Michael Ferris
| AB | 1186 |
|---|---|
| AVG | .218 |
| OBP | .316 |
| SLG | .355 |
| HR | 33 |
- Full name Michael James Ferris
- Born 12/31/1982 in Cincinnati, OH
- Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 220 / Bats: L / Throws: L
- School Miami (OH)
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Drafted in the 2nd round (60th overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004 (signed for $600,000).
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No area scout envisioned Ferris' overnight transformation from a middle-of-the-road prospect to a potential first-rounder. An undrafted Cincinnati high school product, he hit .226 with four homers as a freshman at Kentucky before transferring to Miami, where he hit .360 with five homers as a sophomore. He added 20 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-2, 225-pound frame in the offseason and it made an immediate difference in his bat speed. He hit 13 homers in his first 21 games this year. He developed a knack for hitting pitches he could handle, and drove them hard with a short, quick, powerful stroke like those of big leaguers Sean Casey and Rafael Palmeiro. He uses his hands well and has good pitch recognition. He drew 50 walks this season against 25 strikeouts, which will make him a primary target of clubs that covet plate discipline. Ferris may have lost mobility with his added bulk, but he's still an average defender at first base. He's a below-average runner.
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Organization Prospect Rankings
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Ferris seemingly came out of nowhere as a Miami (Ohio) junior to bat .361-21-62, earn first team All-America honors and get consideration as a mid-first-round pick before St. Louis grabbed him in the second. His first season and a half as a professional have the Cardinals wondering what they can do to get that hitter back. He had trouble handling low Class A pitching and stayed in Quad Cities all season, and he has struggled to find a consistent hitting approach since signing. The encouraging signs were that he grasped how to use the whole field rather than trying to pull everything by the end of the year, and he showed renewed plate discipline. Ferris has tremendous power potential, but like everything else about his game, he must get more consistent with it. He had a quick, powerful stroke in college but has struggled to adjust to hitting with wood. He's a below-average runner but has been fine defensively at first base. Ferris will move up to high Class A to open 2006 and needs to start producing. -
Ferris wasn't drafted coming out of high school in Cincinnati, and he hit .226 at Kentucky as a freshman before transferring to Miami (Ohio). He hit .360 with five homers as a sophomore, then added 20 pounds of muscle and batted .361-21-62 to earn first-team All- America honors as a junior last spring. Like several other clubs, the Cardinals considered him a possible first-round talent, but they got him in the second and landed him for $600,000. Ferris signed about a month after the draft, and the rust was evident in his swing during his lackluster pro debut. In college, he consistently drove the ball to all fields with a quick, powerful stroke that drew him comparisons to Sean Casey and Rafael Palmeiro. Ferris also showed a good eye in college, laying off pitches until he found one he could handle. He's a below-average runner, but his defense at first base was better than St. Louis expected. Ferris has as much raw power as anyone in the organization, and he'll start with a clean slate in low Class A this spring.
