Breaking Down the Future: Hunter Dozier
After doing some research last year, I discovered something that really boggled my mind: Apparently teams were willing to take players higher in a baseball draft than where they were projected because of their willingness to sign with that particular team. In an attempt to educate you, the reader, without being extremely long winded, a team is allotted a certain amount of money to use on their draft picks which is determined by where the pick is and what round is in question. If a team has 30 picks in a draft and they pick 5th in each round, MLB will do a tally and tell that team how much they can use total on those picks. A team may sign a pick at any amount they wish as long as the total that is given doesn’t go over that allotted amount. Some teams will take a player higher then where they were projected because the player is willing to sign for less and allowing the drafting team to use more money throughout the draft to get their players signed.
The reason I gave that little breakdown is because Kansas City Royals 2013 top pick, Hunter Dozier, fell into that category. Originally projected to be drafted somewhere around 35-40, the Royals ended up taking Dozier 8th because he would be cheaper to sign then other players. This does not mean that he doesn’t have talent. While at Stephen F Austin University, Dozier batted .394 with 17 home runs and 54 RBI his Junior year.
After being drafted, the Royals immediately moved the shortstop to third base due to his 6’6″ frame. He certainly has a strong enough arm and even though he allowed a ball to get past him in tonights game against the Winston-Salem Dash, looks like he has the range and instincts to play the hot corner. He currently ranks as the 10th best third baseman in the minors.
At the plate, Dozier is a very aggressive hitter. As seen in his 4 plate appearances tonight, he tends to swing at anything close to the plate which has helped in him to having 8 strikeouts in his first 9 games (2 tonight). He currently is batting third in the Wilmington Blue Rocks line up and he might be feeling a little bit of pressure considering their #2 hitter, Bubba Starling, is only hitting .114. Hunter needs to be a little more patient at the plate and work the counts into his favor. Although tonights game was very well pitched by both starting pitchers, the game only lasted 2 hours and 4 minutes.
Hunter may be regarded as the best 3rd base prospect in the Royals organization but in my opinion it’s not by much. Cheslor Cuthbert, who plays for the AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals, is one year younger and may be a better fielder than Dozier is right now. Hunter will need to keep his progression up throughout the season in order to maintain his top spot. Since he hasn’t had a full season under his minor league belt, I am going to assume he is going to stay in Wilmington for the majority of the season and could join Cuthbert late this season. Kansas City has a history of pushing players through their minor league systems so it is possible he could reach the majors sometime next year but most likely he will need 2 full seasons before he is ready on the major league level.
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Breaking Down the Future: Minor Leagues top Prospects 