Random Prospect Saturday - Cal Conley
Conley gives everything he has. Will it be enough to get him a spot in the majors?
Over the last few years, the Braves have shown a knack for going after college infielders that are all-go, 100% of the time. While their ceiling tends to be lower than many of the players selected around them, their high floor can present an intriguing option who could turn into an MLB player - even if it's as a backup.
AJ Graffanino was in that mold as an 8th-rounder in 2018. Cody Milligan was a ninth-rounder with a similar skillset the following year. In 2021, they doubled up - drafting Georgia Tech infielder Luke Waddell in the fifth round after selecting Texas Tech's Cal Conley the round prior. The latter two both came out of Ohio before going off to college. Today, let's take a look at Conley.
A switch-hitter out of Cincinnati’s West Clermont, Conley originally was headed to Miami for college, but transferred after a semester to Lubbick. He shined in a small amount of time during the pandemic-shortened 2020 year and kept the ball rolling in 2021, slashing .329/.393/.587. He smashed 15 dingers, stole seven bases, and only K'd 38 times in 254 trips to the plate. It was that kind of performance that raised an eyebrow in the Braves front office ahead of the draft.
With the 126th pick, the Braves acted, picking up the infielder. Soon, they gave him a $422,500 bonus to sign. It wasn't the cheapest bonus of the round, but far from some of the bigger paydays. For instance, selected after him, Denzel Clarke got $700K.
Whatever the case, the Braves had Conley. He was their first position player selected that year and his bonus was the sixth highest they gave out - just among last week's Random Prospect, Tyler Collins, for the highest for a position player. Once signed, Conley quickly headed to Augusta to finish the year. The results weren't wonderful, but it was just a 35-game sample so that's not a big deal.
A return trip to Augusta to open 2022 was on the docket for Conley and while he only hit .246, he did smash ten homers in 75 games to go with 23 steals. A slow start dragged his numbers down, but he had a .776 OPS in his final 55 games with the GreenJackets. By mid-July, he earned a promotion to Rome and even out-performed his Augusta numbers, slashing .260/.337/.429 with six more homers and 13 steals in 44 games. Overall, he ended the regular season with a more-than-respectable line of .251/.318/.420, 20 doubles, seven triples, 16 homers, and 36 steals in his first full season in professional baseball. He'd finish the year off with a stay in the Arizona Fall League, posting a .841 OPS in 23 games.
Cal Conley’s name became a bit more known at the beginning of spring training. On the second day of spring training, Conley was called out in what was the first instance of the new pitch clock impacting hitters. For the most part, things have gotten easier with the clock, thankfully.
It's a bad farm system right now for the Braves. No one would argue otherwise. That said, his successful 2022 was pushing him higher up the prospect lists. Unfortunately, his 2023 season has been pretty rough. Overall, coming into Saturday, he's hitting just .228/.313/.290 over 97 games in Mississippi. He's hit just a pair of homers and has been caught stealing 11 times out of 35 attempts. That said, maybe he's starting to come out of his season-long struggles. In his last eight games, he's picked up 11 hits in 27 AB.
His success at the plate recently has also been potentially aided by a decision to drop his switch-hitting and focus only on hitting from the left side.
Conley is a gamer in every sense of that overused cliche. He hustles everywhere, gives 110% every game, and rarely heads to the clubhouse without a dirty jersey. Those guys are easy to root for. He also has some sneaky power with good, though not really great, speed. Conley is a heady player and a good guy to have around.
Defensively, he can handle shortstop though he will struggle with range and his arm isn’t great. His best fit is probably second base, but he can do enough to not embarrass you if you play him at shortstop. He hasn’t been moved to third base so far, but I bet it wouldn’t be too difficult for him. With his speed, it might be worth seeing what he can do in the outfield for added versatility.
The biggest criticism with Conley, as it has been since he was drafted, is that the ceiling just isn't that high. He does a bit of everything, but nothing well enough to excite you into thinking he could be even a second-division starter in the majors. Could he work his way into a backup, utility role? Definitely. In a pinch, he might even earn a bit of a platoon fit as the left-handed option.
Overall, Conley can easily become a fan favorite. He's fun to watch and you know he's giving everything he has. And maybe everything he has will be enough to carve out a role on someone's bench. After all, Jon Berti has 1400 plate appearances in the majors.
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