The Draft: Hawaii 2B Kolten Wong.
After visiting pitchers in College Station, Texas; Corvallis, Ore.; and Nashville, Tenn., let’s head to beautiful Honolulu and turn our attention to a non-pitcher, Hawaii second baseman Kolten Wong, as we continue to look at prospects the Reds might select with the 27th overall pick in the MLB Draft on June 6.
Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus has Wong sneaking into the bottom third of the first round, right where Cincinnati selects. Jim Callis of Baseball America predicted in late April the Reds might select Wong. Callis wrote that Wong could be major league ready by 2013.
Wong (5-foot-9, 195 pounds) is a junior and three-year starter for the Rainbow Warriors. A native of Hilo, he bats left-handed and throws right. He will be a three-time All-Western Athletic Conference selection.
This season, Wong has posted a line of 6-41-.365/.480/.537 with 21 stolen bases in 26 tries. He has smacked seven doubles and three triples, has walked 33 times and struck out 18. Wong’s fielding percentage is .962. Last season, Wong went 7-40-.357/.441/.534. As a freshman he was 11-52-.341/.416/.597.
Wong was the WAC freshman of the year in 2009 when he was Hawaii’s starting CF. He also spent some time at catcher and recorded a very impressive 1.87 pop time to second base. Wong has played all three outfield positions and spent some time at shortstop.
Small but athletic, Wong runs well, with a 4.41-second time from home to first and a 6.81 time in the 60-yard dash. He has hit either leadoff or in the No. 3 hole most of his college career. He displays exceptional bat speed.
Wong has solid range at second base and turns the double play well. He is a competitor with a strong work ethic. Wong is short to the ball, patient at the plate and is difficult to strike out. He makes hard, consistent contact.
Wong, a 16th-round selection by the Minnesota Twins out of high school, was the most valuable player of the 2010 Cape Cod League after hitting .341/.426/.452 with 3 homers, 11 RBI and 22 stolen bases in 38 games. He has hit well with wooden bats.
While his numbers are impressive, just 16 of Wong’s 65 hits this season have gone for extra bases. In 2009 he batted just .215 with Team USA. Against teams ranked in the top 25, Wong has gone 17-for-56 (.303) while going 48-for-123 (.390) against everyone else. He has little protection in a Hawaii lineup that for most of the season has featured just two players batting better than .290.
Baseball America rates Wong as the 27th-best player available and calls him one of the draft’s best pure bats. One American League scout called Wong “the best hitter in the draft.”
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I like the discipline
but will the power hold up? And can he stick at 2B or is he bound for the OF?
by Charlie Scrabbles on May 20, 2011 12:14 PM EDT reply actions
at 5'-9"
(if he’s even that tall) he’s too small to be an OFer.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
Sappelt disagrees.
Let's not kid ourselves. It's really, really, bad.
by Cy Schourek on May 20, 2011 12:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Sappelt still hasn't played in the big leagues
Remember Sean Henry. His coach said he thinks he’s been held back because of his height. He’s listed at 5’-10".
(Whatever happened to him, anyway? Did he leave as a 6-year free agent? Or retire?)
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
indy league
I’m surprised nobody took a flier on him.
Let's not kid ourselves. It's really, really, bad.
I'm surprised the Reds didn't keep him
Seems like he’d be a good insurance player, at least.
There really does seem to be a belief that short guys can’t be OFers. Shortstops or second basemen, sure, but not OFers. Is it because OF is generally a power position, and they think little guys can’t hit home runs? Is there any truth to this belief?
Kinda reminds me of Kevin Thompson. He had Stubbsian speed, a good glove, and decent power, patience, and contact. But there wasn’t much interest in him on the big league level. I asked someone who worked with the Clippers why – did he have personality issues, or what? He said no, the problem with Kevin Thompson was that he was only 5’ tall. He was exaggerating, of course. KT is listed at 5’-10", and while he was likely shorter than that, he wasn’t 5’ even. Still…it seems they really did hold his height against him.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
I definitely think he can stick at 2B.
He really took well to the position and as he learns to better play the angles he’ll improve even more. I don’t know that power will be a big part of his game. While he’s surprisingly strong for his size, if he can hit 12-15 homers a season, that would be fine as long as he gets on base as much as he projects to do.
Looking at just this season’s stats, my concern was whether he’ll be mostly a singles hitter. Looking at his career, though, one-third of his hits have gone for extra bases, so that’s reassuring.
We Are ... Marshall!
by Thundering Turtle on May 20, 2011 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Not bad.
Pedroia was an undersized second-round pick. He and Wong appear to have somewhat similar skill sets.
We Are ... Marshall!
by Thundering Turtle on May 20, 2011 2:00 PM EDT up reply actions
baking delicious cookies and protecting pots of gold?
Let's not kid ourselves. It's really, really, bad.
by Cy Schourek on May 20, 2011 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
short middle infielder from Hawaii?
I think we found BubbaFan’s new favorite minor leaguer.
Let's not kid ourselves. It's really, really, bad.
By the way,
representing the Reds in the studio for the first day of the draft will be none other than Eric Davis.
We Are ... Marshall!
by Thundering Turtle on May 20, 2011 1:28 PM EDT reply actions
Two more mocks are out.
“MLB Draft Insider” has the Reds taking Oregon State LHP Josh Osich, whom we previewed earlier. “Flags Fly Forever” has Cincinnati selecting Oregon C Andrew Susac. I don’t see that one happening.
We Are ... Marshall!
by Thundering Turtle on May 20, 2011 2:46 PM EDT reply actions
Why not the catcher?
Because he’s a reach, or because he won’t still be around?
Or because the Reds don’t really need to take yet another 1st round catcher?
Billy Hamilton: Snax
Devin Mesoraco: Snacks
He's a draft-eligible sophomore,
so he’ll have extra leverage and will likely be expensive. Catching is a great, and tradeable commodity though, so Walt might take him.
We Are ... Marshall!
by Thundering Turtle on May 21, 2011 10:15 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
this guy is intriguing
I’m wondering if he’ll even fall to the Reds. Some risk there, but if they’re going to go for a bat in the first, this might be the guy to go after. how’s his arm strength? if he can make the throw from the Catcher position it sounds like its at least decent. Could be at least a utility guy in the bigs if he cant make it as a starter.
Strong arm.
Good pop times from behind the plate. Hurt his arm a bit, though, while throwing from shortstop. It wasn’t a lasting injury.
We Are ... Marshall!
by Thundering Turtle on May 20, 2011 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions
do you think he could get a look at short?
would be nice to have a guy who can play around the IF and OF
I don't get the impression he can
be a regular at SS, but might fill in there. His versatility is a plus, but scouts think he has an everyday bat.
We Are ... Marshall!
by Thundering Turtle on May 20, 2011 10:19 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
This is a poor draft for shortstops.
Three could go in the first round, including the guy we’ll look at next, Levi Michael of North Carolina. After that, the drop off is dramatic, especially at the college level.
We Are ... Marshall!
by Thundering Turtle on May 20, 2011 10:23 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I am against Hawaiian baseball players because of Milton Loo.
"If I am a high school teacher preparing to gang bang the senior class."-Johnu1
Loved it when the Reds drafted him
out of Yavapai JC. He had the stick, but his heart wasn’t in it. Pity.
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by Thundering Turtle on May 20, 2011 10:21 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Takes me back to the 1st Hawaiian MLBer MIKE LUM

Rick Santorum telling my father [he] doesn't know about torture is like Carrot Top telling Lebron James he doesn't know about basketball." Meghan McCain
Mike Lum.
The only player who ever pinch hit for Hank Aaron.
We Are ... Marshall!
by Thundering Turtle on May 23, 2011 9:03 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I'd be cool with this pick
I’m a huge fan of guys who are willing to walk a a lot, and having a legit 2B prospect potentially ready to replace BP would be nice.
Billy Hamilton: Snax
Devin Mesoraco: Snacks
Hamilton's not a legit 2B?
Let a man come in and do the Popcorn.
by -ManBearPig on May 21, 2011 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions
We're hoping he sticks at short, and he's not the polished, nearly finished product that Wong would be.
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