ADAM BOEVE
6/20/80; '03 12th; Univ. of Northern Iowa
R/R; 6-1, 205
| Level |
BA |
OBP |
SA |
AB |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
K |
SB |
CS |
| 2003 A- |
.250 |
.353 |
.402 |
132 |
9 |
1 |
3 |
15 |
39 |
6 |
1 |
| 2004
A |
.290 |
.385 |
.536 |
459 |
25 |
2 |
28 |
61 |
112 |
10 |
2 |
| 2005 AA |
.288 |
.375 |
.450 |
160 |
9 |
1 |
5 |
22 |
54 |
5 |
2 |
| 2005
A+ |
.313 |
.419 |
.538 |
249 |
15 |
1 |
13 |
39 |
66 |
12 |
0 |
| 2006 AAA |
.269 |
.339 |
.389 |
316 |
20 |
0 |
6 |
28 |
81 |
24 |
5 |
| 2006 AA |
.333 |
.407 |
.478 |
138 |
7 |
2 |
3 |
17 |
35 |
3 |
2 |
| 2007 AAA |
.277 |
.406 |
.458 |
83 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
14 |
23 |
6 |
3 |
| 2007 AA |
.270 |
.372 |
.479 |
330 |
14 |
2 |
17 |
50 |
100 |
17 |
5 |
| 2008
AAA |
.251 |
.316 |
.471 |
163 |
16 |
3 |
12 |
24 |
89 |
13 |
4 |
Boeve was one of the more interesting players in the Pirates' system in 2004-05, as he put up impressive power numbers while receiving little consideration from scouts as a legitimate prospect. He appeared to be following in the footsteps of Chris Shelton, but his 2006 season unfortunately vindicated the scouts, as his power largely disappeared.
Boeve hit 368/471/745 as a college junior, with 18 HRs, 35 BBs and 41 Ks in 212 ABs. Nevertheless, scouts had some doubt whether he'd hit for power. After a decent debut at Williamsport, however, Boeve had a breakout season at Hickory, putting up big numbers across the board and finishing 3rd in the SAL in HRs. There were two important caveats about his 2004 season, though. The first was Hickory's park, which played as a strong hitter's park that year, with a number of wild slugfests in the first couple months. The second was Boeve's age, which was 24 as of mid-season. After missing some time early with minor injuries, Boeve continued in similar fashion at Lynchburg in 2005, including an increase in his walk rate. Like Hickory, though, Lynchburg had a good HR park. After a late-season promotion, Boeve hit reasonably well at Altoona, but his K rate went way up. I saw him in a number of games near season's end and he struggled badly against pitchers who changed speeds on him. He was left off the roster in the off-season, but was not claimed in the Rule 5 draft.
In 2006, Boeve started off hitting for a high BA at Altoona. He apparently cut down his swing to reduce his K total, which worked, but he didn't hit for much power. The team promoted him in May and he got off to a hot start, but he quickly subsided to more or less his final numbers. A .389 slugging average as a 26-year-old corner outfielder in AAA probably killed him as a prospect. Boeve is a good athlete with a fairly good arm, although he's just adequate defensively overall. In college, he stole 29 bases in 31 tries as a junior, and he's continued to be an efficient base stealer as a pro. He hit well against LHPs in AAA in 2006, 308/370/473 as opposed to 253/327/356 against RHPs. He again was not selected in the Rule 5 draft and started 2007 at Altoona. He didn't hit quite as well there as he had in 2006, but he did better in a couple short stints in AAA as the Pirates shuffled their upper level outfielders around. He missed some time with a hand injury. Boeve again hit for a lot more power against LHPs, although he got on base a lot more against RHPs.
With Steve Pearce slated for RF in AAA, the Pirates shifted Boeve to 1B in spring 2008. He had a decent year, hitting for good power again but with much weaker plate discipline. Unfortunately, he got hurt in July and missed the rest of the season. His platoon split reached epic proportions, with an OPS of 1.098 against LHPs and .681 against RHPs. He still has another year before he's eligible for minor league free agency, so he should be back in 2009. It wouldn't be the worse thing in the world if somebody gave him a shot in the majors to see whether he could play an Olmedo Saenz-type lefty-killer role.
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