James Loney Stats & Scouting Report

AB	5023
AVG	.284
OBP	.336
SLG	.41
HR	108

Full name James Anthony Loney
Born 05/07/1984 in Houston, TX
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 235 / Bats: L / Throws: L
School Elkins
Debut 04/04/2006
Drafted in the 1st round (19th overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2002 (signed for $1,500,000).

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Loney made a name for himself by eliminating Houston Bellaire in the state playoffs in both 2000 and 2001, and he has surpassed Wardell Starling, his more heralded teammate. The pair has led Elkins High to a 30-1 record and a No. 1 national ranking in the Baseball America/National High School Baseball Coaches Association Top 25. Loney also plays first base and has power in his bat, but most teams prefer him as a big, strong lefthander. He gets good arm-side run on an 88-93 mph fastball, and his breaking ball and changeup give him the chance to have three plus pitches. As his velocity increased this spring, Loney's command wasn't as good as usual, and he faltered a little down the stretch, taking Elkins' first loss. Following in the footsteps of former Elkins star Kip Wells (a 1998 White Sox first-round pick), Loney has committed to Baylor. At 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds and still growing, the Bears see him as the next Jason Jennings (a 1999 Rockies first-round pick) if he comes to school.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Loney was a two-way star on the Elkins High (Missouri City, Texas) team that won the 2002 national championship. When Nomar Gaciaparra began 2006 on the disabled list, Loney made his major league debut, singling off John Smoltz for his first hit. He also had a nine-RBI game at Colorado in September and went 3-for-4 in his lone postseason start. In between, he led the minors in hitting. Loney has an advanced feel for hitting and makes consistent hard contact. He has above-average bat speed and uses his hands well, allowing the barrel to remain in the hitting zone for an extended period. He uses all fields and exhibits plate discipline. He's a well above-average first baseman with supple hands and a plus arm, and he saw some time in the outfield in 2006. He's a hard worker with strong makeup. Loney's 12 home runs in 2006 were a career high, and there's a wide range of opinion regarding his long-term power production. His swing path is fairly flat, and he could be more of a high-average doubles hitter in the mold of Mark Grace. He's a below-average runner. Los Angeles re-signed Garciaparra and he'll receive most of the playing time at first base. Loney should make the Dodgers as a backup and could see spot duty in right field in an effort to get his bat into the lineup.
Following three seasons marred by wrist and finger injuries, Loney finally stayed healthy in 2005, leading the Southern League in games. But he hit just 11 homers, and scouts continue to wonder if he'll have enough power to be a regular first baseman in the big leagues. That's really the only question about his game. Loney has a good feel for the strike zone, patience, excellent hand-eye coordination and the willingness to uses the entire field. He shows raw power in batting practice, enough for his boosters to project that he'll eventually hit 25 homers on an annual basis, but it has yet to translate in games. Loney's swing gets long at times and he has a tendency to collapse his back side. If the power doesn't come, he could be a Mark Grace type, hitting for high average and playing Gold Glove defense at first base. Loney is athletic for his position, and as a two-way star in high school--he led Elkins High in suburban Houston to the 2002 national title--he drew more interest from pro clubs as a lefthanded pitcher. He has exceptional hands, plus arm strength and average range. He doesn't have a lot of speed but compensates with good instincts on the basepaths. Moving up to Triple-A in 2006, Loney will play in a Las Vegas ballpark conducive to homers.
After batting .343 with five doubles in 35 at-bats in big league camp last spring, Loney appeared ready to blast off. But he fractured the tip of the middle finger on his left hand and developed an infection in the finger, costing him three weeks and hampering his production afterward. Loney did bat .314 in the Arizona Fall League and remains one of the game's most promising first-base prospects. Loney makes hard, line-drive contact and projects to hit for a high average. He stays inside the ball well, and his swing path allows the bat head to stay in the zone for an extended time. His defense is major league quality already. He's smooth and fluid with exceptionally soft hands and a well above-average arm. Scouts have wondered when Loney's power is going to come--he has a .407 slugging percentage as a pro--and some have suggested his swing path might not be conducive for big-time home run production. He has below-average speed, though he runs the bases well. Since Loney reached high Class A Vero Beach at age 18, hand-related injuries have kept him from peak performance. He needs another full year and a healthy one before contending for a job in Los Angeles in 2006. He'll probably start this year in Double-A.
Loney led Elkins High to a national championship in 2002 as a twoway star. The Dodgers went against the consensus in drafting him as a first baseman, not a lefthander. He reached high Class A in his debut season before a pitch broke his left wrist. He struggled early in 2003 before regaining strength in his wrist. A disciplined hitter with good pitch recognition and a classic lefthanded stroke that recalls Mark Grace, Loney sprays line drives to all fields and has power to the alleys. He's still growing and projects to hit 30 homers annually. Defensively, he works well around the bag and his arm is as good as it gets at first base. His instincts and makeup are off the charts. Since his hand injury, Loney tends to pull off pitches and collapse his back side on occasion. This also might be a result of trying to hit for more power, instead of letting it come naturally. He has below-average speed but is a smart baserunner. The Dodgers have been aggressive with Loney. He might be best off with a season each in Double-A and Triple-A before he breaks into the majors.
Loney's name jumped up the follow lists of Houston area scouts last spring. Most teams were enticed by his left arm and projected him as a supplemental first- to second-rounder as a pitcher. The Dodgers, however, grabbed Loney as a first baseman with the 19th pick. After passing up a Baylor scholarship to sign for $1.5 million, he tore up the Rookie-level Pioneer League, where managers rated him the No. 1 prospect. He had no trouble making a late-season jump to high Class A Vero Beach. The only glitch came when he was hit by a pitch that broke his left wrist. That nixed plans to send him to the Arizona Fall League. Demonstrating his passion for the game, Loney was back swinging a bat with one hand within two weeks. He won a gold medal with the U.S. 16-and-under team at the 2000 Pan American Youth Games and the national high school title with Elkins High last spring. Loney was a high school All-American, batting .509-8-58 and going 12-1, 1.51 with 120 strikeouts in 69 innings. He got plenty of exposure playing for the best team in the country and in the same region as fellow first-rounders Clint Everts (Expos) and Scott Kazmir (Mets) of Cypress Falls High. Against Everts in a scrimmage, Loney drilled a 93 mph fastball out of the park to the opposite field. Loney has outstanding bat control, and his picturesque lefthanded stroke reminds scouts of Shawn Green. He uses a pronounced leg lift as a timing mechanism, drawing comparisons to David Justice. Loney stays inside the ball well and his swing path keeps the bat head in the zone for a long time. He has grown four inches since his junior year, and projects to hit 35-plus home runs in the majors. He generates natural loft and raw power already. He's also a future Gold Glover as a first baseman. His instincts for the position make up for average range, and his soft hands will help save wild throws. On the mound, he reached 93 mph. Some scouts worried about Loney's durability as a position player because he had arthroscopic knee surgery after his junior season. His injury last year was a freak occurrence, but any time the wrist is involved, there are concerns about how it will affect his swing mechanics. Loney is an aggressive baserunner but will have below-average speed as he fills out. Loney jumped on the fast track and only injury can slow him. He could beat out Kazmir as the first high schooler from the 2002 draft to reach the majors. He'll play first at high Class A this year--if the Dodgers can resist promoting him.

Minor League Top Prospects

Loney pushed aside incumbent big league first baseman Nomar Garciaparra in June, and outplayed the veteran down the stretch. While scouts have often been split on his ultimate offensive value as a first baseman, Loney has done nothing but hit at the big league level. A strong and smart player, Loney has a level swing plane and average bat speed, two traits that suggest plenty of singles and doubles, but below-average home run power. However, when Loney guesses right, he can turn on the inside fastball and crush it. He can be overly conscious of being jammed sometimes, settling for opposite-field hits when he could drive the ball. Though he is a below-average runner, Loney has great defensive reactions at first base and a plus throwing arm, a vestige of his pitching days in high school.
After three lackluster full seasons in the minors, Loney finally produced like the Dodgers believed he could when they made him a first-round pick in 2002. Several PCL observers believed Loney's swing was the best in the league this year, and he used it to lead the minors with a .380 batting average. He also had a nine-RBI game at Colorado in September and went 3-for-4 in his lone postseason start. Teams used to try to pound Loney inside, but he made an adjustment and closed up most of the holes he had in his swing. Some scouts question whether he'll have true first-base power, but Moore begs to differ. He thinks Loney will be a home run threat once he learns to turn on the ball and compared him to a young Mark McGwire, who also needed time to fine-tune the art of hitting the long ball with the lower half of his body. "To me, he was the best hitter in the league," Memphis manager Danny Scheaffer said. "He has a textbook swing with some power in his body. He's also solid defensively with soft hands at first base."
One of these seasons, Loney will have to shed the injuries and the "potential" tag and put up the numbers everyone expects of him. It looked like that might happen in 2004 after he was the talk of Dodgers spring training, but a broken finger knocked him out for three weeks early in the season, became infected and bothered him long afterward. Still, several observers still rated Loney as the best first-base prospect in the league, ahead of Fielder. His smooth stroke and plate discipline drew raves, as did as his defense at first. His power should improve as he learns to lift the ball. "He can really pick and will save his team a lot of runs," said an AL scout who compared him to Wally Joyner. "If he has above-average power, it will be a bonus."
Smooth and fluid, Loney jumped from the Rookie-level Pioneer League to the FSL late in 2002, just months after winning a national championship at his Texas high school. The effect of a broken wrist late last year slowed Loney early this summer. Loney hit just .233 with one homer through late May, but rebounded as his wrist got stronger and he stopped pulling off the ball. He hammered 31 doubles and projects to develop above-average power. He has a smart approach at the plate and plus defensive skills at first base to go with championship-caliber makeup. "When I was coming up, they always threw the big fat guy over at first, but now I think it's the second-most important position on the field," Masse said. "It's amazing how many runs he can save you over there. He's got great hands, picks everything and can turn the 3-6-3 double play with the best of them."
Loney was a two-way player in high school, and more teams projected him as a pitcher than as a first baseman. The Dodgers were in the minority but he made them look good. His steady, line-drive swing, stellar defense and even his mound background bring to mind John Olerud. Loney's best tool is his ability to hit for a very high average, and he also has some power potential. He's more of a doubles hitter now, but he should add power as he matures physically. Loney has a strong knowledge of the strike zone and can go the other way as easily as he can pull the ball. "He can flat-out hit for average and he's very polished," Billings manager Rick Burleson said. "He looks like he's been playing all his life." Loney is an above-average defensive first baseman and is very smooth around the bag. He has great hands and is agile, but could improve his footwork.