Friday, January 22, 2010
Something you don’t see every day
Posted by Alex PediciniMLB.com is reporting that Oakland Athletics prospect Grant Desme will be retiring from baseball to become a priest.
The 23-year old was a second round pick in 2007 and missed nearly all of 2008 due to a wrist injury but he emerged as a premier prospect last season and was the only player in the minor leagues in 2009 to produce at least 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases.
Desme was ranked as the number eight prospect in Oakland's system this year and he was recently named the Arizona Fall League MVP. Desme is coming off a season in which he hit .288/.365/.568 with 31 home runs and 40 stolen bases between Single-A and Advanced-A levels. This is a particularly tough blow considering the organization's lack of depth in quality outfield prospects.
I do have doubts about how well he would have performed as he progressed through the minors and faced tougher opposing pitchers. Desme has put up huge strikeout numbers (30.4 percent) and a high BABIP (.360) in his first full season on pro ball last year. However, his power (.280 ISO) and speed (40 out of 45 SB attempts) would have made him an interesting follow this season.
Alex is a student in Boston. He welcomes all questions and comments here
It is hard to describe the feeling you feel when you first read something unbelievable like this, re-read it to make sure that you read it correctly, and then think of it’s implications in a matter of seconds. After that you just have to accept it.