2K20: Sam Hilliard

[kldub4life]

Very interesting youngster in Hilliard, he held his own in a cup of coffee last year and his power/speed combo is intriguing.

He is a big guy 6'5 236 lbs. but is a really good athlete. Apparently he is slotted to get the majority of the playing time in LF, but with Blackmon and Dahl in the other 2 spots spot time across the OF is possible.

Steamer's predicting 362 PA 14 HR 41 Runs 47 RBIs 11 Stls .248 Avg.

I think that PA could easily reach 450 which would be 17 HR 51 Runs 59 RBIs 14 Stls .248 Avg. (that looks pretty good, but I see considerable more upside as well)

Let's look at his Power/Speed track record:

16 (A) 17/30
17 (A+) 21/37
18 (AA) 9/23
19 (AAA) 35/22

There is quite a bit of swing and miss in his game 30% K-rate is being predicted this year.

A kid with a profile like this in Colorado is something very promising.

I'm wondering why I am not hearing more about him? Any thoughts or ideas?

[Hammer]

I like the upside of Hilliard but the ghosts of Rodgers, Tapia, etc scare me. The Rockies hate playing thier kids. Desmond is still there as is Tapia and Hampson figures to get outfield time. I am past getting excited about Colorado youth.

[chancellor]

In general, I agree with Hammer - at least right now, I suspect they'll slow play him at least at the start of the season. However, you can't spell David Dahl without DL, Tapia has consistently underwhelmed, and Desmond is well, just not that good anymore. I wouldn't get too excited - even with the China Dahl getting hurt a lot, I'd be surprised if he finds 375 AB - but if you're looking for a guy who has good keeper upside at a potentially cheap price, I'd invest.

[The Dane]

I always go the extra buck for bench players on good offenses or in good hitter's parks. Hilliard is interesting, but his skill set is too much like Tapia's to invest highly. Tapia didn't fail last year. He earned $11 in part-time play. And, like was mentioned before, the desiccated husk of Ian Desmond still shuffles around Coors, and he could eat up a lot of ABs that should go to Tapia/Hilliard.

On the other hand, if Dahl is injured and they sit Desmond as they should, and Rodgers continues his disappointing career pushing Hampson to MI semi-permanently, there could be tons of available OF ABs.

Hilliard is a great flier, but don't overspend.

[cavebird]

I see him as a boom or bust. His K rates were around 30% in the minors, which often leads to 35-40% in the majors, which will tank the average so far that he gets sent down. He could figure it out, but there is tons and tons of risk.