Friday, January 1, 2010

Lexington Legends: Jay Austin

Jay Austin
How did he get here?: Drafted, 2nd Round (2008)
Stats: 5'11", 175 lbs, Bats/Throws: L/L
Age as of April 1, 2010: 19





Splits!

















SplitABsBA/OBP/SLGK:BBXBH-RBI
Season397.267/.320/.36078:3129-33
vs LHP99.212/.278/.25329:92-4
vs RHP298.285/.334/.39649:2227-29
Home182.225/.291/.31938:1714-16
Away215.302/.345/.39540:1415-17
Bases Empty243.284/.328/.38749:1616-1
Runners On154.240/.308/.31829:1510-32
w/RISP104.221/.308/.30820:137-31
April68.191/.267/.25012:74-5
May97.247/.291/.29922:65-5
June61.311/.364/.42613:56-7
July107.290/.339/.43020:89-10
August33.273/.351/.3645:42-4
September31.323/.344/.4196:13-2


Season Totals





YearK:BB RatioK/PA %K:BBXBH/H %
20083.6829.8%70:1914.3%
20092.5217.9%78:3127.3%


Austin spent his 99 defensive games in CF, and posted a .980 Fld% (four errors), but got himself 10 assists, and took part in three double plays. He also stole 23 bases in 36 attempts (63.9%), but you'll see below, there might have been another factor at work.

It's a shame that Austin got hurt during the season and battled hamstring problems, because he was starting to put it all together. After a rough start to the year, Austin was putting up solid numbers in June and July (OPS' of .790 and .769, respectively) when he went on the DL, twice: once on June 1 and on August 12. Austin was named the Astros 8th-best prospect by Baseball America back in November, and is considered Eddie's Farm's fastest baserunner.

He improved in every way from 2008's Greeneville season to 2009 in Lexington, raising his OPS from .512 to .680. .680 isn't great, but the away splits are more encouraging than the home splits, and may be a better indication of the type of hitter he can become. Had the hamstring issues not occurred, and with an off-season to recover, it will be exciting to see what he can do in 2010. Let's not forget, he won't turn 20 until August 2010, either.