I figured some of you don't really know about Chris Aguila so here is some knowledge on him.

 

 

So who is the Marlin manning rightfield for the Fish right now? That would be none other than 26 year old Chris Aguila. Chris was drafted by the Marlins in the 3rd round(96th overall) of the 1997 amateur draft out of McQueen High School in Reno, Nevada. He was pretty highly touted out of high school(led the nation with 29 homeruns), but once the Marlins offered him a $300,000 signing bonus, he decided to jump straight to the pros.

 

Chris' first few seasons with the GCL Marlins and Kane County Cougars didnt garner much excitement. He showed decent power but couldnt hit for average and was striking out a ton. After a subpar year in 2000 with Brevard County, Baseball America rated him as the Marlins #18 prospect. In 2001, Aguila really struggled splitting time in Single-A Brevard County and Double-A Portland. In Brevard County, Chris went .276/.328/.463 and went .257/.312/.382 in his time in Double-A. Things were not looking good for Aguila for he pretty much fell of the radar of everyone from GMs, to scouts, to Baseball America who dropped him from their top 30 list. In 2002, he had a bit of a resurgence as he went .294/.369/.420 but it wasnt until 2003 that he reappeared on everyone's map. The year the Marlins won their second world championship, Aguila won his first batting title by hitting .320 for the Carolina Mudcats(AA). In 2004, he hit .312/.380/.494 for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes and got a late season callup to the bigs getting 10 hits in 45 at bats, 3 of them being homeruns. This season for the Topes he was hitting .355/.412/.630 in 138 at bats before receiving the call a few weeks ago by the big club.

 

Aguila has one of, if not the quickest bat speeds in the entire organization. He can handle any fastball thrown at him, and feasts on fastball middle-in but has trouble with good breaking balls. Chris has more of a power stroke now than when he originally was drafted out of high school and is said to have tremendous batting practice power. He has yet to show off this power in games but scouts expect him to be a 15-20 homer per year type guy. He still strikes out alot but his discipline has improved every year. Aguila can play any of the 3 outfield positions but it best suited for rightfield. He gets very good jumps and has a real strong arm with accuracy to boot. He has a good head on his shoulders and is a good teammate as well Proof of this was in 2003 when Miguel Cabrera changed from 3B to LF, Chris tutored him and spoke with him in the intraquasies of playing the outfield. Aguila is a very similar player to Mark Kotsay except he is right handed, doesnt walk as much, is a better RF than CF, and didnt go to college... otherwise he is a carbon copy of him.

 

With Aguila's play improving each year, he could be a starter for a team not named the Marlins down the road, but with this team stacked with outfielders right now, he is just gonna be a relegated to bench duty. If the Marlins can move Mike Lowell in the offseason, Chris may see a spike in play in 2006.

 

link

Thanks Ramp. I knew a lot about Aguila but not that much!

I really like this kid.

 

What I think is being missed is that, once our wounded warriors get back, Aguila is the guy to give JP an occasional break.

Chris can play center.

 

This is a classy, young #4 OF with speed, good defense, a good arm, and baseball smarts. The hitting will come... not spectacular but his base-running will compensate.

I like Aguila a lot and he should see a lot more playing time in '06.

 

I wonder if he will ever start for the Marlins. It will be tough because Hermida has an inside track for Florida next year.

 

Our OF next year should be Hermida, Pierre, and either Cabrera or Aguila.

 

I wouldn't mind seeing Aguila, Hermida, and Pierre in the OF if we can move Lowell (won't be easy though).

nice write up..

 

since the end of last year i thought aguila could be a solid player if given the PT..

 

i like what im seeing right now that he getting his timing and putting some good swings together.. problem is by the time he puts it all together its time to sit on the bench again

Maybe Aguila/Willingham could platoon in LF next season, if we move Mikey.

Maybe Aguila/Willingham could platoon in LF next season, if we move Mikey.

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Willingham is more of a Brandon Inge on this team(plays several positions, gets his 350 at bats

 

or maybe I'm just wishing that he had a spot on this team

 

damn you Valdez!

I dont think Willingham will ever be a starter for the Florida Marlins.

 

He isn't very good at D and should be in the AL.

He certainly is well-traveled.

Chris really showed off his speed tonight. He made a few superb plays in RF and was excellent on the basepaths.

 

Nice to see him start to come around.

Surprised article didn't mention he's the first Samoan player in MLB

Surprised article didn't mention he's the first Samoan player in MLB

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I didn't know that. US Somoa or Western Somoa?

I'm really interested to know, having spent many years in that area.

Surprised article didn't mention he's the first Samoan player in MLB

897096[/snapback]

I didn't know that. US Somoa or Western Somoa?

I'm really interested to know, having spent many years in that area.

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Not sure, but in a season preview it mentioned "Eight-year minor league veteran Chris Aguila, perhaps the Majors? only Samoan-American, could make the team as a backup, but his bat is suspect."

Link

Surprised article didn't mention he's the first Samoan player in MLB

897096[/snapback]

I didn't know that. US Somoa or Western Somoa?

I'm really interested to know, having spent many years in that area.

897101[/snapback]

Not sure, but in a season preview it mentioned "Eight-year minor league veteran Chris Aguila, perhaps the Majors? only Samoan-American, could make the team as a backup, but his bat is suspect."

Link

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Interesting. To nobody but me. But, if they called him a Somoan-American, he's probably from US Somoa. The westward island of Western Somoa is still very much a Polynesian country. US Somoa was prostituted years ago by US armed forces. We changed the culture. And though US Somoa has provided several outstanding NFL players... in Hawaii they are regarded as the most feared thugs.

But, Chris, though agressive on the field, is a gentle man.

Enough. Just wanted to provide a little foot-note.

QuickGold, Please post herein the Link you just PM'd me regarding Aguila's Polynesian heritage. It was, IMO, really cool!

I don't know how to do that Link stuff.

I remember those dances with flaming knives.

i hung out with chris on the marlins cruise last year and he's a really down to earth guy. he bought us drinks hung out and bullshitted with us. And we didn't even go up to him he kind of came up to us while my friends and i were playing black jack. He grew up in vegas and he's not a gambler.

QuickGold, Please post herein the Link you just PM'd me regarding Aguila's Polynesian heritage. It was, IMO, really cool!

I don't know how to do that Link stuff.

I remember those dances with flaming knives.

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http://polynesianlounge.com/modules.php?na...=article&sid=29

Thanks for that Link QuickGold. Good stuff! For me, adds dimension to an otherwise dimensionless season of boring and arrogant players.

i hung out with chris on the marlins cruise last year and he's a really down to earth guy. he bought us drinks hung out and bullshitted with us. And we didn't even go up to him he kind of came up to us while my friends and i were playing black jack. He grew up in vegas and he's not a gambler.

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He's from Reno. He went to high school at McQueen... I went to a rival high school of his (Galena) while he was there. He was always all over the news there because he hit 29 jacks in one year. I am sure he prefers Miami over Reno, as I do.