Prospect Rankings No. 19: John Mayberry, Jr.
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
