Cameron Maybin Stats & Scouting Report

AB	3824
AVG	.254
OBP	.323
SLG	.374
HR	72

Full name Cameron Keith Maybin
Born 04/04/1987 in Asheville, NC
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 215 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Roberson
Debut 08/17/2007
Drafted in the 1st round (10th overall) by the Detroit Tigers in 2005 (signed for $2,650,000).

View Draft Report

Baseball America's 2004 Youth Player of the Year, Maybin entered the year as the No. 2 high school player on the board and stayed there, nipping at Justin Upton's heels. Maybin has a rare combination of premium athletic ability, bloodlines (his cousins include former North Carolina basketball star Rashad McCants) and baseball savvy. Maybin has grown up around the game, serving as a batboy for the hometown Asheville Tourists, and has begun to translate his physical tools to the diamond. He has broad shoulders and long limbs and fingers, and physically evokes comparisons on the low end to Preston Wilson and on the high end to Vladimir Guerrero. He should be a premium defender in center field with experience, with long, graceful strides gobbling up turf and an average arm. As he fills out, he could move to right field and be a more athletic Cliff Floyd. Maybin has not faced great competition in western North Carolina during his high school career--though he has faced the best of the best in youth and showcase play--and some scouts think his bat might take time to develop once he starts seeing good breaking balls consistently. His makeup--including good work habits, maturity and love for the game--endears him to scouts, as does his family. His Southern commitment isn't scaring anyone away.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Once considered untouchable and the jewel of the Tigers system, Maybin was pried away in December 2007 as part of an eight-player blockbuster that cost the Marlins franchise stalwarts Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Lefty Andrew Miller also came south along with four lesser prospects, and though Miller broke camp with Florida last season, it's Maybin who will determine the eventual success or failure of the deal. The 10th overall pick in the 2005 draft, he signed for $2.65 million. Widely considered among the best athletes in that draft, the main reason for his modest slide was a perception that his bat would need more time to develop. He shot holes in that theory by reaching the majors at age 20 in 2007, his second pro season. His first two big league hits came off Roger Clemens, a single and homer, but overall he struggled at the plate in a brief cameo with the contending Tigers. Nagging injuries have slowed his progress the past two seasons. In 2007, he partially dislocated his right shoulder and strained his left shoulder. In 2008, he missed three weeks in July with a pulled ribcage muscle and a few days in August with a staph infection. He still managed to bounce back in time to lead Double-A Carolina within one win of a Southern League championship before dazzling onlookers during an eight-game audition with the Marlins in late September. He ranked as the top position prospect in the SL. Maybin has five-tool ability. His quick hands give him lightning bat speed, which combined with his raw strength should allow him to hit for plus power as he fills out and makes more consistent contact. He also has the plus-plus speed to beat out infield hits and steal bases. While his plate discipline still has a ways to go, it has improved notably and he draws walks. Defensively, he has tremendous closing speed and strong instincts that enable him to read the ball off the bat and make highlight-reel plays in center field. He also brandishes a strong throwing arm that evokes memories of a young Andre Dawson. Maybin also draws praise for his makeup. Strikeouts remain the biggest concern for Maybin, who was fanned in 31 percent of his pro at-bats. He's still learning to recognize the spin on offspeed pitches and to lay off fastballs up in the zone. He has a late hitch in his swing that counteracts some of his bat speed. He batted leadoff after his callup and delivered four-hit games in his first two starts, but he currently fits better a bit lower in the lineup. Florida believes he'll become a more aggressive and effective basestealer and a major threat once he learns how to read pitchers and lengthen his leads. Maybin will get every opportunity to seize the center-field job for good in spring training. Only a disastrous showing would send him back to the minors. He should develop into the best center fielder in Marlins history.
The Marlins have been looking for a center fielder since jettisoning Juan Pierre in their fire sale following the 2005 season, and they found one who should become the best in the franchise's short history. In an eight-player blockbuster with the Tigers and former Florida general manager Dave Dombrowski, the Marlins got Maybin, Andrew Miller and four lesser prospects for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. The 10th overall pick in the 2005 draft, Maybin signed for $2.65 million. One of the best athletes in that draft, he slid slightly because of a perception that his bat lacked polish and would need time to develop. He put that notion to rest by reaching the majors at age 20 in 2007, just his second pro season. He was in over his head in Detroit, but he did single and homer off Roger Clemens for his first two big league hits. Maybin accelerated his timetable despite losing a month of time with a partial dislocation of his right shoulder. That cost him his second straight Futures Game appearance. The Tigers sent Maybin to the Arizona Fall League, where he was the youngest player on the Peoria Saguaros. His AFL work was curtailed by a slight strain of his left shoulder that wasn't considered serious. Maybin remained remarkably composed throughout 2007, a tribute to his makeup. Of course, it helps to have five-tool ability. He has a big frame and tremendous overall strength, which is evident in his raw power to all fields. Still, he's not afraid to hit the ball on the ground and use his plus-plus speed to beat out infield singles. He's also comfortable taking pitches up the middle and to the opposite field. Maybin has 30-30 potential, as he has succeeded in 80 percent of his steal attempts in the minors. Defensively, he has plus range in center field and a strong arm that would fit nicely in right. All the tools are there for Maybin to be an all-star. Maybin's stint in the majors brought out flaws in his game that should be corrected in time. He has trouble recognizing breaking pitches, which partially explains his elevated strikeout totals. He takes bad reads in the outfield, though his straight-ahead speed usually allows him to recover. He has good arm strength, but his throws lacked consistency and accuracy last year, perhaps a result of the shoulder injury. The comparisons to Torii Hunter seem fair, and scouts highest on Maybin see him as a young Andre Dawson. He handled his struggles in Detroit and earned immediate respect from the team's veterans, which bodes well for his long-term success. There will be pressure on him in Florida to justify the trade, and he should be up to the challenge. The Tigers planned to have him start 2008 in Double-A, but the Marlins likely will make Maybin their starting center fielder. They need to validate the deal as well.
Baseball America's third-rated prospect for the 2005 draft, Maybin fell to the Tigers at No. 10 because other teams preferred college players or had questions about his signability. BA's 2004 Youth Player of the Year after leading the Midland Redskins to the Connie Mack World Series title, Maybin missed his first pro summer while negotiating a $2.65 million bonus. From a standpoint of both development and performance, Detroit couldn't have asked for a better 2006 debut. Maybin nearly led the low Class A Midwest League in hitting despite competing against players who were often two or three years older. He played for a league champion West Michigan team, batting .343 with six extra-base hits in nine postseason games, including a pair of clutch triples that turned around the final series. Maybin also played for the U.S. team in the Futures Game and was the second youngest player in the game, behind the Yankees' Jose Tabata. There were distractions and setbacks, too. Maybin missed a month early in the season with a bruise on his right index finger. Later, he was charged with underage possession of alcohol (a misdemeanor), but the incident didn't appear to suggest any more serious issues. By all accounts, the Tigers believe Maybin to have great character in addition to tremendous talent. Maybin has all the tools and, all the more impressive, those tools are well developed at his young age. Managers rated him the MWL's best and fastest baserunner and its most exciting player, and he also drew votes as the top hitting prospect and best defensive outfielder. Though he was considered somewhat raw and played in a tough hitter's park, Maybin hit .304 in his debut, showing more ability to make adjustments and awareness of the strike zone than expected. He has exceptional bat speed and raw power, so he'll be a home run threat as well. Seven of his nine longballs came in the season's last two months. He runs extremely well, both on the bases and in center field, and he succeeded on 27 of his 34 steal attempts. Maybin has a strong arm, and though he should have no difficulty staying in center, he also profiles well for right field. His overall ability has drawn comparisons to that of Mike Cameron and Torii Hunter. Maybin can be an elite player, with the potential to hit somewhere at the top or in the middle of the order. Maybin has few shortcomings. The most apparent is that he strikes out too often, a common trait among Tigers farmhands. He had nearly as many whiffs as he had hits in his debut, and he can take some ugly swings when he's fooled at the plate. But he's also very gifted and advanced for a 19-year-old, and his plate discipline should improve with experience. He has lost some time to hamstring problems in 2005 instructional league and to the finger injury in his debut, but his long-term health isn't a worry. After the trade deadline passed, Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski declared, "I wouldn't trade Cameron Maybin straight up for Alfonso Soriano. That's how much we like him."Manager Jim Leyland later concurred and called Maybin a special talent. He'll likely start 2007 in Double-A Erie, and he could push his way to Detroit by the end of the season. Curtis Granderson played capably in center field in 2006 and starred in the postseason, so either he or Maybin eventually will have to move to a corner.
Maybin has been around the pro game since his early teenage days, when he served as a batboy for the Class A Asheville Tourists, his local team. He was Baseball America's Youth Player of the Year in 2004 after leading the Midland Redskins to the Connie Mack World Series title. Negotiations with the Tigers were difficult, but he signed for $2.65 million in time to go to instructional league. His cousin Rashad McCants was a first-round NBA draft pick after helping North Carolina win the national championship last spring. Maybin does it all and invites comparisons to players such as Joe Carter and Andre Dawson for his game and physique. He's a graceful runner and defender, and nearly can match Dawson's arm strength. Maybin has wicked raw power and launched a 450-blast that was the talk of instructional league. He fit right in with his new teammates, reinforcing the organization's belief in his quality makeup. He didn't face the toughest high school competition, so there were concerns that Maybin's bat might lag behind his other tools. He started to put those to rest in instructional league, where he showed the ability to make quick adjustments and use the whole field. He had hamstring issues that slowed him late in camp, but they aren't a long-term concern. The Tigers like Maybin even more after seeing him in instructional league. If his spring performance matches what he showed in the fall, he'll easily make the low Class A West Michigan roster and could move faster than initially expected.

Minor League Top Prospects

Like Snider, Maybin opened the season in the big leagues but struggled and was sent down in May. Though Maybin first reached the majors two years ago, he never had played in Triple-A. He hit a career-high .319 for New Orleans, earning his way back to Florida in September. It seems like ages ago that he homered off Roger Clemens at Yankee Stadium, yet Maybin still is maturing as a hitter. Maybin worked hard this year on improving his pitch recognition, letting the ball travel deeper into the zone and making better use of the opposite field. The altered approach helped him make more consistent contact, but it also cut into his power production. Maybin still has five-tool potential, though he still requires more polish as well. He has well above-average speed but his basestealing needs work. He covers a lot of ground in center field and has a strong arm, but he needs a quicker release and better accuracy on his throws.
A five-tool player with outstanding athleticism, Maybin's ceiling is the highest among the SL's position players. His combination of power potential, on-base skills, speed and plus defense at a premium position is tantalizing, though it comes with some risk because he's still raw as a hitter. Maybin has electric bat speed and quick hands. He has an athletic, wiry frame with good present strength, above-average raw power and the potential for more as he continues to fill out. He could generate more loft in his swing to help his power translate into game situations, though with plus-plus speed he's capable of beating out infield hits. Maybin struck out in 27 percent of his plate appearances, a byproduct of his unrefined pitch recognition and swing. He draws walks by being patient at times, though he needs to do a better job of laying off fastballs up in the zone and recognizing the spin on breaking balls and changeups. He has plenty of bat speed but still swings through even fringy fastballs because of a late hitch in his swing, a problem that could be corrected by quieting his stance and learning to trust his hand speed. Like many young center fielders, Maybin struggles at time with balls hit straight over his head, but he could play defense in the majors right now. He has plus range, gets good jumps on flyballs and owns enough arm strength to play right field if needed.
He may be No. 2 on this list, but Florida State League observers expect Maybin to be a perennial all-star. He beat Bruce to the majors with an August callup, and he hit his first big league homer off Roger Clemens. Like Bruce, Maybin has plus power and plus speed. He's not as an advanced hitter as Bruce, which is why Maybin has yet to match his power production, but that will come as he matures and fills out his athletic frame. His plus-plus speed is readily apparent and he's an above-average defender in center field with the ability to track down drives in the gap. "He's exciting to watch," Sarasota manager Joe Ayrault said. "Every at bat, he's a threat to hit the long ball or to chop it over the head of the pitcher and leg it out."
Maybin had the best all-around tools in the league, earning nods from the managers as the MWL's best and fastest baserunner and its most exciting player while also drawing votes as the top hitting prospect and best defensive outfielder. He also hit .343 in the postseason, helping West Michigan win the championship with a pair of clutch triples that turned around the final series versus Kane County. Upton and Maybin were the two best athletes available in the 2005 draft, with Upton considered more polished at the plate. Despite playing in the league's toughest hitter's park, Maybin outhit him by 41 points. He'll take some ugly swings on occasion, but his zone awareness and ability to make adjustments were better than expected. With his bat speed, big-time power awaits. "He displays incredible bat speed through the strike zone," Lansing manager Ken Joyce said. "He also plays the game hard and plays the game right. He's just a talent, the best I've seen since Delmon Young in the South Atlantic League a couple of years ago."