Kyle Skipworth, C

[Todd]

You could write a similar story about a player every year.

Matt Bush #1 overall might be the biggest swing and miss of the prior decade.

[HUGG]

He has a 7.58era in AA this season.

19ip 25ha 16er 11bb 26k .325baa 4-3 7.58

[Todd]

And was drafted as a SS and had a .219/.294/.276 line in like 800 ABs before switching to pitching.

[lou]

Kyle Skipworth, C, Miami Marlins

While cost certainly played a role in Skipworth being selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2008 draft, he was still universally seen as a talent worthy of the first half of the first round, regardless of bonus demands. But his career minor league batting line of .220/.281/.365 is depressing for a player who was drafted more for his bat than his ability behind the plate, where he remains fringy.

While he's hit just 40 home runs in 328 pro games, he still gets a hold of about one a month that leaves scouts buzzing, and they're not quite ready to give up on him.

Rest of Article - http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/hotst...-had-cheap-mlb

Article is about "young players to buy low."

[emkayseven]

I was hoping this was gonna say he was cut

[HUGG]

You've become a parody of yourself on this topic.

[emkayseven]

u NO it

[emkayseven]

While Jaguars receiver Justin Blackmon finally ended a senseless holdout, the lesser-known, first-round draft pick playing down the street from EverBank Field might be waking up from a different kind of holding pattern.

It's been a long time coming, but just maybe, Jacksonville Suns catcher Kyle Skipworth is starting to validate to the Miami Marlins why they made him the No. 6 overall pick in the 2008 draft.

Skipworth's overall numbers look scary bad. He's a .219 career hitter in four minor-league seasons with 529 strikeouts in 1,553 at-bats. But for the first time in what seems like forever, he's showing signs that the Marlins didn't necessarily throw their money away by handing him a $2.3 million signing bonus.

Now when Suns manager Andy Barkett fills out his postgame reports on Skipworth, there's a smile on his face. He sees real progress in a catcher that is no longer a defensive liability.

He's also showcasing power to all fields with increased regularity. Before Monday night's 0-for-5 performance in an 11-7 victory over the Montgomery Biscuits, the left-handed-hitting Skipworth had nine home runs and 15 RBI in his last 17 games.

For the first time this season, the Suns — tied for first place with Montgomery in the Southern League South division — are exhibiting signs of being a contender.

Skipworth (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) unleashing a lot of dormant power is a big reason why the Suns are playing their best baseball of the year.

"He's got as big a power bat as there is," Barkett said. "Is his average where we want it to be? No, but he's looking more like a big-leaguer every night. No way did I think he'd be this good defensively. He's 100,000 percent better than last year."

Skipworth (.215, 16 HR, 50 RBI), 22, has been stung by the criticism over his slow-developing career. The California native hated the whispers about whether he has the tools to remain a catcher, but admits he lacked the maturity to handle the negativity.

"I took that personal when people said I couldn't catch," Skipworth said. "I was a little ignorant when I came into pro ball. It took me a while to understand that I can do everything right and still make an out. Striking out too much used to eat me up. Nobody can be more frustrated with me than me."

It didn't help matters this year that the Marlins sent Double-A Jacksonville a young, prospect-starved team.

Skipworth's propensity for striking out too often was bad enough. The Suns seemingly going nowhere this season only made matters worse.

But with the Suns making a late charge behind Skipworth's power surge, he's feeling better about his future.

"I know I'm going to play in the big leagues one day, I just don't know the timetable," he said.

The underachieving Marlins have undergone a fire sale of sorts this season. They might want to hang on to Skipworth. Finally, he's starting to look like a keeper.

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog...kes-power-play

Even the Suns beat writer can find a way to work in the fire sale mantra

[Jay]

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog...kes-power-play

Even the Suns beat writer can find a way to work in the fire sale mantra

I think it must be requirement if you mention the Marlins.

[Swifty]

It's not a perfect comparison, because Napoli always walked a lot and Skipworth never has, but in terms of toil, toil, power breakout, there's a comparison to be made there. Napoli repeated A ball in like his 4th or 5th pro season, then started slugging like crazy. Skipworth's not walking and never really has (and it probably doesn't help that he skipped Jupiter, gooooooooo Marlins!) but his power totals this year are encouraging (.195 ISO, .408 SLG).

[HUGG]

His walk rate has shot way up during this breakout stretch though.

Whether he's changed his approach or it's just a fluke thing remains to be seen.

[MiamiHomer]

I'm looking at his month splits and it doesn't seem like his walks have changed much at all.

[HUGG]

6.8% before July 11. 10.8% since.

It was at 13.2% a few days ago, it's dropped since last time I had updated this run.

(.282/.349/.718 in last 83pa now, for those wondering)

[Fritz]

SLG .718 or OPS .718?

[HUGG]

SLG

he has 9hr in his last 83pa