Y'know, this whole thread reminds me of some of the discourse from the '90s (before Moneyball), when a select few were 'getting' Bill James, while most of the baseball world seemed to still be stuck in 1955.
All in all, it boils down to the question nobody has a good handle on ... when does scouting trump production and vice versa. What too many SABR guys today miss is that scouting is a valuable resource ... just like statistical analysis. They're two different tools ... both with flaws and limitations ... and the winner is going to be the people that most optimally combine the two.
.856 OPS at 20 in rookie ball.
.874 OPS at 21 in A ball.
1025 OPS at 22 in A+/AA.
VC is a statistical monster. I mean, he hit better (for more power) at Jackson than he did at High Desert!?! When you manage 77 XBH in a season, it doesn't much matter what kind of XBH they were. Nick Franklin had 52 in 2010 which made him an instant minors superstar.
Of course, if the scouts, who are watching VC smack the ball around on a daily basis are in unison suggesting that his game has a "ceiling" that will prevent him from making it in the majors, it's at least worth listening to. Because there are many hitters who have 'tools' and lousy production early, but eventually get enough coaching to close some of those holes in their swing and become more productive later on.
What scouts "should" be useful for is identifying low-production talent early capable of blossoming later ... as well as high productive, (but low ceiling) talent that is destined to crash and burn some day. But, with the human element, no system is ever going to be perfect.
Where both scouts and SABEs fail is they cannot see into the heads of players. Carp is not out-hitting Smoak because he's better physically. It's the mental aspect of the game that Carp is way out in front of Smoak, (so far).
The question of whether VC can handle the majors can and will only be answered if some day he gets a shot ... and one long enough to make a fair judgement. Remember, it is common for even star players to 'seem' overmatched in their first month in the majors. And other players shine bright for a month or two then crash badly.
In the end, VC is exactly the kind of 'problem' most organizations would love to have to deal with.
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