Since this is the mid-season write-up, it's just a quick overview of the player. When we get to the preseason re ranking in the offseason, they'll be a lot more involved.
All stats are current as of 8/4/2019.
All write-ups were published during all-star week.
Prospect #34: OF Scott Hurst
Springfield Cardinals
Drafted in the 3rd round of the 2017 draft
Age 23
Another prospect, another down 2019 season.
Hurst started the 2019 with an aggressive, but deserved and earned in spring training, promotion to Springfield. It didn't go well for Hurst, and he was often over-matched in the box. He was doing well to get on base via walk, but he was also striking out 26+% of the time. Two of the things that make Hurst such an intriguing prospect have always been his ability to make contact, and his ability to hit to all fields. So, when Hurst began striking out more, while getting a little more pull-happy, things didn't seem to work out well for him.
While 2019 has been a disappointing year at the plate for Hurst, he's still doing very well in the outfield. Between his ability to draw a walk and his capabilities in center field, Hurst still profiles as a very good 4th outfielder-type if a little course-correcting happens in 2019.
Other than that, there isn't much to say in regards to Hurst. It's been a disappointing season, and I'm sure that no one is taking it harder than he is. There's still plenty of time for him to turn it around. At least his ability to draw a walk hasn't tanked. He's still the most like Jon Jay in the organization, and I fully expect him to figure it out moving forward. He's a smart kid with a natural ability to play the sport. I believe that he just needs to get back to playing "his" game instead of trying to out-think "the" game. He's too natural of a hitter to continue to struggle like he has in 2019.
Ultimately, I had a decision to make on this countdown. I could either add the hot-hitting Justin Toerner to it, or continue to ride with Hurst. While Toerner has become a prospect of the moment, or a player that everyone wants to know more about, I decided to stick with Hurst because I view his skill-set as more translate-able as he continues to climb the ladder.
UPDATE:
I was tempted to move Hurst out of the Dirty Thirty-Five. As you'll notice from our updated list, Toerner has found his way on to the list, and he's five spots ahead of Hurst. I thought about replacing Hurst with infielder Brendan Donovan, but ultimately decided against it.
Hurst looks terribly off-balance at the plate. He's lunging for everything, and his weight-transfer is all off. He's basically just slapping and falling at pitches, while swinging out of the box. He needs to rediscover his balance in the box, and he needs to do it soon.
Thanks to Fangraph for the stats!
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