Prospect Profile: Eric Campbell

We apologize for the inconsistency with respect to our columns, but we're still trying to work out the nuts and bolts and logistics of how to run the site. Expect more timeliness next week. So here it is...the inaugural Prospect Profile. Before I begin analyzing Eric Campbell, let me say we'd love to hear from you about what prospects to feature in this column from here on out. These don't necessarily need to be our TOP prospects. I'd rather do it on more obscure guys you readers are curious about. Send us an e-mail: tomahawktalk755@gmail.com to make a suggestion. Also, when I quote a batting stat line, it reads AVG/OBP/SLG, and then it is followed with "DTs". DT refers to Davenport Translation, which is a method developed by statistician Clay Davenport to translate minor league statistics into major league ones. So his DT stats are what he hypothetically "would have done" if he had been playing in the majors instead of whatever league he was in at the time. They account for league and park difficulty.


Now on to Campbell. I picked him because he's been in the news lately, getting suspended for the rest of the season down at High-A Myrtle Beach. He's hailed by many Braves fans as the inevitable replacement for Chipper Jones at third base. But is he really the guy we want replacing Chipper? Will his attitude be an issue going forward? Or perhaps the better question: Can he hit?


2004: The Braves drafted him in the 2nd round in 2004, 71st overall out of an Indiana high school, then signed him for a $500,000 bonus. He reported to the short-season GCL Braves. He hit just .251, but his 7 homers tied him for second in the league. He was drafted as a shortstop, and played most of his games there, but after 12 errors in 36 games at short, the Braves decided he was better suited for third base. He looked like a classic power prospect, hitting lots of homers, but also striking out in more than 20% of his plate appearances. He got a 22 at-bat cup of coffee at Rome after the Gulf Coast League season ended, and while I'd like to say he didn't embarrass himself, he really did, managing just 3 hits (all singles).


2005: The Braves moved him up to Rookie-level Danville in '05, and the Appalachian League hasn't been the same since. Campbell plowed through 262 at-bats, hitting .313/.383/.634 (DT: .257/.302/.449), with 15 steals to boot. He led the league in almost every offensive category imaginable: home runs (18), RBI (64), total bases (166), runs (77), doubles (26). He ranked third in hits with 82 and his 15 steals were good for fifth. However, his strikeout tendency actually increased, as Campbell struck out 64 times in 294 plate appearances (21.8%). His plate discipline clearly needed work, and his swing was still too long, but as a 20-year-old ready to move up to A-ball, he had plenty of time to fix things. The move to third base full-time was a successful one as well, as he showed good defensive promise at the hot corner.


2006: The promotion to Low-A Rome hurt his rate stats a bit, as he hit .294/.333/.514 (DTs: .272/.299/.464), but that disguises a marked improvement in his plate discipline. In more than two hundred more plate appearances (as compared to 2005), he struck out just four more times. Unfortunately, increased plate discipline didn't translate to increased patience, as he also walked five LESS times despite all the extra PAs. The power continued to show as he led his league in homers yet again, but still showed a maddening tendency to try to pull every pitch within four feet of home plate. He played some solid defense at second base in the Hawaiian Winter League, making his stock that much more interesting, as the Braves had no second baseman at the time (of course, the arrival of Kelly Johnson has really destroyed any potential value he might have had at second). But here's the interesting part: he got sent home early from the Hawaiian Winter League team for unspecified disciplinary reasons (a precedent to the suspension he would earn in 2007).

2007: This is where things get really dicey for Campbell. He moves up to High-A Myrtle Beach, a killer environment for any hitting prospect's numbers. But Campbell gets murdered. On June 13, he's hitting an abysmal .168/.265/.318 and he's already missed 31 games with a wrist injury. He picks it up a bit through the end of June, finishing the month at a respectable (remember how tough the league is) .250/.321/.428. He would go back on the DL again before the season was out, and his season ended on August 21st as the Braves suspended him for the rest of the season for "insubordination". He also built up a bad rep for inconsistent effort. At the plate, he never could shed his pull-hitting tendencies, going to left field with nearly 50% of his balls in play. He finished hitting just .221/.312/.406. But there is reason for hope. He kept his strikeout rate the same while nearly doubling his walk rate (from about 5% of his PAs to 10%).

Campbell is something of an enigma. If he can maintain his excellent power stroke while increasing his selectivity to keep his walk rate up, he can be a great player. And he's got the glove to be a good one at the hot corner. Besides needing to keep working on his swing, he still clearly has some attitude issues which need to be dealt with. His 2007 season certainly diminished his former status as Heir Apparent to Chipper Jones, but there's still reason to believe he will one day fill Chipper's Mizunos as the Braves' third baseman.