Prospect Rankings No. 19: John Mayberry, Jr.
Posted by Ben Seal, Wed, August 19, 2009 12:30 PM | Comments: 7
Posts, Top 25 Prospects from 2009
John Mayberry, Jr., OF
Born: 12/21/1983 in Kansas City, Missouri
Height: 6’6”
Weight: 230
There is some familiarity with Mayberry, as he is one of just three Phillies prospects in the top 25 to already log time with the major league club. Mayberry’s experience with the Phils earlier this season made two things clear: he is capable of hitting major league pitching, but he also has work to do before he can do it consistently.
After originally being drafted in the first round by Pat Gillick’s Mariners in 2002, Mayberry went to school at Stanford for three years before entering back into the draft in 2005, when he was chosen 19th overall by the Texas Rangers. The Phils and Rangers swapped underwhelming prospects in Nov. 20, 2008, sending outfielder Greg Golson to the Lone Star State and bringing Mayberry’s Stanford swing to Philadelphia. The move was intended to bring a change of scenery to each player, but so far it is unclear whether Mayberry is on the way to maximizing his potential.
When Raul Ibanez spent time on the DL this season it made room for Mayberry to get the call-up, and he took advantage of it immediately. In his second major league at-bat he cranked a homer off Andy Pettitte at Yankees Stadium. John Sr., who spent 15 seasons and hit 255 homers in the majors, was in attendance to watch his son. But after that exciting debut, Mayberry’s stock fell. He failed to perform as a right-handed bat off the bench, hitting just .189 and striking out 22 times in 53 at-bats. Upon Ibanez’s return, Mayberry was sent down to triple-A and slumped horribly. He has come around lately, though it looks in retrospect as if he wasted a great opportunity early in the summer.
Mayberry has the range and athleticism to be an above-average corner outfielder, so long as he doesn’t show the lackadaisical play that was on display when he was up with the Phillies. His large frame and long arms give him great power when he gets his arms extended on a ball, but more often they become a hindrance as pitchers jam him inside or work down in the strike zone to make him reach. Until he can become a low-ball hitter with good zone recognition, he’ll continue to strike out at an awful rate against major league pitching.
With the Phillies outfield filled at the moment, and likely for the next year or two, Mayberry won’t be anything more than a bench bat anytime soon. Furthermore, with Dominic Brown and Michael Taylor rising through the farm system, he might soon be passed the next time a 5th outfielder is needed. But the potential is there – if he puts it all together – to be an effective 4th outfielder and strong fill-in when necessary.
Statistics
Year Level G AB H HR RBI BB K SB AVG OBP SLG
2005 A- 71 265 67 11 26 26 71 7 .253 .341 .438
2006 A 126 459 123 21 77 59 117 9 .268 .358 .479
2007 AA/A+ 132 489 115 30 83 48 126 16 .235 .311 .474
2008 AAA/AA 135 519 137 20 71 34 106 10 .264 .317 .480
2009 AAA 70 251 63 10 37 27 79 6 .251 .326 .442
2009 MLB 35 53 10 4 8 2 22 0 .189 .232 .453
Rankings – All previous prospect profiles can be found here, which is also on the left sidebar for easy viewing
19. John Mayberry, Jr., OF
20. Mike Cisco, RHP
21. Freddy Galvis, SS
22. Jonathan Pettibone, RHP
23. Domingo Santana, OF
24. Jonathan Singleton, 1B
25. Drew Naylor, RHP
Posts: 1429 Pat Gallen
If he ever figures it out, he’s got 30 home run potential. Some guys do later on. Maybe Mayberry will do the same.
Posted: 04:56 PM on August 19, 2009
Posts: 0 Baseballbriefs.com
Baseballbriefs.com tracking back Prospect Rankings No. 19: John Mayberry, Jr….
Baseballbriefs.com tracking back Prospect Rankings No. 19: John Mayberry, Jr….
Posted: 04:58 PM on August 19, 2009
Posts: 0 tom
Wow…I love his raw potential…if he can be taught a little discipline his natural abilities could take him to a very high level…but if he is unwilling, able to learn, he is just going to be a could’ve been…but with his father in the picture, you have to keep a little faith!
Posted: 07:07 PM on August 19, 2009
Posts: 0 ryan
mayberry is not ready for the majors just yet. but i feel he can be a very very good player and post similar numbers as Jayson Werth is posting. he has a ton of power. the biggest thing i took away from being at spring training this year was my impression of Mayberry. you could tell he had all the talent in the world and was very close to maximizing it.
Posted: 03:02 AM on August 20, 2009
Posts: 0 Don M
you guys have to remember that Mayberry (and Bruntlett, and Cairo, etc) started Spring Training really hot, because most pitchers were working on building arm strength… and just throwing Fastball, Fastball, Fastball, Fastball..Fastball, Fastball ….
I’m pretty sure that I could get a couple of hits too, If I knew what was coming every single pitch …
Once they started mixing in some breaking pitches, Mayberry looked lost .. which is why he can’t and doesn’t hit-for-average
Anyone counting on Mayberry to be “The Next Jayson Werth” is kidding themselves. Mayberry has a chance to up his batting average if he shortens his stroke.. his power numbers would go down, but his average would go up … he’s a poor man’s, Right-Handed Matt Stairs … at best
Posted: 10:41 AM on August 25, 2009
Posts: 0 IronPig
Forget spring training how bout his MLB debut.. yeah against pettite…. You didnt see
j werth doing that on his debut so don’t be a downer chump.
Posted: 03:09 AM on March 20, 2010
Posts: 0 Israel Travel
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Posted: 07:46 AM on June 4, 2010