Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Height/Weight: 6’3”, 225 lbs

Acquired: 4^th round 2010 (San Diego State)

Born:  5/1/89 (Carmichael, CA)

2011 Rank: 13

Why Ranked Here: Vaughn slips 19 spots down the rankings from a year ago because he hit .219 in 63 games in the second half in St. Lucie.  It’s really that simple.  Now, there are two mitigating factors: 1. He might have been hurt and 2. had a very low batting average on balls in play. Vaughn hurt his heel right around the time of his promotion to St. Lucie in what was described as a bruise.  He missed about a week of game action, but the average never came back.  In St. Lucie, his BABIP was .245. Ok, that’s the bad news.

Now, the good news.  He’s a physical specimen at 6’3” and 225 lbs. He stood out from the other a-ballers, with as scouts say, “an MLB body.” He drew walks, 12% in Savannah and almost 10% in St. Lucie.  He’s a hard worker who gets into the clubhouse first everyday. He was hit by 19 pitches between the two levels, buttressing his on-base totals and it turns out getting plunked is a repeatable skill. Even while his batting average dipped, he hit nine home runs in St. Lucie in just 63 games.

Vaughn played 10 games in centerfield in Savannah, and just one for St. Lucie.  He just doesn’t have the pure speed and range for the position.  In the outfield, he has enough arm for right.  He did not have much success stealing bases; he was just 10-for-18 between the two a-ball levels.

Mets fans just have to hope that his heel problem was worse than he admitted. However, if he was healthy enough to play, a top prospect needs to hit better than .219 in advanced-a as a 21-year old.

2011: Vaughn graduated from Savannah at the All-Star Break after hitting .286/.405/.408 for Savannah.  He then hit .219/.310/.395 in 63 games for St. Lucie in the second half.  There are things in both of those lines that should be concerning.  In Savannah, it was the lack of power. Historic Grayson Stadium is an extremely difficult place to hit home runs. However, it’s not just the home runs that he missed. His extra-base hit percentage plummeted to 6.7% from 10.5% in Brooklyn.  Also, he just didn’t seem to drive the ball with very much authority. Nor did he seem to do much damage against quality fastballs.

In St. Lucie, obviously the concern was his .219 batting average. However, across both levels, he hit a combined .255/.363/.402 with a .315 BABIP.  He aspires to join a group, MLB right fielders, who averaged .269/.341/.441 in 2011.

He struck out over 20% of the time between both levels.

Dr. Pangloss Says: Everyday rightfielder, but I don’t see star potential anymore.

Debbie Downer Says: He doesn’t hit for a high enough average to hold a big league job.

Projected 2012 Start: St. Lucie

MLB Arrival: 2014

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