Taken in the 2nd round of the 2005 draft out of Clemson, it made sense for the Marlins to be the one to draft Kris Harvey. After all, his father Bryan was a former all star and the first closer in Marlins history. In his final season at Clemson University, Kris hit .339/.386/.678 with 24 homeruns in 245 at bats. He finished 2nd in the country in homeruns. Those numbers landed him on the 2nd team All American squad.

 

 

 

After signing for $575,000 Kris went to short-season Jamestown and hit .300/.320/479 with 9 homeruns in 263 at bats. Although he had an alarming 9:60 walk to strikeout ratio, the Marlins still saw lots of promise in the young third baseman. Kris really took a step back after his solid professional debut in 2005. The problem in 2006 seemed to be pitch selection, as some of the better arms in the SALLY kept him off balance most of the season as he failed to get into even a mini groove at the plate. Kris does not have very good strike zone judgment and that continued to cause problems for him all season in Greensboro. He loves punishing off speed hangers, but scouts believe he should lay off them more to improve his plate discipline. After splitting time between 3b and the OF in Jamestown, he was used primarily as an outfielder in Greensboro.

 

His final line in the SALLY was .245/.291/.428 in just 367 at bats. He missed nearly half the 2006 season due to a strained oblique muscle. Kris' bat speed is no problem as he can turn on any fastball. He has easy power and has the ability to handle high breaking balls as well. Right now though, breaking balls are giving him fits. Harvey has a solid glove and takes good routes on balls in the gap. He has above average speed to go with his great athleticism. He has a very strong arm as well. Although lanky right now at 6'2, 195lbs frame, he could stand to add on 10-15 pounds of muscle to eventually generate more power.

 

 

 

This season in the pitcher friendly Florida State League, Kris is having even more problems than last season. In just under 150 at bats, Kris was hitting .189/.253/.236 coming into tonight's game vs Fort Myers. He has only 4 extra base hits, to with just 12 walks compared to 44 strikeouts. There doesn't seem to be an end in sight either. In his last 10 games he is hitting .184 with no extra base hits, 1 walk and 9 strikeouts. The interesting thing with Kris is that at Clemson, he was also a pitcher. His overall numbers weren't very good, but his "stuff" was good enough where teams thought about converting him to a pitcher once drafted. He has shown a 95-96mph fastball in the past with the potential for a plus breaking ball. With the way things are going out in Jupiter for him, the Marlins could consider doing what they did with Chris Resop when he couldn't hit the ball. Turn him into a reliever. It definitely turned Resop' career around and could potentially do the same for Kris.

 

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Nice write-up, Ramp; I always enjoy reading your stuff.

 

I knew he pitched, but I had no clue he had that type of velocity.

 

Any chance you can do "A look at Torre Langley" sometime? He intrigues me, but I haven't read much about him except the blurb you did on your top 50 Marlins prospects writeup.

Nice write-up, Ramp; I always enjoy reading your stuff.

 

I knew he pitched, but I had no clue he had that type of velocity.

 

Any chance you can do "A look at Torre Langley" sometime? He intrigues me, but I haven't read much about him except the blurb you did on your top 50 Marlins prospects writeup.

Sure

 

*jots down in to-do notebook*

 

I gotta get this John Baker interview done in the next 2 days, then see if I can get Andy Jenkins on too.... I'll send out some emails on Torre this afternoon, see what I can get back

Awesome :thumbup

Poor Langley. He wasnt ready for Jupiter. Guessing he was put there to fill the hole Hayes left?

 

Anyhow, I still have faith Harvey can turn it around at the plate. Make him take extra BP and maybe send him to Hawaii or Arizona in the winter.