Jimmy Rollins High School Scouting Report: 'Must Move to 2B'
Jimmy Rollins is closing in on becoming the Philadelphia Phillies' all-time hits leader, which may surprise some people who scouted him in high school.
Back in 1996, a couple of scouts doubted that Rollins would be able to become a star in the majors as a shortstop. He's proven them wrong over and over throughout his 15-year career in Philadelphia.
Here's the scouting report that Chicagoย White Sox scout Joe Butler gave the shortstop:
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The scouting report wasn't too kind to Rollins. Butler said that he had a "big rear," lacked power and "must move" to second base.
Butler wasn't the only one who was hard on the high school prospect. This is what White Sox scout Ed Pebley had to say about him:
Pebley focused on Rollins' talent. The scout called the prospect an "average to little better runner," didn't think he'd have more power than Ray Durham and had doubts about the arm strength. Through the first 14 years of both players' careers, Rollins slugged seven more home runs than Durham. As for the "average" speed, Rollins led the National League in stolen bases (46) in 2001.
The Phillies apparently didn't have too many concerns with Rollins, seeing as how they took him in the second round of the 1996 MLB draft. How'd it work out for them?
He won the 2007 NL Most Valuable Player Award, the 2007 Silver Slugger and four Gold Gloves. The 35-year-old has also made three NL All-Star teams and helped the Phillies win the World Series in 2008. Oh, and Rollins is only five hits away from breaking Mike Schmidt's franchise record for career hits.
He did all of that while playing 1,981 games at shortstop.ย
It looks like a few scouts may have been wrong on this one.
