Body of a God

There are 6 types of bodies among infield and outfield prospects and baseball players according to the "old scouts"--a name coined by Billy Bean. The perfect body is something of an art;It exemplifies youth. A frame that hasn't been filled out yet, a youthful face and tools that are just screaming to be developed. The swollen body is the opposite. The body is overcrowded with muscle and their game is strength and power hitting. Their potential has been reached and they're prone to injury. The athlete. A thin muscular specimen, with developed legs, plus speed and developing hitting ability. The soft guy is a player that is a little but overweight, and has some power but generally lives on his knowledge of the game and discipline. A speedster is the cornerback of baseball--pure speed. They're highly coordinated, and can make contact but won't develop much power, and adding muscle to their frame won't increase their potential it will simply make them slower. Finally, the energizer bunny is small, energetic and does all of the little things right. Their athletic ability lacks, as does their size, but their dedication, fundamentals and a little bid of speed help them out.

1. Soft Body
MLB: Kevin Youkilis, Billy Butler, Juan Uribe, Austin Kearns, Jason Kubel
Prospect: Kyle Blanks, Jesus Montero, Leonard Davis, Chris Shelton, Michael wilson

According to Beane, Youkilis has the body of a Greek God. He walks and lives off of his brain and discipline. He has some power, and makes decent contact and even has some good forearm and back strength, but he's not an athlete--simply a good baseball player. Butler hasn't reached his potential yet, and it is high for a soft-bodied player. He is incredibly adept and making contact, and his batting fundamentals and swing are near perfect. His defense blows like "Deep Throat" and he's been converted to DH.

Kyle Blanks is a beast at 6'6" 270 (more like 300). He hits for a lot of power and good patience and batting fundamentals. Of course, a guy his size can't play defense and he's absolutely not nimble. Leonard Davis a chunky National's prospect and their Minor League Player of the Year for 2009. Montero does have power and a lot of it. He's overweight, and he has an 80 for power. Montero's true skill comes from his batting smarts however; He knows how to make square contact like Butler, and that's what makes him so special.

2. Swollen Body
MLB: Jason Giambi, Yunel Escobar, Wily Mo Pena, Travis Hafner, Brad Eldred
Prospect: Travis Snider, Colby Rasmus, Matt LaPorta, Joe Koshansky, Ian Gac


Giambi is the classic example of a swollen MLB player. He's a former steroid user, and this is what they often are. He has a lot of power and good fundamentals but he's both prone to injury and poor at making contact. He's slow and doesn't play good defense either. Pena and Hafner have both fallen victim to injury due to their overly muscular bodies. Both were clearly on steroids and neither will probably ever be good players again. Pena is a disappointment already.

Although Snider has some MLB at bats and plans to be in the MLB in 2009, he's been listed as a top 10 prospect the last two years and won't been considered a major leaguer until 2009. Snider is similar to Giambi in that he strikes out, doesn't make very good contact, but has a lot of power and can get on base. He too is a bad outfielder and defender. Colby Rasmus is evidently prone to injury as well--already struggling with knee injuries in 2008. He has a lot of strength and even some speed, but his body-size-potential is already reached and he'll probably have leg trouble in the bigs--maybe even shoulder trouble. LaPorta is the more athletic type of swollen and can even add a little bit more of bulk. But like Snider he's all power and (more) patience, but his defense and speed is awful. Wily Mo Pena is so 'roided out that he looks inhuman. Yunel Escobar's neck/chin suggests HGH.

3. Perfect/Youthful Body
MLB: Jay Bruce, Evan Longoria, Lastings Milledge, Cameron Maybin, Joe Mauer
Prospect: Dexter Fowler, Cameron Maybin, Matt Wieters, Austin Romine, Alcides Escobar


Bruce has the exact body. He looks a little bit soft, but his rosie cheeks and youthful face suggest its just baby fat. The point is that Bruce already posseses homerun power and good defense without reaching his bodyt potential. A few pounds of muscle and *poof* you'll have 40 homeruns. Lastings Milledge is another example of this. Another young guy with a double chin. Milledge already has speed and the ability to go 20-20 and hit .300, but when he gets in better shape (2009?) he could even go 25-30 and hit .310-.320. Joe Mauer is the best example I have at catcher. He's already won two batting titles, but still has room to bulk up his frame and improve his power. He also plays fantastic defense. If he hits the weights he could hit 15-20 home runs and steal about 15 bases as well. Finally, obviously for Longoria, the sky is the limit.

Fowler, Maybin and Alcides and Matt Wieters have the exact body that I am talking about. All of them have nice frames, all of them are good athletes and all of them can add some muscle and bulk. All of them will be stars, and yes, all of them still have baby-faces. Batting titles, All Star Games, MVP and the Hall of Fame is common among this type of player. If you're wondering how to spot them, consider this example--Romine and Jackson are the Yankees' best examples of this type of player. Brett Wallace was once on this list because of his ability to mauever his large body, hit the ball square and he possesses a frame that could be highly mesomorphic some day with some work. I took him down, because 1. I received an astute comment from a reader, and 2. as is, he's a little bit too fat. He's a cross between soft/youthful.

4. Pure Athlete
MLB: Elijah Dukes, Carl Crawford, Curtis Granderson, Jimmy Rollins, Grady Sizemore
Prospect: Greg Halman, Aaron Hicks, Jason Heyward, Desmond Jennings, Tyler Colvin

Dukes, Sizemore and Rollins are perfect examples of a pure athlete; Crawford and was a better example when he was younger but still qualifies. All of these guys can hit, field their position, have speed and range and are leapers. They could play in the NFL if they wanted too and many of them played football in college. 30-30, 30-40, MVP--these are common terms among these guys. They're prone to injury for their style of play (Ken Griffey Junior). These players make the bulk of the All Star teams. Reyes, Kinsler and Russ Martin could also make this list, but Granderson's 20-20-20 season was darn impressive.


Halman and Hicks are also the best examples of their body type among the body type-prospect examples on this list. Hicks throws a 95 mph fastball, hits a ton and has outstanding speed. He's the quintessential a 5 tool player. Halman could easily go 20-20 in the majors, especially if he improves his contact rate. Heyward is an incredible athlete, everyone knows that. Colvin doesn't have enough patience, yet, to be a major leaguer but he too is a 5 tool guy. He could go 20-20 in the MLB one day.


5. Pure Speedster
MLB Ex: Juan Pierre, Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Chone Figgins, Joey Gathright
Prospect Ex: Ben Revere, Ryan Kalish, Elvis Andrus, Everth Cabrera, Eric Young Jr.

Pierre and Gardner exemplify speedsters. Neither have any power to speak of, but both have good plate discipline and both can hit .300 (Pierre doesn't strike out at all either). They make their money on the bases and all of them could steal 50 sans Gathright (due to playing time). Gathright was a better base stealer in the minors but he could still steal 30 in the majors, or even 50 with a full time job (unlikely). He doesn't have much power but makes good contact and plays good defense. A lot of guys that fit this body type are pinch runners. Ellsbury is the example of how a speedster can become an All Star

Ben Revere is a great example among prospects. He makes loads of contact and has plus-plus speed. In the majors he could very well develop into Carl Crawford, but more likely Juan Pierre with an even better bat. 50 steals, a .310 batting average and great range in the outfield is Ben Revere. Kalish and Andrus both could steal 30-40 in the majors, but moth need bat development. Andrus could be very good, but he needs to add some steady hands to his range at shortstop. Eric Young was moved to the outfield because of his horrendous fielding percentage at second base. He has a lot of speed but will likely be a 4th outfielder/pinch runner in the MLB. He strikes out too much to start.

6. Energizer Bunny (Kiss-Ass),
MLB Ex: David Eckstein, Dustin Pedroia, Joe Inglett, Ryan Theriot
Prospect Ex: Ivan DeJesus, Jemile Weeks, Angel Salome, Brent Lillibridge, Ivan Ochoa

Eckstein is pretty much where the name came from. The guy is a serious suck up, but he plays hard, never strikes out and is a role model for all of the vertically-challenged, pesky players out there. Theriot is good at playing beyond his potential. Like Eckstein or Phil Rizzuto, he doesn't have a good arm but he throws the ball with all of his might and some accuracy. Neither of them are top-of-the-league base-stealers but they do enough to maket them a threat on the base paths. Inglett was little AAA journeyman before 2008, and then he had a solid year replacing Aaron Hill. Pedroia is the proof that these guys can make the All Star team and put up some serious numbers. The absolute idol of all of the tiny second basemen out there, Pedroia has a hell of a career ahead of him, even if he is playing/swinging way off his potential/out of his shoes. Most hit between 1-10 home runs, hit between .280-.300, play their hearts out on defense, steal 10-20 bases, bunt with the best of 'em and hit in the clutch.


Brent Lillibridge, Ivan Ochoa and Angel Salome are the best minor league examples. Both Salome and Lillibridge have a tiny bit of experience in the MLB, but both are considered a top-prospect and not yet MLB players (until 2009). Lilly can hit about 2.70-.290, steal 20-30 bases and play some solid defense. He's thin and wiry like Theriot or Eckstein and that's who he'll play like. Salome is a short and squat catcher for the Brewers. He wasn't gifted with height, speed or athleticism, and his defense shows it, but he makes contact at a fantastic rate--hitting .360 in AA in 2008. All of these guys need to play beyond their athletic potential to stay in the majors, and those that do--most likely Salome--will stay in the majors.