Nothing is better this time of the year than a little shaky cam footage of prospects live on site in Jupiter. Nothing against Derrick Goold or the P-D staff, because I love seeing these videos, but both this fielding video and this batting practice video both give me a quick headache. PS P-D team- here’s a iPhone steadycam that costs less than $200. Also, I did not chose the photo above to criticize Cox’s fielding ability.
All of those caveats out of the way, let’s think a little bit about Zach Cox’s fielding and his place in the infield.
Looking at Cox’s fielding prowess here and from scouting reports before and after the draft, third base looks like much more of a natural fit for him. He’s a solidly built dude, the kind of player you rarely see at 2nd base aside from Dan Uggla. He has a solid quick twitch, but his extended range does not look to be capable of filling the middle of the infield. However, the scouting reports echo that observation, as BA said:
Not all scouts are sold on his defensive ability. He does have a strong arm—he threw in the low 90s as a reliever a year ago—and will put in the work to improve his reactions at third base. He also has seen time at second base, and one scout said his actions looked better there, but his athleticism is more suited for the hot corner. (emphasis mine)
Putting the video and scouting reports together seems to indicate that he should stay at 3rd base and the Cardinals focusing early technique work with him there points to the organization putting him at 3rd base going forward. So, despite the depth issues at 2nd, Zack Cox so far looks to be a better fit at the hot corner.
Original Story:
http://www.futureredbirds.net/2011/02...
