Mar 25, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; The bat bag of Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig (not pictured) sits on the field before the game against the San Diego Padres at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 25, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; The bat bag of Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig (not pictured) sits on the field before the game against the San Diego Padres at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
The Atlanta Braves drafted Jared James for the second time this year and he quickly worked his way to full-season ball. What kind of future does he have?
Who Is He?
James graduated from high school in Sacramento, California, with minimal big college interest and went to Sacramento City College, where the Braves drafted him from in the 30th round in 2014. He didn’t sign then and found his way to California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, which is where the Braves snared him from in the 34th round of this past June’s draft.
James started out his pro career in the Danville outfield, playing left field only, and hitting .298/.379/.364 with 6 extra base hits and 6 stolen bases along with a 13/19 BB/K ratio over 141 plate appearances. The Braves liked his bat in the lineup enough that he was DH for nearly half of his games at Danville.
This led to a promotion to Rome’s loaded outfield to close out his 2016. He made 27 appearances, coming to the plate 101 times. His slash line actually improved with his promotion, going .302/.380/.500 as James was able to hit 9 extra base hits in his Rome time along with 5 stolen bases and a 6/11 BB/K ratio. He played primarily left field in Rome, but they did give him a game in center as well.
Altogether in the season, James hit .300/.379/.420 with 9 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs, 11 stolen bases, and a 21/30 BB/K ratio over 242 plate appearances.
Jared James is listed at 6’1 and 185 pounds. He is a long, lean build with certain athleticism, but perhaps a lean frame that wouldn’t handle added weight very well. He’s a left-handed hitter and right-handed thrower.
Hitting
James has a coiled stance, with his hands out in front of him as he sets at the plate. He pulls back his hands into load position as the pitch is delivered. This does give him a bit of a challenge against premium velocity as he’s seemingly bouncing his hands back as he then needs to react to the pitch and move his swing motion forward.
James does have a quick, explosive swing, which does explain the power he’s able to generate in that swing at times, in spite of what would appear a fairly slight build. However, he typically takes advantage of slower breaking balls to generate his power, something that are much less frequent in the big leagues.
Base Running/Fielding
James definitely has an excellent first step or two on the base paths, and that served him well in the minor leagues as evidenced in his stolen base numbers in short experience. He didn’t show great instincts to me as a base stealer, however, so that could come to bite him more as he climbs the ladder.
His excellent first step serves him well as a base runner, and he was able to take extra bases many times in my viewings of James. He did take a few risks that I saw him go through a coach’s sign and he was successful on most of these, but that could be a concern going forward as working with his coaches will be of high importance in his advancement.
While the defense isn’t there by any means, there are a lot of similarities in James’s approach at the plate to David DeJesus, the former Kansas City Royals outfielder. Similar to James at the plate, DeJesus never really put up big stat lines in any counting stat, topping 10 home runs 3 times over a 13 year career, topping 10 stolen bases twice, never having double-digit triples or 40+ doubles.
DeJesus finished his career as a .275/.349/.412 career hitter in spite of never really putting up big counting numbers, however, and if he makes it as a starter, I could see James being in that mold offensively. One of the big differences between the two is DeJesus’ ability to play high-end defense, whereas James could be an above-average left fielder, but most likely will grade out as an average fielder overall.
James has good coverage in left field, but his arm is restricted to left field. His bat probably is more 4th outfielder than future starter, but there’s a lot of possibility in there that James could turn out to be much more than a 34th round pick in his athletic, toolsy frame.
