What are the odds that the day I decide to do a prospect spotlight on Dexter Fowler he hits his first major league home run? If you would have offered me 50-1 odds at the beginning of the day I would have politely turned down the offer. Never the less, it happened, so congratulations to Dexter. What do the above pictured Bossman Junior Upton, Milton Bradley, Carlos Beltran and Dexter Fowler have in common? Besides all the unique names, they also took similar paths to the Major Leagues. Upton is the only one out of the bunch that is not a switch hitter. However, his 6’3″, 180 pound physique is nearly a clone of the 6’4″, 175 pound Fowler. Let’s take a look at some more of the similarities among these hitters:
I think the most interesting things to note are the improved plate discipline by Dexter Fowler and his Stolen Base Success Rate. Fowler has increased his BB/K ratio every year as a Minor Leaguer. While his 0.59 BB/K ratio has plenty of room for improvement, it is much better than Beltran’s 0.51 BB/K ration at the time Beltran got called up. The overall outlook predicts a player with better plate discipline than Carlos Beltran, and more power than Milton Bradley. You could also consider Fowler to be a B.J. Upton-lite. In an ideal world, Fowler’s peak years will consist of him hitting 25 Home Runs and stealing 30 bases with a .290 Batting Average.
Rookie Year Prediction: 440 PA .265/.337/.427 61 R 13 HR 55 RBI 14 SB
