POOL Aug 14, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; Detailed view of first base with a Mariano Rivera plaque during a game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays Yankee Stadium. The Tampa Bay Rays won 12-3. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
POOL Aug 14, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; Detailed view of first base with a Mariano Rivera plaque during a game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays Yankee Stadium. The Tampa Bay Rays won 12-3. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
The Atlanta Braves acquired speedy Anfernee Seymour from the Miami Marlins this summer. Can he offer more than just speed?
Who Is He?
Seymour was born in the Bahamas and drafted in the 7th round of the 2014 draft by the Miami Marlins out of American Heritage High School in Florida. He was put into the Gulf Coast League, and he flashed his incredible speed, hitting .245/.333/.265 with just one extra base hit, but 11 stolen bases and 12/27 BB/K over 112 plate appearances. He played 19 of his 26 games in center field and 7 at shortstop.
Seymour was bumped up to Batavia in the short-season New York-Penn League in 2015. He hit for a better average, but his overall statistical line was not tremendously different. His slash line was .273/.338/.349 with 14 extra base hits and 29 stolen bases along with a 20/52 BB/K ratio over 266 plate appearances. He played all of his games in the field at shortstop.
Seymour was sent to Greensboro in the low-A South Atlantic League when the trade with the Braves occurred, and the Braves simply kept him in the same league by sending him to Rome. While he played all of his games in the field with Greensboro at shorstop, Seymour found himself with an elite defensive shortstop in Alejandro Salazar at Rome, so he played short until Salazar returned from an injury, at which point, Seymour played second base or became a pinch runner at that point.
In total on the season, Seymour hit .257/.296/.303 with 18 extra base hits, 43 stolen bases, and a 26/118 BB/K ratio over 537 plate appearances.
Seymour is listed at 5’11 and 165 pounds. He’s a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.
Hitting
Seymour is certainly legit in his listed build, as he is quite lean. He runs very well out of the box when he is bunting, but he swings as if he is trying to put the ball over the fence, though he has nowhere near the power to consider doing that. He often swings so hard that he tangles up his feet, and I noted more than once when he hit a shot in the infield that his high-end speed could have beat out for an infield single, but he was so caught up in his own feet that he stumbled initially out of the box and was thrown out.
As a switch-hitter, Seymour definitely has a more major league capable swing from the right hand side. That really hurts Seymour, as the majority of pitchers he sees are right-handed, meaning he’s typically taking swings from his worse side. He has a lot of wrist load in his lefty swing, though as hard as he swings, he often has released his hips in his swings before he gets the bat through the zone.
I would wonder about Seymour’s ability to handle hitting just right-handed, but that also takes away one step toward first that he could have from the left-handed box.
Seymour is a very solid bunter, and he could bunt his way on base fairly frequently with minimal work on his directional bunting.
Base Running/Fielding
Seymour is all about speed. He’s a true 80-grade runner, and I’d argue that he very well could be the fastest pure runner in the entire organization. However, as many know, just because you can run fast doesn’t mean you’re adept on the bases. Seymour seems better at stealing bases than when he has to use instincts to take an extra base. That is why you don’t see more extra bases, even with his ridiculous speed.
Seymour seems at home when taking off for a stolen base, and his speed can make up for a bad read, frankly. I noted a number of bad jumps, but his speed overcame the initial jump and he was still safe for a steal.
Seymour’s speed allows him to get to plenty of balls, but his initial instincts at short aren’t all that great. He has smooth hands, but his arm is probably more average than anything. I think he’d probably be best-suited to second base in the infield or moving to center field. I do like his hands in the infield, so I think second might be the best long-term fit for Seymour.
Video
Next: Future outlook
Future Outlook
On the offensive side, there is really a perfect comp for Seymour in a former Brave. In 1987, Topps produced one of the most iconic visual baseball card sets, with the wood grain borders of each card. As is the case with most card series, the 1987 series featured players from the 1986 season. One of the guys on the Braves in 1986 and therefore on the Braves in that set was Omar Moreno. He was a guy who really was almost entire pure speed. He had a .252/.306/.343 slash line, with the majority of his “power” coming due to speed. He stole 487 bases in 12 years in the major leagues, yet he was caught as many as 33 times in a single season!
While Moreno is a guy that you have to go back quite a ways for (that 1986 season was his final year as a player, but he stole 96 bases at one point in 1980 and averaged 66 from 1977-1982, including the strike shortened 1981 season), the guy who I found most made sense to me was a recent rule V pick that made good for his draft club, Everth Cabrera, who did not play anywhere in organized baseball this season in spite of only being 29.
Cabrera was a .246/.315/.328 hitter in just over 2000 major league plate appearances, stealing 138 bases. He also stole 165 bases in 382 minor league games. Cabrera was also one who played around the infield and center field as a minor leaguer before playing mostly at shortstop as a big leaguer.
Seymour has a long way to go to even reach Everth Cabrera’s career, and he’ll start next season in Brevard County. Whether the Braves move him to an outfield spot, second base, or use him in a utility way to give days off around the middle of the field throughout the week, Seymour will need to improve his contact ability and pitch recognition to have a chance at making the big leagues and sticking there.
