He’s the other Josh, the Cubs took in the 2007 draft. Thanks to the Dodgers signing Juan Pierre early, the Cubs were awarded a sandwich pick, the 48th overall selection. The Cubs have a poor history of drafting and developing catchers, but the recently converted Donaldson looks like the real deal. This year he absolutely destroyed Boise (Short A) with his bat and has looked good behind the plate. For more details read on.
Donaldson was that guy from high school who starred at every sport, in this case football, basketball, and baseball. In a smart manuever he decided to play baseball where his athleticism divided him from many of his peers. During high school, he mainly played shortstop and pitcher due to his very strong arm. Early on, he signed with Auburn to play baseball instead of accepting one of many other scholarships among the nation’s finest to play football.
In 2005, his first year of college at Auburn, he played third base, where his bat started to shine. It wasn’t until that summer between his freshman and sophomore year that he started playing catcher splitting time in the highly scouted and respected Cape Cod League League. Immediately, it boosted Donaldson’s value and he starting playing catcher on the NCAA level splitting time in 2006 between thirdbase and catcher for Auburn. His bat still produced while getting acquainted behind the dish.
In 2006, Donaldson started to come into his own behind the plate, playing in 36 games behind the plate and 20 at 3B during NCAA play. While catching, he threw out 15 of 38 baserunners and picking off 7 runners which broke a 10 year Auburn record yet had 16 passed balls. All while providing a huge power stick for the Tigers, leading the team in homeruns and finishing second in much of the other offensive categories. In the Cape Cod, Donaldson was selected as an allstar catcher while posting very impressive offensive stats and started to show plate discipline.
This year for Auburn, he caught 12 of 31 baserunners with 6 passed balls. A thumb injury to his throwing hand limited his action behind the plate. Still he never missed a game going back to his freshman season as he logged time again at third. His bat skills continued to improve, leading the team in average, hits, runs, doubles, RBIs, and walks as well as finishing second in homeruns and slugging. As a junior, Josh also got the greenlight on the basepaths as he went 17 for 20 (second most on the team), when he was just 1 for 2 in SBA going into the year.
Donaldson’s offensive abilities were always going to get him drafted but by finding a niche at catcher, he sailed up the draft list. The only catcher in the 2007 draft that was consensusly better than Josh was Matt Wieters (Georgia Tech), while Donaldson was on the same level as J.P Arechiba (Tennessee), and Mitch Canham (Oregon State). Of the college catchers drafted, Donaldson was easily the most athletically gifted and still the most questionable to stay at the position longterm. Yet the Cubs scouting system, headed by Tim Wilken, felt he could stay behind the plate with hard work and repetition so we took him over two time (2006 and 2007) College World Series winning catcher Mitch Canham.
In Donaldson’s first minor league season, he showcased offensively why he’s such a threat. If it wasn’t for his inexperience behind the dish, Josh’s bat warranted at least a Low A look. Donaldson started the year off in Rookie ball where his numbers were not outstanding nevertheless (.182/.308/.364/.672 in 2/11 at bats) he displayed impressive offensive abilities and earned a promotion to the Boise Hawks (Short Season A ball) after just a couple of ballgames for the Arizona Cubs. When at Boise everything just seemed to start clicking for him. He led the league in OBP (.470) and SLG (.607) while hitting .346 in 162 at bats. But defensively, Donaldson showed that he is a work in progress as he threw out 40% of would be basestealers but allowed 11 passed balls in just 42 games.
Batting: Like I said before Donaldson is an offense first type hitter, he’s very aggressive at the plate. Thus far he has not waited for the pitcher to establish his zone, as Josh swings early and often in counts. When he sees a fastball, Donaldson jumps all over it but has had problems already when pitchers thrown him decent or better breaking balls. Josh has quick wrists and excellent bat speed that helps him destroy fastballs, but the further he climbs up the ladder the better offspeed pitches he’ll face. He has a “hitch” in his swing, in that he’s off-balanced with a heavy front step; the organization feels they can modify it without disrupting his stroke. Donaldson’s approach right now is completely centered around hitting the fastball early in the count. In the future, making the transition from leagues (especially from High A to AA) likely won’t be as jelled as it was this season unless he starts seeing/hitting breaking balls better. With work on altering his swing, Wilken thinks Donaldson will adjust to pitches other than fastballs by speeding up his bat time.
Power: Perhaps the most attractive part of Donaldson’s game is his huge power potential. When Josh gets a fastball on the inner half, he can quickly turn on it and take it out. So far in his career, there’s not a fastball that he’s not been able to handle. Donaldson squares up nicely on them no matter how fast or the sink, he’s able to time and judge it’s trajectory after only a few pitches. Not only does Donaldson pull the ball well but he sprays the ball all around the field, taking what he’s given. Donaldson’s ability to hit gappers and longballs makes him a threat to become a MLBer no matter if he stays behind the plate.
Speed: He has good speed and basestealing technique especially for a catcher. Yet, the longer he catches and hits in the middle of the order, the less likely he’ll be a factor on the bases. Still Donaldson is a smart runner and not a liability on the paths which is always a plus for a player with his offensive skill set.
Defense: Part of the reason why Donaldson was drafted in the supplemental round and not as a legit first rounder was due to questions about his future as a catcher. Of course, part of the reason why Donaldson was drafted in the supplemental round and not as a second or third rounder was due to teams believing in his future as a catcher. Donaldson has very minimal experience behind the plate but many scouts believe he has the athletic ability to make it the bigs as a receiver. While his arm strength and accuracy are his best defensive features, he still has problems with his footwork behind the plate which will catch up with him in higher levels unless he works on soon. In addition to his footwork needing help, Donaldson is below the curve in blocking breaking balls in the dirt as well as his game calling. Still, Wilken and the majority of his scouts believe Josh can adapt to life as a catcher, and will take it if Donaldson is just an average defensive catcher with a potent bat.
MLB Comparision: Michael Barrett
There are a few minor league catchers that I equate with Donaldson, namely the Rangers’ Taylor Teagarden (whom the Cubs’ drafted in the 22nd Rd in 2002 out of HS before Texas took him as the 99th overall in 2005) and the Mariners’ Jeff Clement (3rd overall pick in 2005), but the most comparable Major Leaguer to Josh is former Cub Michael Barrett (28th overall in 1995 by Expos). When Barrett was drafted out of high school by the Expos’ he was mostly a SS but he didn’t have the footwork to stay there so he started playing C where his strong arm would still be a factor. Like Donaldson, in Mike’s first season as a catcher (1996 in the Low A Sally League), the 19 year old Barrett was a real greenhorn making 14 errors and 17 passed balls. The Expos had patience with Mike and he was given more chances due to his advanced bat with sometime at 3B. The same goes for Josh, he has an excellent bat, whether or not he’ll stay behind the plate is to be seen but with his work ethic and athletic gifts the Cubs will give him all the opportunities possible. If need be, he can be moved to the the corner spots in the infield and outfield. Like Barrett, he’s value is at catcher taking advantage of the power and uncanny ability to take pitches to the opposite field.
Bob’s Take: Going into the 2007 draft, it was no secret that the Cubs were looking at taking a catcher early in the draft. When Josh was drafted, I wasn’t sold on the pick at all. Personally, I thought it was a little of a stretch, as I preferred Oregon State’s Mitch Canham, probably because I’ve seen him play quite a few times but also for his back-to-back championship seasons that he helped OSU. Donaldson signed relatively early (for slot money at 625,500) and got in almost a full season at Boise. Josh’s bat was going to get him taken in the first three rounds but being a catcher from an organization like Auburn propelled him even further. The Cubs’ Scouting Director Tim Wilken believes Donaldson can run the gauntlet as a catcher and Wilken’s prior assessments have great track records so I’m going to side with him for the time being. If Josh can’t stay behind the plate, he’s got all the facets to be at the bare minimum a spot starter/bench player and the makings of a top offensive catcher. The next two years will lay the foundation for Donaldson but next year’s full season will be a window into the future. Donaldson still needs to work on adjusting to better offspeed pitches as well as advance defensively or else he could be in danger of repeating a league.
Up next, the Cubs’ third round selection, Florida State’s Tony Thomas. Thomas was the runner up in most college awards to the first overall selection, lefty David Price.
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5 Responses to “Scouting Report on Josh Donaldson”
ackidom4 says:
It should be interesting to see how Donaldson does this year against better competition. If he does well they will have a good problem in that they will have two young catchers in Soto and Donaldson. If that comes to be i could see one of them eventually moving to the outfield or a corner infield spot. Im just wondering if that is what may happen if they both develop into everyday major leaguers? Or of course one of them could be used as trade bait but it is nice to see that the Cubs are becoming more committed to their farm system and hopefully in 2-3 years we see the results of that.
For the majority of college catchering prospects, yes blocking skills are difficult to improve upon in the afterlife. They deal with a more diverse background of pitchers, pitchers who have bigger breaking balls, in addition to trying to hit and keep their roster spot. Usually, it was a problem of theirs in college for a reason. Whether it was being too large, poor mobility, or the biggest problem getting poor reads off balls in the dirt.
Donaldson doesn’t really have any of those problems. What hinders him behind the plate is a lack of experience in situations. With more playing time, he’ll get acquinted with his daily catching duties. It’s also a reason why Donaldson won’t likely see a dramatic climb up the ladder. Defense before offense even if he’s killing the ball.
What will be interesting to see is how Josh takes to a full season of catching duties in 2008. He’s going to make plenty of mistakes and the more he tries to improve his defensive problems the more likely his offensive game is to diminish, that’s the norm. Go ask Jake Fox on that one.
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