Surprising Prospects

[StorminZ]

As IRL, it is always nice to see that late round draft pick who would do well to make it as batboy let alone a player work hard and move his way up the ladder. I have one such story.

Zachariah Pennebaker LF: Drafted 7th round, 210 in 2004 (He was the only player left ... literally).

The general outlook for Zach was a life destined in the minors ... if he even could last that long. Aside some speed on the base paths, he had average range in LF and an average arm, but at the plate ... well, I've seen pitchers with better batting ratings (OK, not quite ... but you get the picture). We'd give the kid a chance to fulfill a dream ... at least he made it to A ball which is far more than 1000s of kids would ever achieve despite dreams of being in the Big Leagues.

Well, Zach lasted that first year and responded well to his coach. While his bat was slow, his range jumped and he became a threat on the base paths. We knew that if his batting could be improved, he might make it to AA. Thus, the focus for Zach was to work on his swing and with a change in our A manager, he found himself improving at the dish. In two years, Zach had made it to AA ball ... almost against all odds. The question remained, "Is AA the end of the line for his ball career?".

Well, Zach -- with further grooming further advanced his contact rating. He's not a power hitter by any means, but has become a steady hitter with a good eye. As a leadoff hitter, that makes Zach a real threat. And his fielding continued to improve to the point he took on learning RF. This is a young guy ... now at the age of 23 ... who doesn't know the meaning of quitting. In fact, his AA coach finds that given Zach's journey, he's even developed good leadership tendencies.

Well in 2008, Zach has made it to AAA. Talk about a dream come true. While the franchise has an abundance of quality OF, Zach is putting together a pretty good case for himself. He'll never knock out more than 10 HR, but he's a likely threat for 50+ SB and will cut off doubles turning them into singles or throwing guys out if they challenge his arm. What happened to the guy who was more or less leftovers in 2004? He dreamed a dream ... worked hard at it ... kept faith in himself ... and with some continued development, he may find himself in the Bigs next season (or maybe this season as a September call up).

I don't know why I paid attention to this guy, maybe its the name ... Zachariah Pennebaker ... but it's been a treat to see this guy develop and come out of nowhere. A pleasant surprise ... even if he only gets a few games in at the Major level. Given how many guys get drafted with "prospect" behind their name and never see the light of day beyond A or even AA, Zach is a testament that believing in yourself and hard work will get you places.

Someday I can see there being a team award called the Pennebaker ... perseverance and dedication and a consumate team player ... at any level.

So, what's your story? I'd like to hear about it!

StorminZ

[Dxgarnett]

Awesome Story!!! Any updates? I'd be glad to hear how he did in the majors, since I'm sure he made it there, even if it was only 1 AB.

Chris

[mikeb]

I picked up a guy with good power ratings in my 8th round, he spent 2 years in the minors with out hitting a single, he was just under .100 but hit 36 homers and 4 2bs. Next year in AA he realy stept up hitting a carrer high .204 with 38 homers and 7 singles. I improved his contact at the next spring training getting his contact up to 3. He is now a bench player in my major league team with a slugging % of nearly 3.000!

Mike

[Honolulu Blue]

Originally posted by StorminZ
As IRL, it is always nice to see that late round draft pick who would do well to make it as batboy let alone a player work hard and move his way up the ladder. I have one such story.

Zachariah Pennebaker LF: Drafted 7th round, 210 in 2004 (He was the only player left ... literally).

Great job, StorminZ! That was a nice story. Please keep us posted on his progress.

You inspired me to take a look at my Hall of Fame to see if I could find any similar players. I did, kinda sort of.

Lemuel Allen was the 83rd pick (3rd round) of the 2004 draft. Normally all the starting pitchers are gone by then (I use a 5 round draft), but he was still hanging around, waiting for the call. Granted, the '04 draft was very deep - there are six other HOFers from that draft - but he probably had to grow a lot to make it to the majors.

And make it he did, of course. He got a cup of coffee in 2007, an extended trial in '08, and was in the majors to stay in '09. His last major league game was in 2022, he spent the next year in the minors, and then retired.

His career record:

<pre>
G W L S CG SHO IP HA ER BB K ERA
472 218 133 0 128 31 3493.0 3250 1140 571 1969 2.94

</pre>

I inducted him manually because I thought he was worthy. He made 5 All-Star
teams and won a pair of Clemens Awards.

Not quite the same story as Zachariah, but I thought I would share it anyway.