:

Jeremy Hazelbaker

Avg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
.192	9	26	2	5	2	0	0	2	7	8	7	3	0	.382	.269	.652

In his last three games he's drawn 7 walks (4 in one game) with 2 Ks.

[EastCoasterOutWest]

Jeremy Hazelbaker 7/31/09

Avg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
.209	19	67	8	14	5	0	0	2	19	13	26	5	2	.338	.284	.621

Not showing much improvement and the K rate has jumped markedly in the last 10 games (nearly 50%).

[EastCoasterOutWest]

Jeremy Hazelbaker - Lowell Spinners - 8/27/09

Avg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
0.192	37	125	13	24	5	1	1	9	34	18	43	9	2	.297	.272	.569

Hit his first homer in the minors on 8/22.

Edited by EastCoasterOutWest, 27 August 2009 - 01:27 PM.

[EastCoasterOutWest]

Jeremy played LF after the rain delay in the 3/11 ST game vs the Mets.

He went 1 for 3 with a 1B and a K, scoring a run. He was aggressive on the base paths - going first to third on a grounder up the middle. He looked good in the outfield, getting a good jump on a hard hit ball by Blanco.

[ItOnceWasMyLife]

Jeremy will start the 2010 season in low A Greenville alongside Reymond Fuentes and Shannon Wilkerson in the outfield.

[EastCoasterOutWest]

Hazelbaker showing some speed, leading the team with 9 swipes out of 10 attempts.

Jeremy Hazelbaker, who entered the game leading the South Atlantic League and ranked eighth in all of Minor League Baseball in stolen bases, swiped his seventh, eighth, and ninth bases. Wilfredo Pichardo who led the offense with a 3-for-4 night, pitched in with two stolen passes, while Dan Butler added his first of the season.

http://web.minorleag...t=.jsp&sid=t428

Edited by EastCoasterOutWest, 11 October 2010 - 02:27 PM.

[someoneanywhere]

Time, I think, to bump Bake.

His weakness has been his bat; he's got some tools, particularly speed, that play up. The last few weeks it's seemed to me that he's been making the adjustment you look for in low A -- going opposite field with some authority (you could see Middlebrooks coming on when he started to do this mid-summer of 2009, for instance). He's been tougher, as well, facing LHP. Still not sold on the bat, but keep your eye on him.

[EastCoasterOutWest]

Hazelbaker's numbers to June 16 for the 2010 season:

Jeremy Hazelbaker

Avg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
.229	51	188	29	43	10	4	5	27	76	31	62	31	9	.341	.404	.745

Hitting .250 vs lefties and .223 vs righties

He's got a big road split (.282/.184) and is hitting .167/.327/.333/.660 for the month of June. In regards to his speed, he's 2 back of the league lead for stolen bases (interesting note: his teammate Fuentes is 25 for 26 attempts).

[jmm57]

Last 10 Games:
.395/.422/.791

Up to .270/.356/.472

It was the SAL League leading 39 stolen bases that really caught my attention though. 78% clip seems like it might not be great off of SAL league pitchers/catchers. 88k:37bb also isn't great.


edit:

Month BB:K
Apr 10:19
May 11:26
June 14:32
July 2:11

Edited by jmm57, 15 July 2010 - 09:07 AM.

[Cuzittt]

It was the SAL League leading 39 stolen bases that really caught my attention though. 78% clip seems like it might not be great off of SAL league pitchers/catchers. 88k:37bb also isn't great.

He's learning and adapting. A month by month split would be useful to see how his K/BB rate is progressing.

As for the stolen bases, he steals a lot. He has a green light all the time. And, from my recollection (which I have not backed up), he gets caught stealing 3rd base more often than at 2nd base. I wish it was actually easy to find those stats.

The thing I like about Hazelbaker is that for the first month, all he had was SBs. Now he is hitting and is hitting for power. He's become... interesting.

[EastCoasterOutWest]

He's learning and adapting. A month by month split would be useful to see how his K/BB rate is progressing.

As for the stolen bases, he steals a lot. He has a green light all the time. And, from my recollection (which I have not backed up), he gets caught stealing 3rd base more often than at 2nd base. I wish it was actually easy to find those stats.

The thing I like about Hazelbaker is that for the first month, all he had was SBs. Now he is hitting and is hitting for power. He's become... interesting.

Jeremy Hazelbaker - Monthly Split

	Avg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
April	.231	15	52	8	12	2	2	1	9	10	19	12	2	.355	.404	.759
May	.255	24	94	13	24	6	1	3	12	11	26	12	3	.340	.436	.776
June	.230	22	87	14	20	4	1	1	9	14	32	9	5	.337	.333	.670
July	.396	13	53	12	21	6	4	3	8	3	12	6	1	.429	.830	1.259
Total	.269	74	286	47	77	18	8	8	38	38	89	39	11	.357	.472	.829

Definitely found his power stroke post-ASB this year. It looks like he will post his first 1.000+ OPS month as a pro this month.

(fixed some zeros)

Edited by EastCoasterOutWest, 20 July 2010 - 10:39 AM.

[Detts]

He's my favorite player for the Drive, and I had been lamenting that 'if he could just hit'....and now he is hitting.

His speed comes from his long athletic strides. What y'all can't see outside of his stats is how much ground he covers in the outfield.

I agree with Cuzitt... he has finally made himself 'interesting' at the age of 22 (almost 23).

[EastCoasterOutWest]

Hazelbaker was named SoxProspects Player of the Month for July and is now ranked #35 in the system.

http://news.soxprosp...hazelbaker.html

(fixed link)

Edited by EastCoasterOutWest, 02 August 2010 - 12:52 PM.

[SoxScout]

	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	K%	BB/K	IsoP
April	.231	.355	.404	.759	31%	0.53	.135
May	.255	.340	.436	.776	25%	0.42	.170
June	.230	.337	.333	.670	32%	0.44	.092
July	.348	.408	.640	1.049	22%	0.38	.247

He turns 23 on the 14th. I pretty much expect him to never turn into anything, at least until he reaches Double-A, then I'll re-evaluate.

[SoxScout]

His speed comes from his long athletic strides. What y'all can't see outside of his stats is how much ground he covers in the outfield.

Every time I listen on the radio they talk about his lack of instincts in the outfield and how badly he breaks on balls, true or false?

[someoneanywhere]

Every time I listen on the radio they talk about his lack of instincts in the outfield and how badly he breaks on balls, true or false?

True in right, or more or less true. Not so true the few times I've seen him in center. They're different positions, of course, but one thing to bear in mind as a possible extenuating factor: it's always seemed to me that the lighting in right at Flour Field is not quite as good as it is elsewhere. That may be just my seat angle. It always appears like there's a shadow out there.

[EastCoasterOutWest]

With Chris McGuiness being traded to the Rangers, Hazelbaker now leads the Drive in Runs (63), 3B (8), HR (10 - tied), TB (170), BB (49), and SB (52 - leads league)

He also leads the team in Ks with 105.

Just for fun, his K rate by month:

April (62 PA) 30.6%
May (106 PA) 24.8%
June (101 PA) 31.7%
July (97 PA) 21.6%
August (35 PA) 20.0%

Season 26.2%

[Detts]

Jeremy up to 53 stolen bases and hitting. He leads current Drive batters in homers with 11 (2nd overall), doubles with 26 (2nd overall), RBI with 54, triples with 8, and total bases with 176.

Story

[EastCoasterOutWest]

Hazelbaker has made the 2010 South Atlantic league All-Star team.

Hazelbaker becomes the first player in Drive franchise history to be named to the league's Annual All-Star Team. The All-Star Team is voted on by the 14 South Atlantic League Team's Field Managers, Coaches, General Managers, Sports Writers, and Broadcasters, with a total of 56 votes casted.

...

Appearing in 110 games with Greenville during his first full season of professional baseball, the 2009 4th rounder has posted a .270 average (113-for-419) with 11 homers, while leading the team with 56 RBI and second with 74 runs scored. Hazelbaker ranks first in doubles (29), extra-base hits (49), and total bases (193), as well.

In addition, he is the first Red Sox prospect this decade to hit more than 10 home runs while swiping at least 30 bases in a season.

http://www.goupstate...rts02?p=1&tc=pg

[Brianish]

SoxProspects has a new Q&A with him:

http://news.soxprosp...hazelbaker.html

Favorite bit:

When I get behind in the count, my mentality is to battle like a madman and spray the ball somewhere that it will drop in or that I can beat out.

[Doctuh]

Playing very well since his promotion to Portland last week. Has safely reached base in all 8 games since.

[EastCoasterOutWest]

Write-up about Hazelbaker on the Fire Brand site.

“He must improve his pitch recognition,” said the scout. “But he’s shown he has some pop and can hit to all fields.”

Hazelbaker also must continue to work on his defense because he played third base in high school and second during his first two seasons at Ball State.

Among other things, he must get better reads on line drives and as well as balls hit in the gaps.

Edited by EastCoasterOutWest, 06 July 2011 - 02:45 PM.

[EastCoasterOutWest]

SoxProspects book on Hazelbaker:

http://news.soxprosp...hazelbaker.html

Hazelbaker has some power in his bat that can play up when he is picking up pitches quicker and able to get the sweet spot of the bat on the ball. Combined with his plus-plus speed, it is an intriguing package. To project him as a regular, heavily relies on whether he can improve enough to play an average-to-better center field at the major league level and if he can close up his holes to produce enough contact.

[EastCoasterOutWest]

Also from the write-up on SoxProspects:

Given his outstanding speed and natural progression of his defense through experience, he looks to be trending towards a ceiling of a fourth outfielder on a contending team, capable of producing in stretches or a rotation off the bench.

[EastCoasterOutWest]

Hazelbaker's 2012 Prospect write-up: http://news.soxprosp...ews-jeremy.html

Position: Outfield
2011 Teams: Salem Red Sox/Portland Sea Dogs
2012 Projected Team: Portland Sea Dogs
Opening Day Age: 24

Strengths: Hazelbaker generates strong leverage with his swing, showing the ability to square up offerings with a lot of backspin. He excels against pitches middle-to-in, especially ones down-and-in where he can drop the head of the bat to lift the ball with loft. Hazelbaker’s power grades as about solid-average, with the potential to hit 15-18 home runs at the major league level. On the raw side coming out of college, his pitch recognition and approach at the plate have been improving as he has gained experience against professional pitching. Hazelbaker has also worked hard at filling out his frame, putting on more muscle the last couple of off-seasons to better help him deal with the wear and tear of the long season. His speed has not been sacrificed by the weight gain and continues to be his best tool. Grading out as well-above average, Hazelbaker impacts the game on the basepaths and shows a strong ability to read opposing pitchers’ deliveries. He typically gauges pickoff moves by testing the boundaries of his leads, then takes off with excellent acceleration to swipe bags with ease. Hazelbaker shows the ability to tally 25-30 stolen bases at the big league level.

Development Needs: While Hazelbaker has been improving his pitch recognition and approach as he has made his way into the upper minors, this area of his offensive game still needs a lot of polish against advanced competition. Breaking balls give him considerable trouble. Hazelbaker likes to get the head of the bat out in front of the ball to produce extension and he tends to get his weight too far out in front. This causes him to produce weak contact or swing over the top of these offerings. A dead pull hitter, Hazelbaker does not cover the outer third of the plate well with his swing. This hole leads to a more limited area where he makes solid contact. Looking to use the opposite field more frequently will help him cover the plate better, instead of pulling off offerings consistently and trying to yank the ball. Presently Hazelbaker projects as having the ceiling of an average hitter for batting average. Without higher instances of solid contact, he will not be able to tap into his power or maintain enough of batting average to hold a roster spot down. Defensively, Hazelbaker at times does not get great reads off the bat in center field and tends to freeze on contact. He has the closing speed needed to cover ground in center, but looks better suited for a corner outfield slot.

2012 Outlook: Hazelbaker will return to Portland to work on polishing off his offensive game. He should continue to get the opportunity to play center and build his level of comfort with the position. With more focus using the whole field, Hazelbaker has the hit tool to produce hard contact from gap-to-gap and boost his contact rates. He does not need to sacrifice trying to drive offerings, but has to move away from trying to jerk every offering to right field for this to happen. Based on the experience he logged last year, Hazelbaker should be more comfortable in Double-A and by making the necessary adjustments has the potential to begin showing he is ready for a promotion to Triple-A in the middle of the summer. The areas to watch for are whether he is reducing his strikeouts and extending his hitting zones. Hazelbaker projects as a bench player at the major league level, and with strong improvement in 2012 on his development needs, could push towards a projection as a starter on a second division team. This season should provide a good indication as to whether he is trending towards making enough contact to warrant a look from either the Red Sox or possibly another organization taking a chance on him in 2013.