August 1, 2008

 

Position: Third Base
Hits/Throws: Left/Right
Height/Weight: 6'2''/195
Birthday: 2/11/1987 (Age 21) 
Roster Status: Rule V Eligible after 2009 Season

Background: John Whittleman came to the Rangers from Kingwood High in the second round of the 2005 draft.  While there, he led the team to the 5-A Texas state championship just weeks before he was drafted.  The Rangers had to pry Whittleman away from a UT commitment, but he ended being signed quickly for a reported $650,000 by scout Randy Taylor.  He played shortstop in high school, but he was immediately moved to third base in the pros.  Overall, his hyped background coming to the Rangers was because of his bat, one that projected well for average and for gap power.

Tools: Whittleman's tools have evolved slightly from where they were when the Rangers drafted him three years ago.  From a classic scouting standpoint, his main tool was seen to be an ability to hit for average.  However, as we've seen, he's never hit .280 at any minor league level, and he's struggling with his average at Bakersfield this year.  However, his gap power ability has improved to more genuine home run power.  Despite his low number this year, he's made some progress, hitting a combined 17 last year.  His fielding tool should be considered average for a third baseman, with his range being the main reason he was moved off of shortstop at the beginning of his pro career.  He's made tons of errors, but those are to be taken with a grain of salt, as minor league errors can have many causes.  His arm is of the average to above-average variety, and is sometimes the cause for his errors.  His speed is below-average, and his stolen base percentages have been dropping steadily to the point where he has none this year in two attempts.  Within the "seven skills" perspective, his strike zone judgment is good to a fault.  He strikes out a lot and walks a lot, surprising given his young age.  Minor League umpires aren't known for their consistent strike zones, so I give Whittleman some credit for strikeouts he might not have earned and walks he should have gotten.  The other "seven skills" part missing is his fielding reliability, and as I said with his true fielding skill, he is just not to the point where he can be reliable at third.  As with all talented youngsters, he's going to make mistakes with the arm and the head, while he's going to make some outstanding plays with the glove and miss routine ones.  He's developing, but you hope to see improvement soon.

Professional Experience: Whittleman came out of the gate pretty strongly in 2005 in the Arizona League.  Baseball America named him the #5 prospect in that league following the season.  His numbers included a .279 average and .393 OBP, however he only slugged .426 over 190 at-bats including zero home runs.  His strikeout-to-walk ratio was excellent, with 42 strikeouts to 35 walks.  2006 was not as kind to Whittleman.  Tabbed with a full-season assignment at age 19, he struggled all year, finishing at .227 with only a .313 OBP and .343 SLG.  His strike-zone judgment stayed strong, but his power was again down, and his strikeouts a tad on the high side.  The Rangers decided that Whittleman would repeat Clinton in 2007, but he didn't stay there all season.  Aided by Lasik surgery in the offseason, he hit his way out of Clinton with 14 homers in 336 at-bats, a drastic improvement.  He hit .271, but his OBP was a dramatically-improved .382 and he slugged at a .476 clip.  He did commit 29 errors in just 85 games at third (compared to 34 in 121 games in 2006), but the Rangers thought his bat was ready for Bakersfield, so he was promoted to Bakersfield at the end of July, despite being in a major slump at the time.  He rounded out the year hitting .240/.372/.413 at Bakersfield, a testament to his plate discipline.  He only got in 104 at-bats, but the experience was valuable to Whittleman, being only 20 in a league full of those much older than he.  He made only 5 errors over 29 games at third for Bakersfield, so there was hope he was starting to improve entering this season.

2008 Season: The 2008 season has been a mixed bag for John Whittleman.  Repeating the Cal League at age 21, he was expected to have a performance similar to his repeat season at Clinton in 2007.  However, he's once again struggled in the field and has been streaky at the plate.  Through 95 games at third, he's committed 27 errors, though his range factor has improved slightly over previous years.  At the plate, he's hitting a disappointing .243 in 382 at-bats, with a .364 OBP and .374 SLG.  His power is obviously lacking at this point in time, while his patience seems to be becoming a bit of a problem.  His strikeouts stayed high, though he has a chance to find a walk number of close to 100 by the end of the season.  It's highly doubtful that he'll be promoted to Frisco by the end of the season, despite the fact that Frisco has no third base prospect.  That's how disappointing his season has been so far.

Future Outlook: John Whittleman has the skills to be an average big league third baseman.  His patience is his one plus aspect, but his power will truly need to develop going forward to be a fit for a corner infield spot.  He needs to focus on getting on-base with his bat to really improve, as pitchers will take advantage of his lack of aggressiveness at the plate at higher levels.  After all, pitchers at higher levels can usually throw more strikes (and more quality strikes).  He has the tools to hit for average, so that might come around as he faces tougher pitching.  However, his glove has been a major disappointment.  I wouldn't be surprised to see him moved off of third at some point, with left field probably being the destination.  He just makes too many errors, whether you're using the minors as the asterisk or not.  It's likely he'll repeat Bakersfield to start off 2009.  He needed 936 plate appearances to get out of the Midwest League, so that might be the case for the Cal League.  I'm going to say he's not the third baseman of the future for the big league club, but might be a serviceable hiter in the Frank Catalanotto mold for a number of years if he starts to take the bat off his shoulders more.

Written by Andy Seiler

Photo from flickr.com; Username whitecapwendy