Hot Stove Scouting Report

Michael Cuddyer

by Chris Rodriguez

Printer-friendly

Contact Author

Michael Cuddyer


	Born: 03/27/1979 (Age: 35)
	Bats: Right	Throws: Right
	Height: 6' 2"	Weight: 220
	Primary Position: RF
	Secondary Position: 1B

Evaluator	Chris Rodriguez
Report Date	10/19/2014
Present Role	50; 2nd division RF/1B
Years expected to perform at current level	1-2 years
Future Role	50; 2nd division designated hitter

Square to the pitcher; slight bend to his right knee; hands move freely held about shoulder height; small leg kick; minimal pre-swing movement; looks very easy; bat comes through the zone on a slight uppercut plane; line-drive swing; ability to inside out the ball and yank his hands to get to a ball on the inside corner.

Selectively aggressive; likes to swing but will take a walk; about a 2:1 strikeout to walk ratio throughout his career; doesn't try and do too much; disciplined; with runners on, he's more aggressive at pitches in the zone; much more aggressive against LHP; looks to attack anything in the zone and on the inner half; cool and collected in big spots; good guy to have up there with the game on the line.

Fantastic makeup; good clubhouse guy; mentor to younger players on the Rockies; stays within himself in big moments; leader of the team.

Tool	Current Grade	Report
Hit	55	Above average; great hands/wrists; owns an impressive ability to pull his hands through the zone to get to pitches on the inner half; good bat speed; hand-eye coordination is still there; recognizes spin and off-speed quickly; often spits on pitches he can't do anything with; can drive the ball with some authority; works with the pitch wherever it's delivered; inside-outs some fastballs a la Derek Jeter; battles; can get beat by a well located, above-average fastball; .282/.316/.418 on the road and .400/.455/.800 at home.
Power	45	Fringe power; more of a line-drive stroke; fly balls to right field often die at the track; power is to the pull side; no longer a guy who will knock out 20+ a season but can still do some damage if you're not careful.
Baserunning/Speed	20	Poor speed; 4.63 and 4.6 on a dig; not a bad baserunner, however; doesn't make mistakes and good fundamentals; gets a good jump; still can score from second base on a single.
Glove	40	Below average in right field; poor range; reads and routes off the bat are solid; little first-step quickness and athleticism; not an outfielder for much longer; saw some time at first base; about average at that position, but a small sample size; should transition into a DH role for the rest of career.
Arm	50	Arm still plays; accurate and still has some juice behind it; hits the cutoff man; rarely makes mistakes with his arm.

vs LHP			vs RHP
Batted Ball Percentages
GB	LD	FB	GB	LD	FB
46.51%	27.91%	25.58%	50.85%	31.36%	12.71%

	vs LHP			vs RHP
Plate Discipline
	FA	SI	SL	FA	SI	CH
Chase %	35.56%	28.57%	29.17%	37.5%	43.84%	47.37%
Swing / Miss %	9.09%	14.29%	36.36%	15.38%	8.2%	29.41%

*Stats are for the 2014 season

Good hitter; tough out at the plate; leader on and off the field.

No longer a viable option in the field; poor speed; declining power; lots of injuries on record.

Cuddyer was a force at home and just average on the road; Coors made him much more of a power threat, and if he signs at a more pitcher-friendly ballpark his power could see a natural decline; in my sample, pitchers were much more aggressive coming in with a fastball early in the count on the road; at home, they were noticeably more tentative; can still catch up to a fastball, but an plus or better fastball up in the zone gives him some problems; sequence and varying locations of all pitches in the arsenal will keep him guessing and on the defensive; keep the ball down to diminish his power potential and elevate the fastball with two strikes.

Cuddyer is still a quality major league hitter and can help a team in the clubhouse. Unfortunately, he doesn't provide any value in the field or on the bases. With teams much more cognizant on defensive metrics and the value quality defense can provide, I have a tough time believing any team besides the Rockies in the NL would be willing to sign him. An AL team looking for a solid bat at DH for two years could do worse than Cuddyer, and his leadership ability will only increase his value to a team that decides he's worth the investment.

Chris Rodriguez is an author of Baseball Prospectus.
Click here to see Chris's other articles. You can contact Chris by clicking here

Related Content: Colorado Rockies

9 comments have been left for this article.

<< Previous Article

2015 Prospects: Miami ... (11/05)

<< Previous Column
Hot Stove Scouting Rep... (11/05)

Next Column >>
Hot Stove Scouting Rep... (11/07)

Next Article >>

Five to Watch: Post-Hy... (11/06)

RECENTLY AT BASEBALL PROSPECTUS Playoff Prospectus: Come Undone BP En Espanol: Previa de la NLCS: Cubs vs. D... Playoff Prospectus: How Did This Team Get Ma... Playoff Prospectus: Too Slow, Too Late Playoff Prospectus: PECOTA Odds and ALCS Gam... Playoff Prospectus: PECOTA Odds and NLCS Gam... Playoff Prospectus: NLCS Preview: Cubs vs. D...	MORE FROM NOVEMBER 6, 2014 The Lineup Card: Seven Executive of the Year... Notes from the Field: AFL Notes, Part 1 Five to Watch: Post-Hype Prospects for 2015 Minor League Update: Surprises and Disappoin... Fantasy Freestyle: What to Make of Odrisamer...
MORE BY CHRIS RODRIGUEZ 2014-12-19 - Transaction Analysis: Catchin' Relief 2014-12-18 - Transaction Analysis: What the Rays and Nati... 2014-11-06 - Hot Stove Scouting Report: Michael Cuddyer 2014-11-03 - Hot Stove Scouting Report: Russell Martin 2014-09-02 - The Call-Up: Joc Pederson 2014-07-25 - Notes from the Field: What's Wrong With Appe... More...	MORE HOT STOVE SCOUTING REPORT 2014-11-13 - Hot Stove Scouting Report: Justin Masterson 2014-11-07 - Hot Stove Scouting Report: Brandon McCarthy 2014-11-06 - Hot Stove Scouting Report: Michael Cuddyer 2014-11-05 - Hot Stove Scouting Report: David Robertson 2014-11-04 - Hot Stove Scouting Report: Jason Hammel 2014-11-03 - Hot Stove Scouting Report: Russell Martin More...