Stephen Drew, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks

July 19, 2006 @ 16:00:00

By Joshua Ellis
Edited by Ryan Dodson

When Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Craig Counsell (broken rib) went on the disabled list, there wasn't much debate on who the team should bring up to replace him - shortstop Stephen Drew. The younger brother of both Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder J.D. Drew and former Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Tim Drew, Stephen Drew has a legacy of productive baseball to live up to. Taken in the 11th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2001, Drew decided to attend Florida State until 2004 when the Arizona Diamondbacks made him the 15th pick overall and signed him to a five-year, $5.5 million deal. The amount of money the Diamondbacks invested made a stamp on Drew that said: this is the future of our club.

Drew was a star at Florida State, where he played for two seasons. In his freshman year, Drew was named College Freshman of the Year and was selected to the Freshman All-American First Team. He appeared in 46 games and recorded a .402 batting average, 16 home runs, an on-base percentage of .457 and 13 stolen bases. In his sophomore season, Drew was also impressive. He appeared in 57 games while recording a .344 batting average, 17 home runs, an on-base percentage of .458 and 12 stolen bases. He was named a Third Team All-American, and the potential for his career was infinite.

After being selected by the Diamondbacks, contract problems arose just as they had for his brother J.D. under the watchful eye of super-agent Scott Boras. Stephen Drew signed on to play for the Camden Riversharks of the Independent Atlantic League, where he led the team with a .427 batting average and a .744 slugging percentage. Things finally settled though, and he signed with the Diamondbacks in 2005. Drew began his career for the Lancaster JetHawks in high Single-A. He hit .389 while slugging 10 home runs in just 38 games. He was promoted during that season to Double-A Tennessee where he played in 27 games and finally showed signs of fatigue as he struggled. Drew hit just .218 with four home runs in the remainder of their season.

Despite the slow end to 2005 for Drew, he was promoted to Triple-A Tucson for the beginning of this season. He played 83 games this year for Tucson where he hit .284 with 13 home runs, an on-base percentage of .340 and just three stolen bases. Drew also recorded 51 RBI and 55 runs scored. In just two years, Drew was able to scale the entire Diamondbacks farm system and exit to the major leagues before equally highly touted outfielder Carlos Quentin.

Quentin was a first-round draft pick in 2003 that should make his major league debut in the near future. Fantasy owners, especially keeper leagues, will want to keep an eye on Quentin if the Diamondbacks ship outfielder Shawn Green in a deadline deal. His minor league batting average is over .310, and he has shown a good deal of pop in his bat with 52 home runs in 343 games. His numbers rival those of Drew so it's necessary to mention him in greater detail when Diamondbacks prospects are the topic.

Drew however, was called up and made his debut on July 15th against the Milwaukee Brewers of whom Anthony Gwynn Jr. made his debut the same night for the Brewers. He has since played two more games, one against his brother J.D. and has struggled in his transition.

Stephen Drew has excelled at every level of baseball he has ever played in, so it is likely just a matter of time before he begins to hit. Drew has been a good hitter for average in his time in the minors and in college and has also hit for power. Once he gets situated in the major leagues he is likely to become more comfortable at the plate and his numbers should begin to look like his stats in the minors. This may take some time so fantasy owners in NL-only and mixed-leagues may want to pick Drew up and sit him on your bench for a week until his numbers start to get better, and keeper leagues will definitely want to pick this young stud up for his value for years to come. As for his numbers this year, if Drew begins to excel at the plate, he will retain the starting job when Counsell comes back off the disabled list. 

Drew has hit in the eighth position twice and the seventh spot once. This means his run total will be slow to accumulate until he begins to hit and is moved up in the order. His RBI numbers should also be a little low at the beginning as he is hitting behind second baseman Orlando Hudson whom is struggling this season. If Drew moves up behind the likes of Green and catcher Johnny Estrada, he will have more of an opportunity to drive in runs. Drew has some speed, but he isn't going to wow you with stolen base numbers. He was successful in his only stolen base attempt in the majors but in the minor leagues, Drew was just 6-for-13 in stolen base attempts. Finally, in the field Drew is a potential Gold Glove winner. Although he had 15 errors in 83 games this season for the Tucson Sidewinders, Drew made two magnificent plays in the field on July 17, which warranted praise from Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin in a post-game press conference.

Overall, Drew looks like a very solid young prospect at the shortstop position. He has excelled at every level of baseball he has competed at, and he has a family history of success in the major leagues. His game can be compared to that of Texas Rangers shortstop Michael Young. Young is the quintessential young shortstop in the major leagues. It took him two years to become the player we know him as today with a high average and a threat at 20 home runs, but it took him two years of hitting under .265 to finally realize his true potential. I'm not saying it is going to take Drew two years to become a good hitter, but it may take a little time this season before he gets it going. Injuries have been a problem for both of his brothers in their major league careers, but there has been no indication that Stephen will suffer from the same ill fate his brothers have. If Drew is available in your league, pick him up, especially in keeper leagues, and don't be surprised if he doesn't hit .300 right away. Once he gets used to major league pitching and once he moves up in the Diamondbacks order, he will be an asset to your fantasy team, and he will help the statistics of the other Diamondbacks players that hit around him in the order.  

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Joshua Ellis
Joshua has been a KFFL contributor since 2006.

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