Zach Granite

[Shane Wahl]

Zach Granite
DOB: 9-17-92 in Staten Island, NY
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 175
Position: CF/LF
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Acquired: Selected by Twins in 14th round of the 2013 draft out of Seton Hall University

 

2014 statistics:

(CDR and GCL, but only listing CDR)

 

85 PA, .291/.321/.367, two doubles, two triples, four walks, eight strikeouts, one steal, and four times caught stealing.

 

2015 statistics:

 

CDR: 83 PA, .358/.463/.463, five doubles, one triple, 12 walks, six strikeouts, seven steals, and one time caught stealing.

 

His dominance at A ball earned him a promotion to A+ where he has just four plate appearances.

 

Granite's play reminds me a bit of a lighter version of Nate Roberts. Unfortunately, that also meant injury last year. Granite is a strong leadoff type who can play the OF very well.

 

2015 prediction: 

 

Granite sticks in Fort Myers and finds moderate success. .280/.335/.385 with a first professional home run and a total of 16 steals. Could end up with 30+ doubles. 

[Shane Wahl]

Ulgh, insomnia got the best of me. Can one of you moderators add "-- 2015" after his name. Thank you!

[Seth Stohs]

Zach Granite hit the first home run of his professional career last night for Ft. Myers.

[Shane Wahl]

It took him just a few games to seem at home at the top of that lineup too. 

[Mike Sixel]

He clearly has an ability to hit the ball. Will be interesting to see how far he can go.

[Shane Wahl]

In 63 PA at Fort Myers:

 

.333/.413/.407 (.820), one double, one homer, six walks, 10 strikeouts, five steals, and two times caught stealing.

 

He has 12 steals total this season and still has more walks (18) than whiffs (16).

 

Overall, he is having as impressive of a season as any other batter in the Twins system.

[Shane Wahl]

Granite has now slumped his way to:

 

113 PA, .273/.348/.323, two doubles, one homer, 10 walks, 18 strikeouts, six steals, and four times caught stealing.

 

The pitching in Fort Myers caught up to him, but he is slumping now. Look for him to level out the rest of the way and get that OPS to about .730 in high-A ball for the year.

[Shane Wahl]

His offensive production has now leveled off and he is posting a .664 OPS right now. The slugging hasn't come at all with the move to Fort Myers, so I think it will just take a bit of time.

[Shane Wahl]

.649 OPS vs. RH and .872 OPS vs. LH. Granite bats left-handed . . .

 

It is slow going at Fort Myers for him, but he is learning and hopefully he will keep progressing and emerge as a top 25 prospect for the Twins by next year.

[Shane Wahl]

Continues to be a struggle for Granite (though this is true of everyone, pretty much, on the Fort Myers roster this year). Seems to be handling CF well, though. He still is two months from 23, so no worries here yet.

[Mike Sixel]

I have some hope still......

[Shane Wahl]

The .620 OPS is not good, obviously, but the time in A+ is still valuable. He could still do well in 2016 and end up finishing next season in AA.

[Shane Wahl]

Fun fact: the left-handed hitting Granite has a .621 OPS against righties and a .788 OPS against lefties this year.

[Shane Wahl]

OPS continues to drop. .604 right now.

 

I honestly am chalking some of this up to fatigue. 101 plate appearances in 2014, followed by 507 so far this year.

[Shane Wahl]

My prediction:

 

".280/.335/.385 with a first professional home run and a total of 16 steals. Could end up with 30+ doubles."

 

Reality:

 

.266/.349/.328, one homer, 15 doubles, and 28 steals.

 

Granite struggled at Fort Myers, and became a singles-hitter. I was way off about the doubles, but he did keep stealing bases. 

 

2016 forecast: Fort Myers is where he should be for the entire season, and I bet he does improve significantly.