Rickie Weeks Stats & Scouting Report

AB	4417
AVG	.246
OBP	.344
SLG	.42
HR	161

Full name Rickie Darnell Weeks Jr.
Born 09/13/1982 in Daytona Beach, FL
Profile Ht.: 6'0" / Wt.: 210 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Southern
Debut 09/15/2003
Drafted in the 1st round (2nd overall) by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2003 (signed for $3,600,000).

View Draft Report

Southern could join Arizona State as the only schools to produce multiple No. 1 overall picks. Weeks would follow Danny Goodwin (1975, Angels), though the Devil Rays were undecided whether they would take Weeks or California high school OF Delmon Young; the odd-man out likely would go third to the Tigers. Weeks has the best tools and is the purest hitter in college baseball. His hands are so quick that he generates amazing bat speed and can turn around any inside fastball. With back-to-back .495 and .493 seasons, he's virtually assured of becoming only the second repeat batting champion in NCAA Division I history. His career .469 average is the best Division I mark ever. Though his quality of competition is suspect, scouts think Weeks will only have to develop a little more pitch recognition to mash as a pro. Besides hitting for average, Weeks also has plus power and speed. After scuffling at shortstop earlier in his career at Southern he has settled in at second base. He's still a little raw there, but he has more than enough arm strength and athleticism to play there in the majors.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

While he was undrafted and barely recruited out of a Florida high school, Weeks won consecutive NCAA Division I batting titles at Southern and set an NCAA record with a .473 career average. Baseball America's 2003 College Player of the Year, Weeks went second overall in the draft that June and signed for a club-record $3.6 million bonus, part of a five-year big league contract that guarantees him at least $4.8 million. The Brewers have been very aggressive with his development path. They jumped him to full-season ball at low Class A Beloit after one game in the Rookie-level Arizona League, and last year they sent him to Double-A Huntsville with all of 67 pro at-bats to his credit. As might be expected, he struggled at times, but the Brewers liked the way Weeks competed. He finished 2004 by hitting .382 with six homers in 76 at-bats in the Arizona Fall League, ranking as the league's No. 2 prospect behind Devil Rays outfielder Delmon Young--also the only player picked ahead of him in the 2003 draft. Despite his periodic struggles at the plate in Double-A, Weeks continued to display the skills that made him a No. 2 overall pick. He has a compact swing, and his bat gets through the hitting zone in lightning-quick fashion, giving him surprising pop for his size. He's able to turn on inside heat, while his quick hands also allow him to cover the outer half of the plate. He also has plus speed to go with his power. Weeks has good patience at the plate, though he must continue to work on his strike-zone discipline. As a sign of his mental toughness, he played much of the season with a hamstring strain, refusing to come out of the lineup. Weeks worked hard to improve his defense, which was considered a weakness in college. The Brewers love his drive and determination. He determinedly stands on top of the plate, which is why he ranked third in the minors by getting hit with 28 pitches last year. His combination of athleticism and work ethic makes Weeks a special player. Weeks faced predominantly weak competition at Southern, and given his lack of pro experience, he often was fooled by breaking pitches in Double-A. He sometimes gets impatient and swings at pitcher's pitches, but improved in that regard over the course of his first full season. Despite his plus speed, he still has a lot to learn on the basepaths after getting caught 12 times in 23 steal attempts last year. For all his effort, Weeks still has a lot of work to do with his glove. He led Southern League second basemen with 17 errors. He sometimes makes fundamental mistakes in the field and throws without getting his feet under him. The Brewers knew they were putting a lot of pressure on Weeks by pushing him to Double-A in his first full season but were pleased with the way he handled himself. They feel he's ready to handle an assignment to their new Triple-A Nashville affiliate this year, with hopes of seeing him in a big league uniform for good in 2006, if not before.
Holding the second pick in the 2003 draft, the Brewers knew they were going to get an offensive prodigy, either prep star Delmon Young or Weeks. When Tampa Bay selected Young No. 1 overall, the Brewers happily took Weeks, Baseball America's College Player of the Year and two-time NCAA batting champion. After two months of negotiations, the Brewers finally signed Weeks to a five-year major league contract--a first in franchise history--that included a $3.6 million bonus and guaranteed at least $4.8 million. The Brewers sent Weeks to low Class A Beloit for the final weeks of the Midwest League season, then summoned him to Milwaukee in mid-September to get a taste of big league life. Keeping Weeks in the fast lane, the Brewers assigned him to the Arizona Fall League. He wowed scouts with his progress at Southern, where he finished with an NCAA-record .473 career batting average. He was a two-time All-American and considered by far the closest to the major leagues among position players available in the draft. Not bad for a guy who went undrafted and barely recruited out of a Florida high school. Weeks has a lightning-quick bat and was the purest hitter in the 2003 draft. His bat is so quick through the zone that he can make good contact even when he's fooled on a pitch. Weeks has surprising pop for his size, as well as tremendous speed and quickness on the basepaths, a combination that has many scouts comparing him to a young Joe Morgan. He also has a good eye at the plate and gets hit by a lot of pitches, which will allow him to post high on-base percentages. Weeks has worked hard to improve his defensive play. He's a superior athlete who takes instruction well and always looks for ways to get better. "He has a special focus," Brewers scouting director Jack Zduriencik said. There's not much to quibble with about Weeks' package. He does some fundamental things wrong defensively, such as throwing from odd angles at times, but there's nothing that good coaching and experience can't correct. He'll also have to improve his double-play pivot. He makes up for his minor flaws with good hands, quickness and determination. Some have suggested he's better suited for center field, though the Brewers have no plans to move him from second base. Whether he'll hit for as much power as he did in college remains to be seen. For a first-year pro, Weeks got a lot of experience, appearing in the big leagues and then heading to the AFL, where he hit .319-1-15 with nine stolen bases. The Brewers will continue to expedite his development, starting him at Double-A Huntsville in 2004 and getting him to the majors to stay no later than 2005.

Minor League Top Prospects

Weeks has the quickest hands scouts have seen since Gary Sheffield, yet he hit just .259 with eight homers in Double-A last year. The problem was that Weeks' bat was so fast he was getting out in front of most pitches, and once he added a waggle to slow down his swing in spring training, he unlocked the offensive potential that got him drafted No. 2 overall in 2003. The all-time leading hitter in NCAA history with a .473 career average at Southern, Weeks can launch bombs to any part of the ballpark and has the speed to steal bases. He's still adjusting to big league pitching but could be a 30-30 threat as early as 2006. One scout said Weeks could become Alfonso Soriano with better plate discipline. Like Soriano, Weeks isn't nearly as impressive in the field. He has improved at second base, showing softer hands and a better double-play pivot. But one manager questioned his footwork and thought he'd have to move to third base, and a scout thought Weeks needed to put more effort into his defense.
Considering he was the No. 2 pick in the 2003 draft, Weeks put up disappointing numbers in his first full season. But it's a testament to Weeks' talent that managers and scouts were still effusive in their praise. They said he looked much better in the second half than the first. Weeks had the quickest hands in the league and produces great bat speed. Balls jump off his bat, and he lashes line drives to all fields, though scouts disagreed about his power potential. The most optimistic say it will be slightly better than average. He has the speed to steal 45-50 bases per year, but he must improve his approach because he was caught (12) more than he was successful (11) this season. Most people thought it was simply the jump to Double-A and getting adjusted to the everyday grind of pro ball that held Weeks back, and a National League scout who also followed Weeks as an amateur said he backed off the plate this year more than he did in the past Defense is also a work in progress for Weeks, but no one thinks he'll need to move off second and he has the tools to be at least a solid-average defender. He has a good arm and plus range, and he's willing to turn the tough double play. He has nice hands and quick feet but occasionally got in a hurry, leading to errors. "He was tremendous for me," the AL scout said. "He got to everything, and his exchange is as good as anyone I've seen."