Jared Goedert

Jared Goedert - Second Base
Age: 22 Height: 6'1" Weight: 180 Bats: Right Throws: Right

	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007 Lake/Kinston	.317	81	290	67	92	19	0	20	74	58	54	1	.431	.590	1.020
Career	.295	144	528	98	156	33	2	23	100	77	82	2	.387	.496	.883

History: The Indians originally drafted Goedert out of high school in the 36th round of the 2003 Draft, but he chose to go to college and the Indians took him again when he was eligible in the 9th round of the 2006 Draft out of Kansas State. It should be noted that prior to being called up from Lake County to Kinston last year, Goedert ranked 1^st in just about every important offensive category in the South Atlantic League (SAL).

Strengths & Opportunities: Talk about a player breaking onto the prospect scene. The Indians liked his offensive potential when they drafted him, but no one ever saw coming what Goedert did the first half of the 2007 season. Goedert had a pedestrian showing in his professional debut in 2006 at Mahoning Valley (.269 AVG, .711 OPS), but last year baseball people took notice. His surge in offensive production that led to an all out assault on SAL pitchers goes back to a lot of hard work in the offseason and in spring training.

Goedert is not a big assuming player nor overly strong, but he has very good power, the ball explodes off his bat, and he has the ability to hit the ball out to any part of the ballpark. He is a quiet, mentally tough kid with a consistent swing and line drive stroke that help generate most of his power, and he hits the ball where it is pitched. Goedert's sound mechanics and low maintenance swing help create a nice, consistent bat path to the ball. Before last season, he received help from instructors in the offseason and in spring training and was able to correct some flaws in his swing and get more backspin on the ball to help balls travel further in the air. He now generates good backspin on the ball with a good downward movement with his swing, and is short to the ball.

Goedert has shown a very good eye at the plate and the ability to consistently put the ball in play. His plate discipline is excellent, and he has shown the ability to hit well with two strikes as he hit .340 last year in that situation. Having a good two-strike approach was stressed to him his whole life and through college (his dad was his high school coach). The Indians strongly encourage players to draw walks and take pitches as part of their development, to hit their pitch early in the count and lay off marginal pitches. Goedert has a good understanding of this philosophy already, and his walk-rate is already off the charts. For his career he has walked almost as much as he has struck out, and would have put up well over 80 walks last year if he played the whole year.

While he can definitely hit, his defense is what holds him back. Goedert is not flashy defensively, but he makes all the routine plays and has an above average arm. To make him more versatile and push him to Kinston, the Indians moved him from third base to second base near the end of May and he handled the transition well and remained there the rest of the season. The position change was a creative way to get Goedert up to Kinston since Wes Hodges was blocking him, and considering his limitations at third base a position change to the right side of the infield was probably inevitable anyway. Initially, Goedert had some trouble adjusting to the much shorter throws to first base, and his feet are kind of heavy, but overall he played okay and adapted well to the new position the last half of last season. He has shown some good agility, and his strong arm will help on plays up the middle and in turning double plays.

While Goedert had built up an avalanche of momentum with his hot hitting at Lake County, an injury to his shoulder cropped up in late May. Goedert was sidelined for almost six weeks from early June until mid-July with a recurrence of an injury to his left shoulder (labrum) which he had surgery on in October of 2006. He had recovered before last season started, but he had re-aggravated the injury in mid-May diving to his left for a groundball. The shoulder injury hindered him from the moment he arrived in Kinston, and when he was first called up he only hit .229 before going on the disabled list. When Goedert returned in mid-July, he was still not 100%, and for the rest of the season the Indians had him play every other day in order to properly rest his shoulder so it would not flare up. Goedert struggled some in his return, as he only hit .227 with a .593 OPS in his first six games back, but for the month of August he hit .309 with 4 HR, 16 RBI, and a 1.063 OPS playing every other day. Those numbers seem to indicate he was getting back to his April and May form, even though he was not 100%.

Going forward, Goedert is still fairly foreign to second base, so he will continue to work hard at improving defensively at the position. Minor league fielding coordinator Bruce Fields will continue to work with him on his positioning and turning the double play. Goedert looked good in the Florida Development Program in the fall, and his shoulder reportedly was fine. Even though Goedert is on a program to strengthen the shoulder, the shoulder issue is a concern as it could be something that never goes away.

Outlook: The Indians are excited about Goedert's potential, especially since he fills a position of need at middle infield in the organization. The Indians moved Goedert quickly to Kinston so he could be challenged, and unfortunately his shoulder injury slowed his progress the rest of the year. Goedert's performance immediately brings to mind the breakout season former Lake County third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff had in 2004 when he hit .330 with 16 HR and 87 RBI. Like Goedert, prior to his breakout season in 2004 Kouzmanoff was not a highly touted prospect around baseball or followed by the fans. Goedert's clear path to the majors is at second base, as it is a position in the Indians' system where he has absolutely no one in front of him. Given his limited time in Kinston last year, Goedert should start the season in Kinston and move to Akron quickly.

Video: Goedert taking batting practice.

Posted in: Jared Goedert