Tigers#1
05-28-2002, 05:36 PM
What's the deal with Cecil Fielder's son Prince? Does he have any problems with his weight, and do you think the Tigers will/should take him, even with all their first basemen?
Kyle Hearn
Howell, Mich.
Prince Fielder's weight is a huge concern to scouts. The Florida high school first baseman has packed 300 pounds on his 6-foot frame, though Cecil hired a personal trainer who got him down to 250. But Prince is shorter and thicker than Cecil was at the same age, and Cecil ballooned toward the end of his career. No one is sure what Prince will weigh when he's 25, and he already looks like a DH-in-the-making. Some scouts say that he's agile for his size, while others say that's overblown and he doesn't move well.
Fielder's big tool is his power. He and fellow Florida high schooler Brian Dopirak have more pop than anyone in the draft, and Prince's advantages over Dopirak are that he hits lefthanded and has a better approach at the plate. Personally, I'd be scared of his weight and wouldn't take him at No. 8 if I were running the Tigers. But Frank Thomas had a similar profile (though he was in better shape) when the White Sox took him seventh overall in 1989. Chicago was widely ridiculed for that pick, but it worked out pretty well.
If I was in charge of Detroit's draft, based on whom we think would be available when the eighth pick came up (see Allan Simpson's mock first round), I'd be more tempted by three California high schoolers: shortstop (and future third baseman) Scott Moore, and righthanders Cole Hamels and Chris Gruler. We're starting to hear that the Brewers likely will take one of those three, and the Tigers very well could take one of the players that Milwaukee bypasses.
Pretty cool!
:cooldude: :cooldude: :cooldude: :cooldude:
Kyle Hearn
Howell, Mich.
Prince Fielder's weight is a huge concern to scouts. The Florida high school first baseman has packed 300 pounds on his 6-foot frame, though Cecil hired a personal trainer who got him down to 250. But Prince is shorter and thicker than Cecil was at the same age, and Cecil ballooned toward the end of his career. No one is sure what Prince will weigh when he's 25, and he already looks like a DH-in-the-making. Some scouts say that he's agile for his size, while others say that's overblown and he doesn't move well.
Fielder's big tool is his power. He and fellow Florida high schooler Brian Dopirak have more pop than anyone in the draft, and Prince's advantages over Dopirak are that he hits lefthanded and has a better approach at the plate. Personally, I'd be scared of his weight and wouldn't take him at No. 8 if I were running the Tigers. But Frank Thomas had a similar profile (though he was in better shape) when the White Sox took him seventh overall in 1989. Chicago was widely ridiculed for that pick, but it worked out pretty well.
If I was in charge of Detroit's draft, based on whom we think would be available when the eighth pick came up (see Allan Simpson's mock first round), I'd be more tempted by three California high schoolers: shortstop (and future third baseman) Scott Moore, and righthanders Cole Hamels and Chris Gruler. We're starting to hear that the Brewers likely will take one of those three, and the Tigers very well could take one of the players that Milwaukee bypasses.
Pretty cool!
:cooldude: :cooldude: :cooldude: :cooldude: