August 7, 2008

 

Position: Outfield
Hits/Throws: Left/Left
Height/Weight: 6'4''/205
Birthday: 10/18/1981 (Age 26)
Roster Status: On 15-day DL and 40-man Roster; Eligible for Arbitration after 2010 Season

Background: David Murphy was a highly-regarded college outfielder when he was drafted 17th overall by the Boston Red Sox in the 2003 draft out of Baylor.  However, he began to be noticed at age nine while throwing a tennis ball against a wall.  Scouts supposedly videotaped the young Murphy for future reference.  Murphy began excelling soon after when he pitched and played outfield for Klein High School in Spring, TX (most of you know where Klein is).  The Bearkats won the 1998 state title, and Murphy excelled enough to get drafted two years later in the 50th round by the Angels.  As with almost all 50th rounders, Murphy didn't sign and instead chose to attend Baylor, which he chose over Texas A&M and Rice.  He started immediately at Baylor his freshman year, and legitimately impressed the Big  12 world with a .271/.361/.457 line in 199 at-bats.  He showed good plate discipline and had six assists mainly in right field, showing off that touted arm.  His sophomore season was clouded by a late start due to a broken hand, an injury that usually saps power for up to a year after the injury.  Murphy started slowly, but ended up at .318/.385/.526 in 173 at-bats.  After a strong Cape Cod League showing the following summer, Murphy's draft status was on the rise.  A strong junior season only helped that status, as Murphy went .413/.487/.614 in 293 at-bats, including 11 home runs.  A great 22-42 strikeout-to-walk ratio put him on the radar of many teams wanting polished college bats, and he signed quickly for $1.525 million.

Tools: Murphy's main tool coming into the pros was his hit tool, as evidenced by his .413 average his junior year at Baylor.  His first pro experience seemed to emphasize that as he hit .346 in 78 at-bats for Lowell in the New York-Penn League.  However, at all levels since that debut, Murphy had not hit above .280 until his combined .343 last year in 105 big league at-bats.  He is consistently in the .270s.  Therefore, I'm going to say that his hit tool has degraded to the point of being average.  The Red Sox drafted him with the idea that he might develop power, as his frame is indeed capable of doing so.  However, until this year, he's never hit more than 14 home runs over any season.  Overall, his power tool is about average, as well.  As for speed, he's never been known as a burner.  He is average again in that category, and his career high for steals sits at 13.  In the field, Murphy's glove has usually been solid, and he has good range for a corner outfielder.  However, he's not a center fielder by any means.  He has shown a tendency for errors in the high minors, but has been dependable so far in the majors, so we'll see if it was just fields that contributed to 14 errors in 2007 in the minors.  His arm is probably the only thing that is indisputably above-average.  Murphy's experience on the pitching rubber helped him get noticed, and his arm has continued to impress.  He's begun to consistently have high assist numbers since his arrival in the high minors, and his arm is most definitely his plus tool.  As for strike zone judgment, Murphy has been hard to strike out, but is increasingly hard to walk.  He knows the strike zone, but is more likely to swing at the borderline pitches early in the count, a developing weakness for him.  Overall, he's a truly average outfielder with little room for improvement.

Professional Experience: Considering his pedigree as a college outfielder in the 2003 draft, it's surprising that 2008 is Murphy's first full season at the Major League level.  Following his quick signing, Murphy excelled short-season A ball for Lowell in the Boston organization, hitting .346/.457/.397 in 78 at-bats, earning a quick promotion to the Florida State League with Sarasota.  In 153 at-bats there, his tools did not play out, and he ended at .242/.329/.307.  The first short season of pro ball is usually an adjustment period for college bats, so it's not surprising he didn't hit for power.  However, he returned to the Florida State League in 2004, and continued to struggle.  He did struggle with injuries that year, including a left foot sprain that knocked him out for two months in the middle of the season.  A final line of .261/.323/.346 is not what you want to see from a first-round college outfielder, but the Red Sox nevertheless promoted him to AA Portland to start the 2005 season.  With a full season of health, Murphy produced at a line that has become familiar to us this year.  He finished .275/.337/.430 in 484 at-bats for the Red Sox' Eastern League affiliate, a great improvement against better pitching.  Murphy returned to Portland to start the 2006 season, but earned a promotion after 172 at-bats of similar production to 2005.  His first AAA experience was also quite similar, ending with a .267/.355/.447 line, the main improvement being his OBP.  2007 saw Murphy back in AAA with Pawtucket, and he hit .280/.347/.423 in 400 at-bats before the trade to Texas at the July deadline for Eric Gagne with Kason Gabbard and Engel Beltre.  The Rangers moved him almost immediately to the big leagues, and Murphy started most of the games down the stretch in left field.  Amazingly, he hit .340/.382/.534 for the Rangers over that stretch, his third stint in the bigs, though his first as a starter.  As you can see, Murphy has been consistently average over his career, and he entered 2008 as a starter for the Rangers.

2008 Season: 2008 had been kind to David Murphy until his collision with Pudge Rodriguez last week.  Murphy was putting together one of his trademark lines over the first full Major League season, which likely ended at .275/.321/.465 with that collision.  Splitting the season between the corner outfield spots, Murphy has been a solid, if unspectacular, fielder, hitter, and baserunner.  If not for his unusually high RBI count, he probably would not get much attention, but when you hit 15 homers and drive in 74 in just 108 games, you get some attention as Rookie of the Year.  However, Murphy's season is likely done, as most PCL injuries of that kind take six weeks to recover from, and then require rehab stints to regain playing form.  If the Rangers bring back Murphy in September, it will likely be to get him at-bats before the season ends, as there is no reason to rush him back in a race the Rangers will likely lose.  Murphy's 2008 has been encouraging, as we now know he can continue his solid performance over the course of a Major League season.

Future Outlook: Murphy is likely to see a few years as a corner outfielder with the Rangers.  He doesn't hit left-handed pitching well, so he will always need a right-handed partner to help him out on days southpaws take the hill.  Once his days as a starter are over, Murphy's solid bat and glove can fit as a fourth outfielder quite well in either league.  His strong arm will probably last for another 3-4 years before starting to fade, and I see him usually hovering around .270 for years to come.

Written by Andy Seiler

Photo from flickr.com; Username phillenium1979