by Nes Lessman
We're not in Rule 5 Season yet, but your fearless, award-winning farm reporter is ready to help those of you dying for Yellow Springs Nine coverage with key content about important decisions relating to the Nine Minor Leagues.
First up is what to do with Talib bin Jawad, whom the Nine picked in last year's Rule 5 Draft, then trading for him after it was clear he couldn't handle BBA pitching yet. I said at the time it was a reach and I was of course, absolutely correct.
I'll start with why they liked him. Put simply, it's his power. He's only 22 and while the power hasn't fully developed yet, the scouts I spoke to who suggested they take a look at him in the Rule 5 raved about the home runs they saw in batting practice.
Of course, that's the problem. It's mostly been in batting practice. He's only got 14 career home runs in 449 at bats. Which isn't bad, but not what would make him useful as a major league catcher, given his batting average is just .209 and he's a career negative ZR at catcher, albeit with a CERA of 3.86 and a framing of 1.6.
He has plenty of time to develop into his power and improve his work at the plate generally, but if I were GM Rob McMonigal, I'd be concerned about reports that my colleague Erwin Wardman received from the highest levels possible on the major league team (not saying it's Bill Inkster but also not not saying it was Inkster) and also in Cat Island that bin Jawad dogs it a bit too often.
The question now is what should the Nine do with him? He didn't exactly light things up in Short A. He batted .299 with 4 home runs and a .8 WAR which isn't great and might mean being able to get him through the R5 again this year. There's also his infamous .100 batting average for the Nine, which should give anyone pause. The Nine have a fair number of people who need consideration at the higher levels in my expert estimation, so it would be great for them not to have to start his clock now.
On the other hand, he's got that amazing swing, when it works, and a team like Brooklyn with nothing to lose might let him be horrible for them for a year at a minimum salary. But maybe not. Depends on what kind of team they're trying to put together. I don't see any other team being a real factor here, he's just too raw.
If bin Jawad had played a little bit better, this would be an easy call for McMonigal. But instead it's one of those times where he's going to have to go with his gut, and right now, I'm sure it's not feeling great either way. If they do retain him, and especially if they put him on the 40 man, they have got to get him around people who will show him the value of trying harder. He's quite talented, but the window for making that talent into something is closing fairly fast.
One thing McMonigal can feel good about is who they traded away: Enrique Lopez. Nothing against the young man, who was drafted in the 17th round in 2061, but he only hit .226 in Rookie ball last year for Austin. He looks to be an okay defender but his potential is less than bin Jawad in my opinion. Even if bin Jawad is lost in the draft or doesn't pan out, unlike many of his other trades, McMonigal lost nothing here.
I'll have to think on this one a bit before I gave my advice to the team, not that they'd ask me. I did try to get some insight from McMonigal, but he declined comment, citing competition concerns. However, an anonymous source in the office told me that they're likely to take the chance, given how raw bin Jawad still is. A lot may depend on who is out there in the draft this year, how many players they want to protect, and if they get any new scouting reports on bin Jawad between now and then.
That makes this a minor matter story to watch and I, Nes Lessman, will be there for you to tell you all about it as it happens.
