JOSH HARRISON
7/8/87; '08 6th (Chicago Cubs); Univ. of Cincinnati
R/R; 5-8, 175
| Level |
BA |
OBP |
SA |
AB |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
K |
SB |
CS |
| 2008 A (ChiC) |
.262 |
.286 |
.336 |
122 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
11 |
6 |
2 |
| 2008
A- (ChiC) |
.351 |
.462 |
.509 |
114 |
11 |
2 |
1 |
23 |
12 |
12 |
6 |
| 2009 A+ (ChiC) |
.286 |
.351 |
.400 |
70 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
7 |
10 |
1 |
| 2009
A (ChiC) |
.337 |
.377 |
.479 |
303 |
17 |
7 |
4 |
16 |
25 |
16 |
9 |
| 2009 A+ |
.270 |
.289 |
.362 |
141 |
8 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
19 |
4 |
1 |
Harrison came from the Cubs, along with RHPs Kevin Hart and Jose Ascanio, in exchange for LHPs John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny. Harrison has made good progress with his bat in a year and a half as a pro. At the time of the 2008 draft, Baseball America's assessment of Harrison was less than inspiring: won't hit for power with wood bats, not good defensively, doesn't pivot well, and has only average speed. BA has been wrong many times before, though. Harrison by the time of the trade had shown decent gap power and good plate discipline. He's stolen a lot of bases but also been caught a lot, until he got to high A. In contrast to BA, the Pirates like his speed. He's divided his time in the field between second, third and left, with second being his primary position and the one at which the Pirates intend to develop him. After he got to Lynchburg, he split his time between second and third, as the Pirates moved him, Chase D'Arnaud and Jordy Mercer around the infield, mainly in an effort to get both D'Arnaud and Mercer time at short. Harrison didn't hit well after the trade, with the BB and K numbers standing out as he swung at practically everything. It's possible he was pressing to impress his new team, but whatever the reason, no power and one walk every 34 games isn't going to do it. The Pirates will have to decide whether he's ready for AA.
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