Kyle Seager retires

wazzu31 said:
He was a run of the mill prospect with zero expectations of ever getting to the big leagues. Without question he crushed it through the minor leagues but doesn’t change the fact when he was drafted literally no one thought he would be a major leaguer and his quick rise through the minors proved that because they didn’t switch him positions until he got to AAA and leapfrogged Ackley.
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He was not rated as a prospect in the 2012 books after his final/best minor league season because he also exhausted his MLB rookie eligibility in that season but I have John Sickels's and Baseball America's books from 2010 and 2011.

Sickels rated him a C prospect in 2010 and a C+ in 2011. Here is how he defined a "C" prospect in those books:
"Grade C prospects are the most common type. These are guys who have something positive going for them, but who may have a question mark or three, or who are just too away from the majors to get an accurate feel for. A few grade C guys, especially at the lower levels, do develop into stars. Many end up as role players or bench guys. Some don't make it at all."
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BA had him 30th on Seattle's list in 2010 and bumped him all the way up to 9th in 2011. Here is the last line of the 2011 write-up:
"If he continues to hit in Double-A in 2011, he could be a valuable contributor for the Mariners in the near future."
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So while Kyle Seager, was underestimated, has much to be proud of and has certainly exceeded these expectations anyway they don't really seem to have been as glum and negative as you remember them to be. These are not "no one thinks he will ever play in the majors" type of grades/reports. But yes, his career did still prove a lot of people wrong.

I don't have anything pre-draft and I do recall there being a "are they just taking Ackley's Tar Heel buddy?" kinda vibe to it, but you have to agree that a 3rd round pick is pretty valuable draft capital to be using on a guy that absolutely no one thinks has any chance.
 
How on earth is someone drafted in the 3rd round out of college not seen as an MLB talent?
 
navamind said:
How on earth is someone drafted in the 3rd round out of college not seen as an MLB talent?
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Prolly because he wasn’t fast and had no power. At any level.
 
broncosmitty said:
Prolly because he wasn’t fast and had no power. At any level.
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There were questions about his power, but I certainly wouldn't say he was a non-prospect. The A+ and AAA numbers do come with the caveat that they came in hitter friendly leagues, but he showed strong contact skills at all levels with good BB/K numbers. And considering he was a middle infielder (2B/SS) before moving to 3rd, I'd say that's an interesting prospect.

A+ ball: .345/.419/.503, 40 doubles, 14 HR in 643 PA
AA: .312/.381/.459, 25 doubles, 4 HR in 299 PA
AAA: .387/.444/.585, 8 doubles, 2 triples, 3 HR in 117 PA

Sure enough, the contact skills didn't quite translate (career .251, never hit above .280)
 
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