2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #46 Jared Goedert

Jared Goedert – Third Baseman
Born: 05/25/198 – Height: 6’2” – Weight: 200 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

(Photo: Ken Carr)

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.  He had a monster spring training last year hitting .426 with a .726 slugging percentage in 53 plate appearances (4 HR, 15 RBI), which served as the catalysts for his very good comeback season. He finished 1st in the farm system in home runs (27) and 2nd in RBI (83).

Strengths: Goedert is an offensive-oriented player who is physically strong, has above average power, and drives the ball well from gap to gap. The ball just explodes off his bat when he squares it up, and he has home run power to all fields.  He has good downward motion and a consistent bat path with his swing which generates a lot of line drives and some good backspin on fly balls which results in them carrying further. As a hitter he has a low maintenance swing with a good approach and hits the ball where it is pitched. He has a good eye at the plate and is not afraid to hit with two strikes. As a person he is very low key and quiet, but a mentally tough player.

Goedert has never been highly regarded as a defender as the potential with the bat has always been his best asset. His sub par defense is what held him back from getting a call topside to the big league team last year as the Indians want to ensure he is at least an average major league defender before calling him up. The Indians still consider him an option at third base, and while he makes all the routine plays and has an above average arm at third base, his footwork, hands and throwing accuracy are not up to par to the standards of a major league third basemen. Due to need and to find him playing time, the Indians will likely use him in a corner utility role this upcoming season to give him playing time at third base, first base, left field, designated hitter and maybe even second base. They like his bat and think it plays in the big leagues, it is just about finding him a position and role on the field.

A shoulder issue has hampered Goedert throughout his minor league career. He had surgery on his left labrum in 2006, but the injury never really healed and he has had numerous setbacks since which have affected his play over the years. His problems at the plate in 2008 and 2009 appeared to be confidence related as he was dealing with a lead arm injury and was afraid to get extension in fear he would hurt it again. He had lost his swing, but after a lot of work last offseason to find a comfort zone that was pain free and still generated power he found it again and made an adjustment by being a little bit quicker and shorter to the ball. With his health and renewed confidence in his swing, last year he once again was driving the ball with authority and pounding the gaps.

Opportunities: The two biggest areas of opportunity for Goedert are his health and defense. He has battled health issues with his shoulder and had an oblique issue in 2009 which limited him, so he has developed a track record of being injury prone. At third base he needs to continue working on getting his feet moving and making good throws across the diamond. His best chance as a major league player is to become versatile where he can play multiple positions, so he needs to continue working on adjusting and adapting to playing first base and the outfield. In addition to the defense, he also needs to continue working on his two-strike approach to remain just as aggressive with two strikes as he is early in counts.

Outlook: Goedert is a great story considering where he was coming into last season with barely holding onto a job to where he is now as a potential big league option this year. He had an incredible breakout performance in 2007, but then followed that up with two poor seasons in 2008 and 2009 and became an afterthought going into last season. The Indians continued to believe that with his swing he only needed health and the results would return, and as hoped it all came together for him last year with one heck of a comeback season. His big power year last season showed that the power numbers he put up early in 2007 at Single-A Lake County were not an aberration, and serves as a tantalizing appetizer for the power production he could potentially have in the big leagues if given a chance to play. Due to his versatility, age, and injury history, the Indians may wish to have him open the 2011 season in Cleveland as a right-handed bat off the bench. If not, he will open the season at Triple-A Columbus and split time between several positions.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2006	21	Mahoning Valley	A-	63	238	31	64	14	2	3	27	19	28	1	.269	.328	.382	.710
2007	22	Lake County	A	46	165	44	60	10	0	16	51	35	29	0	.364	.475	.715	1.190
2007	22	Kinston	A+	35	125	23	32	9	0	4	23	23	25	1	.256	.369	.424	.793
2008	23	Kinston	A+	126	467	75	119	23	1	10	74	57	77	1	.255	.336	.373	.709
2009	24	Akron	AA	92	313	34	70	22	1	5	37	34	47	1	.224	.309	.348	.657
2010	25	Akron	AA	44	163	26	53	14	0	7	32	16	35	2	.325	.382	.540	.922
2010	25	Columbus	AAA	81	318	54	83	23	1	20	51	37	77	2	.261	.345	.528	.873
		MiLB Totals		487	1789	287	481	115	5	65	295	221	318	8	.269	.352	.448	.800

Posted in: Jared Goedert