Kuzul

1B David Cooper (6’0″, 210 pounds)

Age: 23

Drafted: 17th overall in 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of the University of California

Bats: Left      Throws: Left

2009-10 Team: New Hampshire Fisher Cats (AA)

2010-11 Expected Team: Las Vegas 51s (AAA)

Best-Case Scenario: Poor man’s Todd Helton bat without the defence

Worst-Case Scenario: Poor man’s Lyle Overbay bat without the defence

David Cooper began his baseball journey playing in a California high school, where he absolutely dominated in every facet of the game. In his final three years of high school, he averaged .529 with a .992 OPS. Cooper was named a high school All-American and all-state honoree by Baseball America and Louisville Slugger in 2005 and was also named San Joaquin Athletic Association MVP and Player of the Year in 2005.

Obviously those numbers got noticed by nearly every college recruiter known to man and also drew plenty of interest from the MLB ranks. He opted to go to college instead of heading straight to the pros, deciding to sign a letter of intent to attend Cal State Fullerton after his high school career was finished. This is the same school that Ricky Romero went to before he was drafted by the Blue Jays.

In 2006, he began his college career and averaged a respectable .305 with the Cal State Fullerton Titans. His squad was good enough to make it to the College World Series, where Cooper exploded and was named to the College World Series All-Star Team while averaging .533 during that time.

After the 2006 season, Cooper decided to transfer to the University of California for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. That move ended up being a major steppingstone to becoming a first-round draft pick.

In the two seasons he spent with UC, Cooper hit an unreal .370/.449/.655 slash line in 111 games. Additionally, in 2007, his first season with the team, he led them with a .382 average, good for third overall in the Pac-10, which eventually earned him votes for player of the year that season.

Cooper led his Cal Bears team in hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, multiple-hit games and multiple-RBI games in both 2007 and 2008, further cementing himself as a high draft pick. With that proven track record and the fact he was a junior in college, that made him the perfect target for then-Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi to draft very high.

Ricciardi had a soft spot for third- and fourth-year college players because he believed that their games were far more polished and they had the ability to cruise through the minor league system. However, ever since Cooper was selected by Ricciardi, he has remained in the Jays farm system, yet to play one major league game.

Basically, due to his defensive problems, Cooper among the pro scout ranks is deemed a one-dimensional talent, only having a decent bat as his calling card. He has a polished, patient approach at the plate that capitalizes on pitchers’ mistakes. A very poor runner, and also still bad defensively, Cooper’s future looks like a DH or first baseman in the Adam Lind mold. Right now, that’s probably what his ceiling is, unfortunately for Blue Jay fans.

Anyway, Cooper began his career with the Blue Jays in the NY Penn League with the Auburn Doubledays, hitting for a .341 AVG with a .961 OPS. He was promoted to the Lansing Lugnuts, where he hit .354 with a .936 OPS in only 24 games. As you would have guessed, he was again promoted, this time to Dunedin in high A ball.

In Dunedin, he managed to hit .303 with an .808 OPS and looked as if he was a top 10 prospect for years to come with the Jays. He climbed through three levels of minor league ball as expected since he was a college junior heading into those leagues.

Due to his success the Jays took a chance and promoted him yet again the next season to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Jays’ AA affiliate. This is where the descent of Cooper began, as Cooper managed to have the worst year of his short career, hitting a measly .258 AVG with a .340 OBP and .389 SLG, hitting only 10 homers and adding 66 RBI.

Despite that season, Cooper remained a top five Blue Jays prospect according to Baseball America, who had him fourth heading into the following season—before Alex Anthopoulos took over and overhauled the Jays’ pathetic farm system.

Cooper’s start to the 2010 season was even worse than his stats from the year before, managing to barely stay above the Mendoza line before the All-Star break. However, after the break, Cooper made some adjustments and managed to hit .317 in July and .286 in August, finishing the season on an 11-game hitting streak (15 for 40, .375).

He finished the year hitting .257 with a .327 OBP and .442 SLG with 20 home runs and 76 RBI. His lack of athleticism, poor running, bad defence and an inability to hit left-handed pitching are his downfall right now and will need to be addressed if he ever hopes to be an everyday ballplayer one day.

Heading into the 2010-11 season with the Las Vegas 51s, Cooper will have some large shoes to fill for the now departed Brett Wallace (who was dealt to the Astros for centerfielder Anthony Gose). Along with the big shoes to fill, Cooper will have more pressure to perform hitting in the very hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Due to that fact, I expect this year to be one of Cooper’s best as a pro heading into the season as a 24-year-old when the season starts. Every year his home run totals have doubled, so if the trend continues, Cooper will bang out 40 home runs next year. However, I’d be happy with 25 to 30 home runs.

If all goes well, expect the Jays to call Cooper up by September, since it really looks like they won’t have many first base options heading into the season. Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion seem like the only successors to Lyle Overbay, who signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this offseason.

Minor League Stats

In a continuing series I have decided to do for you all, I will be featuring a Jays prospect every week or so and give you all a breakdown of that player and some additional background on him. I’m hoping this will help some of you get to know some of the future Blue Jays a little sooner.

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