SOUTH GRAND — When looking at propects through the prism of the “Three-P Approach” mentioned yesterday, perhaps there needs to be a fourth “P” added: Pop.
Not pop as in power, but pop as in dazzle, Q-rating — the charismatic qualities of a prospect.
Consider Pete Kozma.
As the comments at the bottom of yesterday’s poll helped illuminate, Kozma, the St. Louis Cardinals first-round pick in 2007, is sliding in these rankings without much reason. He is arguably the finest middle-infield glove in the system, a smooth fielder who many scouts believe is good enough to play
Cardinals SS prospect Pete Kozma, in his high school duds. (Source: Obrienbaseball.com)
shortstop in the majors. Baseball America pegged him as the No. 15 prospect in the Midwest League, the third-highest ranked middle infielder on that list behind Mike Moustakas (who will play third) and Justin Jackson. The question will be if Kozma will hit, yet there’s been no indication that he doesn’t have an approach that will translate. The power may not develop, but he’s got a refined enough eye and an improving swing that he’ll hit well enough to complement his glove.
So why the lack of love?
He’s all steak. No sizzle.
(Pardon the horrible cliche.)
Kozma has been lapped, especially in this community poll, by prospects with prettier, flashier, more eye-catching and bedazzling resumes. There could be a recoil from the fact that he’s a first-round pick without the high-watt first-round tool or rep. There is little that Kozma does poorly. Yet, he isn’t at the top of the tool chest in any one category — unless you’re like me and you argue consistency (i.e., durability, reliability, a lot of the -ibilities) is a tool. He doesn’t project as a surefire leadoff hitter. He doesn’t project as a guy who is going to pound out the doubles. He projects as a dependable shortstop. And there is value in that.
Of all the people who see this, Kozma may have the best read of all on his situation:
“I am really nothing too flashy,” Kozma told me this past season. “I don’t see myself as an All-Star the first time you see me. I can understand that. Over the course of the season, though, it’s the things I do to help a team, the steady things, how reliable I play.”
In a sweeping victory, Clayton Mortensen was elected the 12th-best prospect in the system according to this year’s Comm Top 30. Mortensen received 44 percent of the vote, and the race for second place was far more compelling. For today’s poll, I took some of the high finishers from yesterday but also injected a few new names.
Vote away.
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This will be the final Comm Top 30 poll until after Thanksgiving. I am working on a PostCards mailbag (write your questions now to PostCards@post-dispatch.com) and we hope to have something special planned in the blog for Thanksgiving Day. But other than that, I’m going to try to take a few days off, if you don’t mind. There is, after all, some pumpkin pie to devour and a few brothers-in-law to dismantle in backyard football.
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