Minor League Prospect Watch - Dexter Fowler

This edition of the Minor League Prospect Watch features Colorado Rockies prospect Dexter Fowler. Fowler is a 6'4" 175 lb. center fielder, who is currently playing at Double-A in the Colorado Rockies organization. He is also currently a member of the USA Olympic baseball team.

Fowler has shown a knack for getting on base, which would explain his .430 on-base percentage this season. A prospect like Fowler is rare because usually patience at the plate is one of the last things for young players to develop. He has yet to develop a ton of power but with his size it is quite likely that he will develop more power at some point. I could potentially see him as a Curtis Granderson type only with a higher on-base percentage. Fowler could be starting in CF next season for the Rockies and he will probably get a call up in September this season. He also has been compared to former major league CF Devon White, but White did not walk nearly as much as Fowler does, so I think Fowler has even more potential.

Here are Dexter Fowler's stats so far this season:

.337 AVG/9 HR/61 RBI/.430 OBP/.514 SLG/.944 OPS/61 BB/20 SB

As you can see, Fowler is having a phenomenal season and there isn't much he can't do on a baseball field.

You can check out Dexter Fowler's up to date stats on his Baseball Reference player page and his First Inning player page. You can also check out his Player Journal at MILB.com, where Dexter Fowler himself has written about his season.

Rankings among top minor league prospects:

Ranking in ScoutingBook (8/15/2008): #17

Ranking in Baseball America 2008: #74

Ranking in Baseball Prospectus: #92

Ranking in MiLB.com Season Preview: #50

Ranking from the Sporting News: #45

Ranking from ESPN: Unranked

Here is everything you need to know about Dexter Fowler:

"You don't walk your way on to the Hot Sheet" was a phrase used in this week's meeting, but Fowler's back yet again with another big week. He had only one extra-base hit this week—and scouts still have concerns about whether the 6-foot-4, 175-pound Fowler will ever develop legitimate pop—but he continued to show an excellent knowledge of the strike zone. In 382 at-bats, Fowler's slash stats are at .332/.429/.505 with 61 walks and 79 strikeouts. But with his plus defense in center field and his ability to hit for average and get on base, even moderate power would make Fowler an above-average big leaguer. (Baseball America)

Fowler has zoomed up the prospect charts with an outstanding season, batting .329/.412/.521 and playing quality defense at a premium position. Some of Fowler's improved slugging is more speed than power—he has legged out seven triples this season—but his 6-foot-4 frame lends itself to power projection as his body physically develops. Always a toolsy prospect, Fowler has now become a refined player who can hurt an opposing team in a multitude of ways. (Baseball America)

Fowler broke his wrist last year, ending his campaign 65 games into his season in the California League. The speedy outfielder, who has plenty of tools but needs needs to cut down on his strikeouts, has made a full recovery and is enjoying a fine campaign in the Texas League. He is batting .331/.427/.505, for a .933 OPS for the Rockies’ Double-A affiliate, the Tulsa Drillers. The 22-year-old Atlanta native has even flashed some surprising power—he had combined to hit only 14 homers from ’05 through ’07—by hitting nine balls into the seats. He currently ranks second on the circuit in walks, third in on-base percentage, fifth in batting average, sixth in OPS and ninth in stolen bases. Fowler, who was elected as Mid-Season All-Star by Baseball America, is a potential star who will benefit from playing in Coors Field when he reaches the show. Like many of his teammates on the US roster, he played in the Futures Game. (Scout.com)

This is what they call a breakout. After playing in 164 games total in 2006 and 2007, Fowler has stayed healthy this season and has shown the power, speed and defense that have been his calling cards. He leads the Texas League in runs and triples, and ranks third in hits, doubles and extra-base hits (35). The switch-hitter is batting .400/.446/.617 from his natural right side, and a none-too-shabby .300/.383/.466 as a lefthanded batter, a swing he didn't pick up until turning pro in 2004. (Baseball America)

If you are a Colorado Rockies Fan and haven’t checked out AA Tulsa Drillers Dexter Fowler. You might want to take a look at the future center fielder of the Rockies. He is probably the main reason the Rocks haven’t signed oft injured Willy Taveras to a long term deal.At the All Star Futures baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York, Fowler showed his defensive skills. On Sunday, in the top of the third inning, center fielder Fowler was playing shallower than a young Jim Edmonds, hovering behind second base. Ivan Dejesus, of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, promptly launched a ball into deep center field. Without wasting a moment, Fowler ignited his $925,000 jets. He covered what looked like the length of a football field in only a few seconds, making a leaping catch to rob Dejesus of what probably would have been a triple. Dexter has been very impressive this year. Take a look at some of these numbers. With over 350 at-bats in Double-A, Fowler has put up a daunting line–.325/.412/.510. He has hit for average, shown good plate discipline, and has hit for power with 35% of his hits going for extra bases. Not only is he good offensively, he is outstanding defensively — his catch on Sunday is evidence enough of that. (Colorado Sports Desk)

There's a reason that scouts look for players with big-time tools and athleticism. The numbers can give you an estimate of a player's true talent level and future projection, but young athletes with great tools often find a way to get the job done. Last year Fowler hit .273/.397/.367 in 65 games with high Class A Modesto in the California League while battling injuries. This year, Fowler has been outstanding, battting .305/.392/.478 in 249 at-bats, making a strong case to be known as the top prospect in the Rockies system. Loaded with tools and a projectable 6-foot-4, 175-pound frame, Fowler's development is an encouraging sign for Colorado. (Baseball America)

One of the most exciting players in Colorado's farm system, Dexter Fowler has hit .284 with 14 home runs and 81 stolen bases in 226 games over his first three pro seasons. His 2007 season ended in June when he broke his hand while making a diving catch, but he returned to action after the regular season and was named to the Arizona Fall League All-Prospect Team. (MILB.com)

Dexter Fowler extended his hitting streak to 10 games last night, going 2-for-4 with a walk and two doubles. In that 10-game stretch, Fowler has eight multi-hit games, including Friday when the Tulsa (Rockies) center fielder went 4-for-5 with two doubles. Yesterday’s game pushed Fowler’s numbers up to .313/.397/.493 in 268 at-bats. (Baseball America)

Fowler mysteriously regressed last year after a solid 2006 season. His ISO-power dropped from .166 to .094, though this was partly due to moving from a hitter friendly park in Ashville to a ballpark that truly suppresses homeruns in Modesto. One thing Fowler did a lot last year was keep the ball on the ground as his GB% increased from 50% to 62%. This alone is enough to suppress a player's power. Determining whether those GBs were hit hard is difficult, but we do know that he had a batting average of .291 on those ground balls, which is not necessarily great for a player with Fowler's speed. Fowler's HR/FB ratio was just 7.5% in Ashville and last year dropped to 5.2% in Modesto, but again we should consider the park effects. All of this sounds so negative, but not so fast. Fowler has gotten off to a torrid start to begin the 2008 season. Fowler is very interesting in that he became a switch hitter (he is a natural right hander) when he entered pro ball, something I would think is very difficult to do. Interestingly enough, I liked his left-side swing better than his right-side swing. And then I found this quote from the Rocky Mountain News, which makes a ton of sense as to why Fowler hits left handers better: "A natural right-handed hitter, Fowler has made great progress from the left side. Jimmy Johnson, the Rockies roving hitting coordinator, said Fowler's left-handed swing, stance and balance are better left-handed because he has been molded and developed from that side from scratch, beginning in the instructional league two years ago, and didn?t have to break any bad habits." From the left hand side, Fowler does a good job of carrying his weight forward. What I see is a swing with a lot of potential but also a swing that needs some tweaking. Specifically, his swing is a bit handsy in that he tries to get "extension". This means he isn't letting the ball travel deep into his zone. Rather, he is bringing his hands to the ball instead of letting the ball come to him. What he should be doing is letting the ball come to him and then turning his hands and hips together. However, from the right side, his swing is pretty bad. Very handsy, very lungy. Lots of extension. Little weight or momentum shift and a swing plane that generates a lot of ground balls. However, given the results of this year, Fowler would have had to make some adjustments to his swing from a year ago. Unfortunately, I do not have video of Fowler this year and when I get my hands on some, I will be sure to show you the adjustments made by Fowler as he has shown a lot of pop so far this year. Fowler has displayed an excellent batting eye and improved greatly last year, going from a BB% of 9.4 to 14.7 in 2007. So far in 2008, his BB% is 13.2. This is significant not only because the ability to get on base is crucial to scoring runs, but because of his speed, he can turn a walk into a double, or even into a triple. Fowler is also an excellent athlete with defense that people see as gold glove caliber. Fowler also draws rave reviews for his work ethic and intelligence as evidenced by the numerous Ivy League schools he had pursuing him out of high school. While we see a line from last year that doesn't look that great on its surface, his April line was .179/.319/.256/.576, which made his overall numbers look worse than they actually were. His May line was .301/.438/.408/.846 and his June line was .349/.438/.408/.846 before breaking his wrist, which ended his season. Fowler's hot start may be just that: a hot start. However, Rocky fans have to be excited with the prospects of a gold glove CF that shows the ability to take a walk and hit for power. Not only has Fowler started to realize his potential, Fowler still has considerable growth left to fullfill as a player. (Baseball Intellect)

Think the Rockies have enough young talent already in the big leagues? There's more on the way. Fowler had the opportunity to play basketball at Harvard or baseball at Miami, but the Rockies were able to convince him to sign. He's learned how to switch-hit as a professional and has taken to it fairly well. He's got room to add strength and pop at the plate and can run exceptionally well, something that will help him on the basepaths as well as in center field, where he profiles as a graceful and well above-average defender. A broken hamate bone cut Fowler's 2007 season with Modesto in the Class A Advanced California League short in June. He made up for some lost at-bats in the Arizona Fall League, though much of that was likely spent regaining his timing at the plate. Still, it should be enough to allow the future five-tool, Gold Glove-caliber center fielder to move up to Double-A to start the 2008 season. (MILB Top 50 Prospects)

Picture a switch-hitter center fielder for the Rockies, an exciting player with across-the-board tools. That player would excel on defense, a necessity at Coors Field, and be able to hit for average, steal bases and have a reasonable amount of power. The Rockies believe they have just that player in Dexter Fowler. At 20, he's the youngest position player at low Single-A Asheville, where he is doing quite well in his first full professional season. Fowler is hitting .285 with six homers and 35 RBI in 79 games. His output also includes 23 doubles, five triples and 34 stolen bases in 54 attempts. Admittedly, the depths of the minors are a light year from the big leagues, so it could be three years and, say, sometime in 2009 before Fowler is ready for the majors. But regardless of the exact timing, the 6-foot-5 Fowler is a special talent and astute enough to balance the wonderful possibilities in his future with the business at hand. "I always keep my eye on the big picture," Fowler said. "I'm really trying to concentrate right now just on getting better day-to-day and just slowly working my way on up." Fowler didn't start switch-hitting until the Rockies instructional league program in 2004, which was his introduction to the organization. He didn't play professionally that year, signing that year on Aug. 17. About two weeks earlier, the Rockies traded Larry Walker to St. Louis. That deal freed up money and enabled the Rockies to sign Fowler, who had a full baseball scholarship to the University of Miami, for $925,000. He fell to the 14th round because clubs assumed he was going to college. At Rookie Casper last season, Fowler hit .273-4-23 with 18 stolen bases in 62 games and was compared to Devon White. At the time, Fowler knew nothing about White, a three-time All-Star who won seven Gold Gloves and had 13 seasons with double-figure home run totals before finishing his career in 2001 with 208 homers and 346 stolen bases. White is a figure of the past to Fowler but no longer a complete mystery. "I saw one of his cards," Fowler said. "His stats were off the charts. I'm pretty ecstatic that they've been comparing me to him." Asheville manager Joe Mikulik called Fowler "the most athletic guy I've had here in seven years. I haven't had that type of athlete as far as the height, 6-5, the speed, the range and the arm strength." A natural right-handed hitter, Fowler has made great progress from the left side. Jimmy Johnson, the Rockies roving hitting coordinator, said Fowler's left-handed swing, stance and balance are better left-handed because he has been molded and developed from that side from scratch, beginning in the instructional league two years ago, and didn't have to break any bad habits. Still, a player beginning to switch-hit at the outset of his professional career is getting a late start. So Fowler deserves plenty of credit for his progress. "He works very hard at it," Johnson said. Fowler is hitting .287 (64-for-223) left-handed with 14 doubles, four triples, four homers, 24 RBI and 23 strikeouts. Batting right-handed, Fowler is averaging .282 (29-for-101) with nine doubles, one triple, two homers, 11 RBI and 10 strikeouts. He homered from each side of the plate on Opening Day but has since hit four homers. Mikulik said Fowler's power will develop later, calling attention to the fact he's just 20. "When he fills out and gets stronger," Mikulik said, "I think there's going to be a lot of power there." While Mikulik was serving a seven-game suspension beginning June 27, Johnson managed the Tourists. That period coincided with the return of Fowler, who sprained his left ankle May 25, he rolled his ankle when he stole second base standing up, making the mistake of not sliding, and returned June 30. "I remember I was taking over for Mikulik," Johnson said, "and he just came back from his ankle (injury). Right-handed, first time up, he hit one into the night. I mean, it disappeared fast. "He's got power. We need to put some meat on those bones, but he's got a lot of strength. He's an exciting guy. He's a prototype center fielder because he's going to have size, speed, power, range, arm (strength). He's got it all. He makes center field look very easy." Fowler has batted leadoff for the Tourists. His natural instinct is not to take pitches " Fowler has 323 at-bats and 32 walks. That skill will come with experience, Johnson said, as will Fowler's bunting, which he has worked diligently on this season. Like any young player, particularly one in his first full professional season, Fowler is learning plenty. That includes a hard lesson about being focused and always ready to play. On May 6, a Saturday night, the Tourists were playing at home, arriving early that morning after playing the night before in Rome, Ga. A tired Fowler walked in the bottom of the first and was picked off by the catcher. "There was no sense of urgency, for me," Mikulik said. "I'm watching him, and it was kind of like he was caught in between and he was out. I kind of watched him in center field and he didn't move on a couple balls hit to right field, so I made a decision to pull him out of the game. And he understood totally." Mikulik pinch hit for Fowler in the bottom of the second. Just to make sure his message sunk in, Mikulik didn't play Fowler on Sunday or Monday. "Sometimes you just got to reel him back in and get him right back on track," Mikulik said. "What a great kid, though. He didn't fight the system or anything. He understood." Fowler, who thanked Mikulik for disciplining him, said, "It's definitely a learning experience. It won't happen again. I told him, Man, I didn't know exactly what I was thinking. I just got lazy." (Rocky Mountain News)

Fowler's a highly-regarded kid -- comparisons abound to other lanky outfielders with power (Andruw Jones, Andre Dawson, Torii Hunter), and he's shown flashes of five-tool greatness. Fowler has fantastic speed and good contact skills, but needs to add some polish to his baserunning and defensive skills. In coming years, Fowler's role will need to be determined, whether he's a middle-of-the-order hitter with power to come, or an improved baserunner destined for gap power and the top of the order. He's already very strong for his size, and a power breakout could be looming. (Scouting Book)

After running wild with 43 stolen bases in 99 games for the Asheville Tourists, the Low-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, Dexter Fowler had to step on the brakes.The Alpharetta, Ga. native spent the past HWB season as centerfielder for the Waikiki BeachBoys, and his five-tool abilities helped him earn a spot on the HWB All-Star team. But, unlike his freedom on the base paths with the Tourists, Fowler managed just 10 steals in 33 games as a BeachBoy. According to Fowler, it was not a matter of him lacking production, but rather a desire to be more disciplined. "Getting on base and learning how to steal" were some of Fowler's goals during the winter. As were "working the count and bunting (for a hit) to get the defense out of rhythm and get everybody thinking." At 6 feet 4 inches and 173 pounds, the 20-year-old switch hitter is regarded as one of the fastest players in the minors. According to freelance writer Bryan Smith, an expert on prospects and rating their potential, some scouts have compared Fowler to Chicago Cub great Andre Dawson. He also draws comparison to current Atlanta Braves centerfielder Andruw Jones--if he can polish and refine his skills and add a few pounds of muscle during the offseason to supplement his speed with more power at the plate. Fowler's future with the Rockies looks bright, as the team can always use a strong defensive presence in center to patrol the spacious outfield in the thin air of Coors Field. He's slated to start the season with the Rockies' High-A farm team, the Modesto Nuts of the California League and hopes to be elevated to the Tulsa Drillers (AA) of the Texas League by season's end. "I love the Rockies, and it's exciting to be a part of what they're doing," Fowler says. If he plans on playing in the majors one day, however, Fowler needs to cut down on his strikeouts. During the winter, he fanned 30 times in 109 at bats--not the kind of numbers one desires from a speedster near the top of the order. Smith says that Fowler had done a good job of shortening his swing with Asheville, but might have had trouble facing some of the Japanese pitchers in the HWB League. Fowler, who hit for a mere .266 average in the winter compared to .296 in the regular season, has a hard time hitting the breaking ball, and Japanese pitchers are notorious for "pitching backwards," or starting hitters off with heavy doses of breaking pitches followed by fastballs. "I wanted to come out and work on fundamentals, and it was good playing against the Japanese players," Fowler says. "I need to continue getting better by overcoming challenges" through more game experience. In the end, it will come down to Fowler's motivation to smooth out the rough edges of his game: is he willing to cut down the strikeouts and harness his speed so he can reach his lofty potential? Only time will tell, but it is clear that his time spent with HWB was well spent. Fowler says: "Hawaii Winter Baseball was a joy to play in, and I'd recommend it to anybody." (Hawaii Winter Baseball)

More: Minor League Prospect Watch