Loading ...A National League scout has been gracious enough to share some brief scouting reports on 5 of the Reds 2005 draftees. Here are his toughts on Zach Cozart (2nd round):
SS Zach Cozart (2 Mississippi) is a very similar player to Paul Janish, who the Reds drafted in 2004. A very athletic and instinctive player, his defense is a little more advanced than his offense. He flashes a plus arm at SS with very quick hands, though his range is only average. On the offensive side of things, he’s more of a contact hitter who’ll put the ball in play and draw walks. He is unlikely to develop any power (medium bat speed/lack of strength) and with speed that is slightly below average he won’t be one to steal bases. His approach to the game will continue to give him chances, but he looks more like a utility infielder than starter.
And according to Matt’s wishes, he’s already playing in Dayton..skipping rookie ball.
He is 3 for 18 so far for the Dragons and will see a lot of time with Valaika gone to Florida
That seems a more optimistic report than the one that accompanied his draft data. Let’s hope the anonymous scout is correct.
I picture David Eckstein with an arm.
Hopefully, he’ll land in the 10-15 hr range and not the 5-10. He had 5 in 257 at-bats. Being a college guy, his physical development is probably not going to improve that much more but you never know.