Cole Lankford Update

8,249 Views | 53 Replies | Last: 9 yr ago by ColoradoMooseHerd
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5:32p, 8/1/14
Outfield, Third Base, and DH

Johnson City Cardinals - Rookie Appalachian League

Games 33
BA 0.236
Singles 29
Doubles 4
Triples 0
HR 2

Best of Luck Cole -- Gig Em !!

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Sandman98
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6:17p, 8/1/14
AG
That's not awful. Rookie ball is miserable for many. Facing 17 year old Latin American kids throwing 95 with no control 7 days a week is not fun.

That said, 36 strikeouts and 8 walks is a bit troubling. If he can get out swing mode his numbers will improve.
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dirkjones
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8:18p, 8/1/14
AG
Sorry, but he should have stayed for his senior season.
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TXAggie2011
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8:44p, 8/1/14
AG
quote:
That's not awful. Rookie ball is miserable for many. Facing 17 year old Latin American kids throwing 95 with no control 7 days a week is not fun.

That said, 36 strikeouts and 8 walks is a bit troubling. If he can get out swing mode his numbers will improve.


It's below average and the kind of year that makes many a career quite short.

Fixing the strikeouts, getting the bat on the ball more, would certainly help a lot.
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dirkjones
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8:52p, 8/1/14
AG
Plus drafted as a catcher and now having trouble finding a position in rookie ball. Easily would have been our team leader next year.
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Basketball and Chain
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9:34a, 8/2/14
AG
So they drafted him as a catcher and he hasn't played a game there yet?
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Second Deck
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11:37a, 8/2/14
Cole wanted to catch - perhaps they did not draft him or want him to catch. ???
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Basketball and Chain
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12:16p, 8/2/14
AG
quote:
Cole wanted to catch - perhaps they did not draft him or want him to catch. ???

The Cardinals listed him as a catcher when they drafted him. But they did draft two catchers before him.
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Sandman98
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1:07p, 8/2/14
AG
I could see them waiting to put him behind the plate to see if he can hit while playing elsewhere. A lot of tweener defensive players who hit left handed convert after a couple years in the minor leagues.

Left handed hitting catchers have long leashes but they hover in A ball for a while.
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Hop
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4:52a, 8/3/14
Staff
AG
Lankford just doesn't have the tools to make a run at the bigs. Below average speed...average defense, gap power only. I was surprised he bypassed his senior year even though he was a junior.
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jja79
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8:19a, 8/3/14
AG
Hop it's so great to have you on this site. This never would have been said before. Heretofore the resident BB expert has been little more than a de facto PR guy.
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Foxo
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9:56a, 8/3/14
AG
So few late round draftees make it. I guess its hard to give up the dream when the payday is so huge.
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Yell Practice
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11:39a, 8/3/14
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=657655

[This message has been edited by Yell Practice (edited 8/3/2014 2:06p).]
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TXAggie2011
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4:01p, 8/3/14
AG
quote:


So few late round draftees make it. I guess its hard to give up the dream when the payday is so huge.


Their salaries are a pittance, and while I do not know what his signing bonus was, I would guess it is was not what I, at least, would consider a 'huge payday.'

I wish him the very best and he still has a chance, but he could have come back to A&M and had another chance to fulfill a dream in a year.

Maybe he thought he was as good a player as he was going to be, but when you're not dealing with the bigger signings bonuses seen earlier in the draft, I just think it wise to make sure you are every bit as prepared as you can possibly be before you enter the pro leagues; the margins between success and failure are small and you get passed up quick.

[This message has been edited by TXAggie2011 (edited 8/3/2014 3:02p).]
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Foxo
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11:24p, 8/3/14
AG
I was speaking of a future payday in the bigs. As a someone drafted so late, his bonus was probably a pittance.
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MAROON
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1:06p, 8/4/14
AG

Bottom line he had a dream to play in the majors. He got drafted by the best organization in baseball. If he came back next year and played 1st base he would have had no leverage.

I do know what his bonus was. Lets just say it was not a "pittance" and leave it at that.
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jkag89
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1:54p, 8/4/14
quote:
I wish him the very best and he still has a chance, but he could have come back to A&M and had another chance to fulfill a dream in a year.

His bonus was most likely not a huge payday but I bet it was more than he was getting in the way of scholarship money from A&M.

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Sea Gull
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2:18p, 8/4/14
AG
quote:
Lankford just doesn't have the tools to make a run at the bigs. Below average speed...average defense, gap power only. I was surprised he bypassed his senior year even though he was a junior.


And what makes you qualified to say this? I'm sure players drafted in the 27th round are not expected to have all the tools to make it to the bigs. Cole is a very smart, teachable player who improved every year at A&M. I'm not saying that he's going to make this bigs, but the Cardinals saw enough there to take him in the draft. And I trust them a hellova lot more than an internet's opinion.
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Lance Uppercut
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2:21p, 8/4/14
AG
-Drafted by the Cardinals
-Some guys at that slot get 100k. Some guys come back for their senior year and go lower or not at all. I don't know what he was offered, but if it was low, we might have had him back next season.
-He had 5 HR this season and spent his entire collegiate career with the new bat.

Lankford hit the ball to all fields as a left handed bat, rarely strikes out, and isn't small to the point you couldn't expect him to increase his power.

I would agree that he's not a clear MLB prospect, but his move to go pro isn't really that perplexing.

[This message has been edited by Lance Uppercut (edited 8/4/2014 1:26p).]
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Second Deck
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5:12p, 8/4/14
He hit Two Triples yesterday, so maybe the bat will start to come around for him. Let's hope.

Best of Everything Cole.
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TXAggie2011
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5:32p, 8/4/14
AG
I understand why he went. Again, I just wonder a lot about guys who leave early to take mid-to-late round money and opportunity. I understand there is some risk, I also think its important to be as prepared as you possibly can be because 27th rounders don't get a lot of chances.

quote:
Lankford just doesn't have the tools to make a run at the bigs. Below average speed...average defense, gap power only. I was surprised he bypassed his senior year even though he was a junior.


The Cardinals have had one 27th round pick ever play a game in the major leagues; their first ever 27th rounder, Jerry Robertson, was selected in 1965 and pitched in 49 games (194 innings) for Montreal and Detroit in 1969 and 1970. He then went to the New York Mets where he lasted one more year in their minor league system.
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dabo man
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5:55p, 8/4/14
AG
This thread has got me thinking. One of the things I loved about baseball growing up was that anyone could play it. You didn't have to be the biggest, fastest, or strongest. In fact, baseball players were told not to lift weights because it would hurt their range of motion. I don't remember hearing about anyone lifting in baseball until the late 1980s.

Obviously baseball players are now much better athletes in general. Someone mentioned earlier how few of the five tools Cole has. When I was a kid, Pete Rose was the best hitter in baseball and the highest paid player. He was a one tool guy. Is there still a place for the "average guy" in MLB?
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Sandman98
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7:33p, 8/4/14
AG
Good question Dabo. I think the answer is yes but they will have to earn it with outrageous and consistent minor league contributions to even get a chance. Dustin Pedroia is a good example. He almost never got a shot but he forced their hand and he capitalized.

Unless you have several plus tools you'd better not be in a slump when you get your shot or you won't get another one. They only have patience for the guys with tools where they made a large financial investment. For the most part I think they are right though. Most of the guys who contribute at the big league level for a long time are specimens. A guy like Pedroia is gravy.

[This message has been edited by Sandman98 (edited 8/4/2014 6:34p).]
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ColoradoMooseHerd
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9:47p, 8/4/14
Whoa. Some misinformation here.
Dustin Pedroia was an all-American that played SS and beat out Ian Kinsler in college and Ian transferred. Dustin was selected in the second round as a shortstop.
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ColoradoMooseHerd
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9:56p, 8/4/14
Also Pete Rose was a much better player than you are giving him credit for. He lead the league in doubles a bunch of times and hit double digit home runs often when he was young. He batted the way he did because he was successful at it and he had a lineup that needed him on base with Perez, Morgan, Bench, Foster, etc behind him. He played several positions very well and got moved around not because he was weak defensely but because he was versatile and it made room for othe players like Joe Morgan.
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W
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10:08p, 8/4/14
AG
we have discussed this before...how much of that signing bonus does the IRS grab? 40%?

and then after the player buys a new truck...how much is left?
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dabo man
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10:35p, 8/4/14
AG
quote:
Also Pete Rose was a much better player than you are giving him credit for. He lead the league in doubles a bunch of times and hit double digit home runs often when he was young. He batted the way he did because he was successful at it and he had a lineup that needed him on base with Perez, Morgan, Bench, Foster, etc behind him. He played several positions very well and got moved around not because he was weak defensely but because he was versatile and it made room for othe players like Joe Morgan.

Alright Moose, you know more about Pete Rose than I do. The larger point (that he wasn't tall, fast, or big) remains.

Growing up, if you weren't tall, fast, or big, football and basketball were out. That left baseball and hockey for team sports, and, growing up in Beaumont, TX, the nearest ice rink was 90 miles away at the Galleria in Houston.
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dabo man
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10:38p, 8/4/14
AG
Oh, and soccer. I liked soccer too. You couldn't collect soccer cards though.
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Sandman98
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11:03p, 8/4/14
AG
Moose dove in to Wikipedia and got literal with me. Sure, he was always a great baseball player, but the typical measurements weren't why the Red Sox liked him. His college numbers were first round worthy but he wasn't taken? Why? I heard what was probably a sensationalized piece about how he caught a break to get his chance in the big leagues and he stuck.

I didn't research it but it didn't sound like a stretch given his stature and unorthodox swing. Obviously he's a stud.

I think you knew what we were getting at but it's more fun to play devils advocate right?
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Hop
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1:02a, 8/5/14
Staff
AG
quote:
And what makes you qualified to say this? I'm sure players drafted in the 27th round are not expected to have all the tools to make it to the bigs. Cole is a very smart, teachable player who improved every year at A&M


Well, since I have common sense and understand what tools are desired in the MLB, I am qualified to have an informed opinion that somebody who has below average speed, doesn't have a natural defensive position, doesn't hit for power, and whose OBP is relatively low has a very small chance of making it. His one projectable tool is pretty good hand-eye coordination and the ability to hit for average. If he had some speed to go with that, or if he had a good glove, then that's something to work with.

In fact, I'd say that while his odds are still infinitesimally low, as ironic as it sounds, Krey Bratsen has more projectable tools. He has great speed. He's a very good fielder, and he has a surprisingly strong arm for a centerfielder. His swing is atrocious, but if a pro organization put its full resources on retooling his swing and could get him to be a .260 hitter...who knows?

In this era of baseball with so much competition due to population increases and the greater recruitment and development of international prospects, you better be above average in several categories...power, speed, glove, natural hitter, etc.

So what makes you qualified to say I'm not qualified. :-)

[This message has been edited by Hop (edited 8/5/2014 12:14a).]

[This message has been edited by Hop (edited 8/5/2014 12:15a).]
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Hop
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1:12a, 8/5/14
Staff
AG
quote:
I could see them waiting to put him behind the plate to see if he can hit while playing elsewhere. A lot of tweener defensive players who hit left handed convert after a couple years in the minor leagues.


Childress played Lankford at catcher for a few games his freshman I believe, and he was pretty slow home-to-second. Teams were running on him quite a bit.

Lankford is a very good college player because he is a nice hitter and he puts the ball in play. Even without good defense or speed, a guy who hits .340 and doesn't strike out is a valuable commodity in college ball ...not so much in MLB.

I'm not arguing that Lankford should have come back. He certainly has the right to pursue his dream. More power to him. I was just surprised he made that choice, but I certainly support his decision and wish him the best...and I hope he beats the long odds. Even if he doesn't, I'm sure it will be a fun lifestyle with a lifetime of memories. He's young and I'd probably do the same thing.
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ColoradoMooseHerd
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1:57a, 8/5/14
Sandman
Actually have always hated Ian Kinsler and had to look up the story and why he transferred. Also when I was down in Tempe stopped by ASU and there was a piece on Pedroia and everything he did there. But I really liked the part about Ian Kinsler getting beat out and transferring.
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ColoradoMooseHerd
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2:06a, 8/5/14
Oh and yes I knew what you meant. You believe in Rudy.
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Sandman98
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2:14a, 8/5/14
AG
quote:
You believe in Rudy.


Actually I don't and my post makes no suggestion that I do. Clever isn't your thing, chief. Let's have a beer at the alumni game in October so you can tell me more about yourself.



[This message has been edited by Sandman98 (edited 8/5/2014 1:23a).]
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Lance Uppercut
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2:59a, 8/5/14
AG
quote:
and then after the player buys a new truck...how much is left?


More than that percentage of a scholarship was worth at Texas A&M.
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