Thursday, September 2, 2010

GCL Astros: Josh Magee

Josh Magee
How did he get here?: Drafted, 18th Round (2010)
Stats: 5'10" 160 lbs, Bats: Right. Throws: Right
Age as of April 1, 2011: 19

2010 Overview




PAAvg/OBP/SLGK:BBXBH-RBIK/PA%XBH/H%
196.227/.286/.29035:137-1817.9%32.5%


What happened?

Magee was a two-sport star at Hoover High in Alabama which, if you watch ESPN, is the greatest high school in the history of education, and had committed to Southern Miss to play both baseball and football. The fact that the Astros pulled him away from that commitment is impressive.

As you can see, Magee hit quite a few singles, largely due to hitting ground balls at a 54.7% clip. Those grounders didn't find too many holes, as his BABIP was .267.

Like Fernandez, Magee hit better with men on (.749 OPS) than when he was up to the plate with nary an Astro in sight (.478 OPS). Twenty-five of his 35 strikeouts came with the bases empty, while his only homer was with men on base.

In the field, Magee committed 11 errors at second base in 198 chances - good for a .944 Fld%, taking part in 24 double plays.

What went right?

His low-ish strikeout rate. To compare, Jose Fernandez struck out 14 more times in one more AB than Magee did. His fielding was pretty good, too, considering he was in high school three months ago.

What went wrong?

The groundballs...Magee didn't show much pop in his bat (four doubles, one triple, one homer). Also, the dude was pretty unlucky. With runners in scoring position, Magee hit 45.5% groundballs (48.5% flyballs), and his BABIP was .290. BABIP vs. LHP = .269, and it was .267 vs. RHP.

More reps and swings will help his development along, and as he grows (5'10" 160 is pretty wee - or approximately the same size as my left leg), when he puts the bat on the ball, the ball should start to jump more.