Scouting Report on Ryan Harvey

[Bob Sacamento Stats dont lie except def Find all posts View Profile Close Bob Sacamento]

Ryan Harvey
Height: 6-5
Weight: 200 lbs
Position: OF
B/T: R/R
DOB: 08/30/84
Hometown: Clearwater, Florida

2004 Boise (shortseason-A)

He appeared in 58 games, going 61 for 231 with 42 runs, 8 doubles, 14 hrs, 43 rbi, 20 bb, 78 k, 2/4 sb,

.264/.327/.481/.808

2005 Peoria (low-A)

He appeared in 117 games, going 120 for 467 with 71 runs, 30 doubles, 2 triples, 24 hrs, 100 rbi, 24 bb, 137 k, 8/12

sb, .257/.302/.484/.786


On tools alone, Harvey is one of the toolsiest players in all of the minors. The Cubs took the five tool outfielder with the

sixth pick overall of the 2003 draft out of Dunedin High school. The previous draft the Cubs selected high school

teammate and fellow masher Brian Dopirak with the 56th overall pick.

Harvey was predicted to go higher than sixth overall in the draft but due to torn ACL in November and he missed the first

half of his high school baseball season, there were teams that were scared away with drafting him so high. Before his

injury, Harvey was projected to be the first overall pick. But the Cubs weren't scared away and threw 2.4 million at Ryan

for him to forgo his NCAA eligibility and commitment to Florida. In his limited at bats in high school, he hit 4 doubles and

5 hrs in 43 at bats.

In Harvey's only postseason experience, he carried the 2004 Boise Hawks on his shoulders. Many scouts say he only

really starting playing like he can during the playoffs. Hitting 4 homers and driving in 6 runs in the 3 game sweep.


Batting & Power: Harvey's power potential is on another world. He has the ability to slug 40 or more homers in a

season along with knocking 25+ doubles. The only other Cub prospect with near the same power was former high school

teammate Brian Dopirak. Like Dopirak though, Harvey has a huge whole in his swing which leaves him prone to

strikeouts and missing swings on offspeed pitches. Harvey's contact has been marginal throughout his professional career,

and it's likely to hover around .250-.265 or so for the rest of his career, unless he seriously alters his stroke.


Baserunning & Speed: Harvey has amazing speed especially for a guy his size. He's been recovering from his ACL

injury which slowed down the past few years, but this year he was 8 for 12. Expect him to keep that up if not steal a little

bit more. Harvey mostly relies on his natural speed rather than baserunning instincts, hopefully that changes in the near

future.

Defense: Harvey has a cannon of an arm that is definately MLB worthy of a RF. The only problem is Harvey plays an outstanding CF, covering tremendous ground and running good routes. His outfield arm is considered by far the best in the Cubs system. And his defense is also highly regarded, being outranked only by extremely speedy Felix Pie. If the Cubs keep both him and Pie, it will be one of the better two young defensive OF combos in the minors.


Harvey's glaring weakness is his BB/K issues are horrendous, and need much improvement. His contact skills aren’t ideal either.

Biggest Strength: Athletic ability

Harvey is a natural athlete. There are not too many 6'5 230lb guys out there that can run the bases like he can. Nor are there many with his superb arm, great defensive coverage, power potential and leadership skills. Another positive that Harvey has working in his corner are the Cubs conservative ways of promoting high positional players (especially draftee high-schoolers) very gradually since the Corey Patterson debacle.


The rest of the report

[rockin500 Cubs Fan Find all posts View Profile Close rockin500]

that K/BB ratio is not inspiring. unless he corrects that (and the hole in his swing) he wont amount to much in the majors. all of his strengths wont matter if he cant correct that.

[Bob Sacamento Stats dont lie except def Find all posts View Profile Close Bob Sacamento]

that K/BB ratio is not inspiring. unless he corrects that (and the hole in his swing) he wont amount to much in the majors. all of his strengths wont matter if he cant correct that.

I've seen Harvey play a few times in the last couple of years. And he can take a decent fastball or a hanger and just absolutely crush it. But if he gets thrown a crisp breaking ball or a good moving fastball, then it starts to get ugly; his swinging holes just don't allow for it. I hate to say it and I hope I'm wrong, but Harvey's swing and natural abilities for a big man remind me of another 5 tool high school outfielder the Cubs took in the early first round (8th overall), his name was Earl "The Pearl" Cunningham. Earl was a beast, a monster of a man, he looked like he could be a linebacker for the Bears, yet was projected to him 40+ homers in the majors and steal 20+ bags. He dominated the lower leagues with his offensive power but could never make the transition to the higher leagues (AA and AAA) due to his swinging problems.

[E.Banks#14 Hall of Fame is a shame Find all posts View Profile Close E.Banks#14]

I didn't want to start a new thread on this, so I thought I'd put it here. I wanted to ask Bob: what's with the Cubs and High Schoolers from Dunedin, Florida? If I'm not mistaken, Ryan Harvey and Brian Dopirak are from there, as are Jim Hendry and Tim Wilken. Is it just a coincidence, or does Jim have a hometown bias?

[Bob Sacamento Stats dont lie except def Find all posts View Profile Close Bob Sacamento]

I didn't want to start a new thread on this, so I thought I'd put it here. I wanted to ask Bob: what's with the Cubs and High Schoolers from Dunedin, Florida? If I'm not mistaken, Ryan Harvey and Brian Dopirak are from there, as are Jim Hendry and Tim Wilken. Is it just a coincidence, or does Jim have a hometown bias?

It's not a coincidence but it's not really hometown bias either. Dunedin, Florida is a baseball town, the High School alone has had 14 players drafted since 1990 (Harvey the highest). And there are countless other players, coaches, and management men from the area that are in professional baseball.