Author Topic: Follow the Prospects: Derek Norris, C  (Read 30873 times)

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Offline Lintyfresh85

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Follow the Prospects: Derek Norris, C
« Topic Start: October 20, 2010, 01:54:48 PM »
This kid is going to be a big deal. Thus, he needs his own thread.

Story from Kilgore, about Norris, and the progress he's making in the AFL.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2010/10/finally_healthy_derek_norris_t.html

Best quotes.

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Even for a down year, Norris did not lose his best asset at the plate: his batting eye. Despite hit .235 average, Norris walked 89 times in 399 plate appearances and punched up a .419 on-base percentage, the best in the Carolina League by 22 points.

Quote
Norris's advanced, patient approach at the plate is his most valuable attribute. Norris's low batting average happened largely because of his 94 strikeouts. Many of those were actually a byproduct of his strike-zone discipline. To keep Norris from getting frustrated, they told him not to expand his strike zone: They believe that he was a better judge of the strike zone than many of the umpires in the Carolina League.

Ha. Awesome.

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"Honestly, I would much rather him ring me up on strike three than start swinging at it knowing it's going to be a ball down the road, anyway," Norris said. "

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"From all the years of playing, for me, 99 percent of the time, whenever I see a pitch, I know whether it's a ball or strike. If we had the Quiz Tec or whatever it is that does the pitches, I feel like if we had that in A ball, I could go back and look at it and be about 99 percent right."

Love his confidence.

Quote
At the end of the year, Norris didn't mind what the approach made some of his stats look like. Norris, unlike many young players, grasps that on-base percentage is a far more meaningful measure than batting average.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Norris is my favorite prospect, by far. He's smart, has a good approach and he's got talent. I really hope his defense is good enough to make it to the majors as a catcher, because he'll be an amazing weapon at the dish.

Offline Coladar

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #1: October 20, 2010, 01:58:48 PM »
Uhh, wow, an OBP almost .200 points higher than his average? Nuts. Although combined with the Ks... I wonder how many are called strikeouts. Meaning, is he just not swinging at anything and thus walking so often due to relying on the wildness of young, unrefined pitchers?

Still, anyone with an OBP that high is impressive. Obviously we've all been hearing more and more about him this year, so hopefully he keeps it up and is up in the bigs soon.

Offline Sharp

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #2: October 21, 2010, 02:35:12 AM »
The whole point is that he has such a good eye that his coaches don't think he should swing at a lot of balls that are called strike three in the minors.  It's well-known that the strike zone in the minors is generally much bigger than it is in the majors, and that it gets steadily smaller as you go up the levels (partly due to better umpires).

And yeah, Norris has always been a monster prospect.  Other than Strasburg and before the draft he was our best prospect last year IMO, and he is one of the few that anyone outside the organization thinks is going to become a star.  The only issue is his catcher defense, his bat is very advanced.

Offline joneric

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #3: October 23, 2010, 06:37:20 PM »
His catching showed significant progress from the beginning of the season to the end.  Some parts of catching are not that visible to the untrained eye.  He showed much improvement is calling a game and had many fewer passed balls than the previous year.

He tends to give off a lackadaisical appearance, but don't let that fool you.  His baseball IQ is off the charts.  Still has some maturing, but he will be a star.


Offline Lintyfresh85

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Offline hammondsnats

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #6: December 30, 2010, 02:05:27 PM »
Ha. Yes. He's definitely one of my 'boys'.

 :az:

he's gonna be a stud.

Offline RD

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #7: January 02, 2011, 12:11:55 PM »
I am in the Norris camp as well. I think he's going to be awesome, no matter where he plays. That eye is rare, and as he gets more experience, he'll be even more aggressive on pitches in the zone to maximize his power.


Offline PANatsFan

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #8: January 02, 2011, 12:32:23 PM »
Saw him play short-season, he's legit.

Offline Skinz72

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #9: January 07, 2011, 02:57:55 PM »
If Tyler Moore is legit, I am drooling over the possibility of Norris, Moore and Harper in the lineup.  If RZ is still in DC if/when that happens... it would mean a lot more HR's, more runs, more W's, more butts in seats, more revenue, more A level free agents.  This means potential playoff run and WS possibilities in 3-5 years.  I likes!

Offline hammondsnats

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #10: January 07, 2011, 03:42:16 PM »
If Tyler Moore is legit, I am drooling over the possibility of Norris, Moore and Harper in the lineup.  If RZ is still in DC if/when that happens... it would mean a lot more HR's, more runs, more W's, more butts in seats, more revenue, more A level free agents.  This means potential playoff run and WS possibilities in 3-5 years.  I likes!

where does norris/moore play? 

Offline Lintyfresh85

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #11: January 07, 2011, 03:46:29 PM »
Norris - C - Naitch.
Moore - 1B

Would be pretty cool if we could get a bunch of masher in the lineup at the same time.

Riggs Wall Bangers

Offline d_mc_nabb

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #12: January 07, 2011, 03:47:10 PM »
where does norris/moore play? 

Norris is C, Moore 1B.

If those three panned out, plus RZ and Werth, in 2-3 years we could have a scary lineup. All big ifs, though, and we still need pitching.

Offline houston-nat

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #13: January 07, 2011, 03:50:53 PM »
Well, if Norris pans out at catcher, then in a year's time we can trade Ramos and/or Flores for pitching to complement the Stras-Z one-two punch.

Offline blue911

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #14: January 07, 2011, 03:55:08 PM »
Norris - C - Naitch.
Moore - 1B

Would be pretty cool if we could get a bunch of masher in the lineup at the same time.

Riggs Wall Bangers and Double Switch Phenoms

Fixed

Offline PANatsFan

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #15: January 07, 2011, 03:55:15 PM »
Well, if Norris pans out at catcher, then in a year's time we can trade Ramos and/or Flores for pitching to complement the Stras-Z one-two punch.

1 young catcher is valuable, 3 is insane. Flores is obviously the one to trade if you look at team control and health, but Norris has 6+ years of team control and should be the most valuable trade chip.

Offline blue911

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #16: January 07, 2011, 03:56:33 PM »
1 young catcher is valuable, 3 is insane. Flores is obviously the one to trade if you look at team control and health, but Norris has 6+ years of team control and should be the most valuable trade chip.

Not a great trade market for a Zombie.

Offline PANatsFan

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #17: January 07, 2011, 03:56:58 PM »
Not a great trade market for a Zombie.

Yeah but they might have some of Charleton Heston's blood for this season. Cross your fingers.

Offline hammondsnats

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #18: January 07, 2011, 04:35:55 PM »
Well, if Norris pans out at catcher, then in a year's time we can trade Ramos and/or Flores for pitching to complement the Stras-Z one-two punch.

OUR PROSPECTS ARE TOO VALUABLE TO TRADE!  8)

it's an interesting debate to leave Norris @ catcher or move him to 1B. 

Offline tomterp

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #19: January 07, 2011, 04:42:16 PM »
OUR PROSPECTS ARE TOO VALUABLE TO TRADE!  8)

 :thumbs:




 ;)

Offline houston-nat

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #20: January 07, 2011, 05:25:36 PM »
1 young catcher is valuable, 3 is insane. Flores is obviously the one to trade if you look at team control and health, but Norris has 6+ years of team control and should be the most valuable trade chip.

Norris is also the one with the (fantasy) star ceiling...

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #21: January 21, 2011, 09:52:51 AM »
Buried deep in this article on Hardball Times "Oliver" projections is the highest rating of Norris I've ever seen.  It is based on projected WAR, which values catchers highly, and is based on major league equivalents, so guys closer to the majors probably are rated higher than superstars further away.  Still, pretty amazing to see him higher than Moustakas, Kipnis, Myers, Hosmer, and the like.

Quote
A Kinda, Sorta Prospect List
In terms purely of projected 2011 WAR, here’s your top-10 prospect list:

1. Jesus Montero, C, NYA
2. Robinson Chirinos, C, TBA
3. Derek Norris, C, WAS
4. Andrelton Simmons, SS, ATL
5. Mike Moustakas, 3B, KCA
6. Zack Cozart, SS, CIN
7. Jason Kipnis, 2B, CLE
8. William Myers, C, KCA
9. Matt Young, OF, ATL
10. Zelous Wheeler, SS, MIL

New Minnesota shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka’s projected 3.3 WAR would place him second on this list.



Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #22: January 21, 2011, 10:09:42 AM »
it's an interesting debate to leave Norris @ catcher or move him to 1B. 

how is it interesting, and above average catcher is a horrible first baseman. Leave him where the bat has value, if he's blocked trade him for a position of need (it's not like we don't have plenty). Compare catchers to first baseman in any offensive category, and an average first baseman will look like a great catcher, the only guys where the opposite is true are Mauer and Martinez, and even then they are nowhere near as good offensively as the best first basemen.

Offline Lintyfresh85

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #23: January 21, 2011, 10:13:48 AM »
Norris is a catcher.

Maybe it's herd mentality... but every scout/baseball person that given a report on Norris lately has raved about his progress behind the plate and his massive arm.

Offline JMUalumni

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Re: The Derek Norris Thread
« Reply #24: January 21, 2011, 10:55:27 AM »
Progress is great, but he still has quite a way to go.  His receiving skills are still below par.  Also, he doesn't seem to play the position as fluidly as many other catchers I have seen, there is still too much hesitation in his decisions.  This says nothing of his game calling skills, which I feel I am unable to properly comment on.  The progress is certainly noticeable from last season at Hagerstown where he looked god awful behind the plate in one game I saw him, but I would venture to say his defense is still about 2+ years away from developing into major league average, if ever (his bat is already pretty close).  Unfortunately, catcher is probably the only place he would stick on an ML team (too small for 1B, too slow for OF), so we wait....