i've only seen mayberry a couple times and i got the same impression.  

what is it with the rangers and long swings (mayberry and botts).  both of these guys had labels of having long swings with management vowing to change them, only for them to end up with long swings.  i don't get it.  are we supposed to be under the impression that mayberry's swing on draft day was even longer than it is now?  or, is he still going to try to shorten his swing?  seems like with botts, someone just gave up, and seeing as how mayberry has made it to frisco with a long swing, we are doing the same thing with him.  very perplexing.  anyway, the rangers better not ever draft a long swing hitter again.  maybe other clubs can fix them but we can't.

thanks.

Thanks

Have you gotten to see Harrison throw?

really nice news, especially for some of us that never get close to the minor leaguers in person.

Thanks!

I appreciate it.

I was more impressed with Andrus than hperl. I only saw him play once (in Peoria Saturday). Defensively, he showed soft hands and a good arm. He had three chances to make a spectacular play and did not convert one. Here me say that had he converted any one of the three I would have been raving about his defense, but as it is I'll say I think he can be good defensively.

One hard hit grounder up the middle he showed good range to even be near it, but it got under his glove into CF. He had a chance to make a quick turn on a double play and knowing it was going to be close he put a lot of heat on it and it ended up skipping into first base and the first baseman couldn't handle it, seeing it go by into the dugout. The third play was a high pop down the line in left field, it was so deep, Andrus had no business being near it, the left fielder looked to be in position, but didn't look like he called for it and Andrus kept going back and just missed it, nearly getting tangled up with the left fielder who was hardly even moving by that time.

Anyway, I think he will have value defensively and with experience, he will make one or two of those spectacular plays (and the one to the outfield he won't have to as an adequate outfielder calls him off).

As far as the bat, he will have to learn how to hit breaking balls. Having said that, his pitch recognition seems pretty good and right now he just lays off stuff he can't hit. When he does swing, I think he gets a lot out of it and given that he is a teenager if you project an average amount of filling out, he can turn a few doubles on mistake pitches into homers as he gets older.

Personally, I think he projects as and Edgar Renteria-type. The scout I talked with used Orlando Cabrera as a comp, but I should say he likes Andrus better than most. Some scouts just think his bat won't play enough to make it as a regular. Assuming he plays in Double-A at some point next season we should start to get answers to that question.

I didn't really see enough to make a judgement on his defense, I assume it's good because that's his reputation. I certainly didn't see anything to make me say otherwise.

What I did see is the same thing hperl mentioned. A more imposing figure at the plate than I expected. One scout told me he was by far the most impressive hitter in batting practice for the Rafters that morning (although not everyone batted since it was an optional day batting/fielding choice). He used all fields and showed plenty of power to dead center field (if you've been to Arizona you know about the big walls in CF that serve as hitters backdrops, he apparently hit a couple halfway or more up those walls in BP).

I honestly did not think much of him as a hitter when he was drafted and didn't change my opinion even with the good numbers (bad hitters can have a good season). The scout said something that made me change my mind. "Some guys just hit better with a wood bat". Sounds strange, but I guess it makes sense. I still want to see it again, but my expectations are higher now for Teagarden. I have gone from expecting a solid backup to expecting a solid regular at catcher.

By the way, the subject refers to his catchers helmet which says "Texas" on one side and "Tea" on the other... I like it.

Not much to add, he is pretty well documented. He does fine in right field and made a nice diving catch the day I saw him (Friday in Mesa). He even made a nice throw that held a runner at third. It was not a cannon shot, but it was strong and accurate. It was the same day he hit the home run so I probably saw him at his best. He does look athletic and I was surprised at how tall he was, but I now see the Derrek Lee comparisons. For some reason I didn't really notice that heighth in Frisco (probably a factor of where I was sitting).

I heard a couple of scouts agree on the same thing. He'll either be a very good regular (bordering on all-star) or he'll be a career minor leaguer. At first, you might say "duh", but the point is that there is no middle ground. I interpreted it to mean that he still has adjustments to make, if he makes them he will be very good, if not he won't be good enough to even hang around. I am optimistic, but he may have to bottom out completely to really turn his attention to changing the way he does things at the plate. Right now, he is good enough at punishing mistakes (like he did in the game I saw) he gets away with things that probably won't work at the next level. Word is that he has been frustrated at times with having less success than ever before. Perhaps he is a fierce enough competitor to do something about it.