Mound Talk

At 5’11” and 175 pounds, Eric Patterson isn’t much to look at. Until he puts on a baseball uniform that is. Eric, the younger brother of Corey Patterson, was drafted in the eighth round of the 2004 draft. Eric Patterson is naturally compared to his older brother because, aside from their shared bloodline, they share similar skills. Speed, moderate power, defense and average make Eric Patterson a prospect to keep an eye on.

Although the Chicago Cubs have recently spent a large fortune upgrading their offense, Eric Patterson looms as a candidate to take a roster spot in the next year in Chicago. When he comes up he is a very good candidate to pick up a few cheap steals.

After spending three years at Georgia Tech, Patterson moved through the Cubs system rather quickly. He spent most of 2005 in Low-A Peoria and most of 2006 in Double-A West Tennessee before a few weeks in Triple-A Iowa. At each level Patterson has proved to be a steal of a draft pick for Jim Hendry and company.

Strengths

Clearly the strength of Eric Patterson is his speed, but it’s not limited to his feet. Patterson has shown incredible base stealing ability at every level he’s been at. He’s stolen 178 bases over his last four seasons dating back to college against 41 times caught stealing.

At the plate, he’s learned to use his speed to his advantage by becoming more of a line drive hitter and trying to slap the ball and find some green rather than hit the cover off the ball.

Patterson has more plate discipline than his brother, but certainly has some room to improve. He struck out in just under 18% of his career minor league at bats. If he’s able to cut down on that just a bit, he’ll drastically improve his value.

Patterson has some natural power, but will struggle to reach 20 home runs in a season. His speed, to a degree, precipitates an approach at the plate that isn’t conducive to home run hitting.

Patterson has above average defense. His arm isn’t incredibly strong, but that’s why he’s at second base. He has good range and would be an above average major league second baseman.

Weaknesses

Though Patterson has displayed the ability to hit for a high average, he has also struggled. The left handed hitter predominantly pulls the ball. If he learns to spread the ball to all fields, he might help get some consistency and collect more hits.

Patterson doesn’t have a lot of room to improve. Though he’s fairly accomplished in his two professional seasons, he doesn’t have a lot of upside. What you see is pretty much what you get, and that is pretty much an above average minor league player or an average major league player.

Outlook

Eric Patterson is going to start the season in Triple-A Iowa next year and with the crowded offensive situation in Chicago, Patterson might have to spend the entire year in the minors. In an ideal world, Patterson becomes a .275 hitter but struggles to get on base more than 35% of the time. He’ll utilize his speed and swipe around 40 bags per year and, if he can lead off in Chicago, rack up over 100 runs. In a more realistic world, Patterson will be an average leadoff hitter who can float between hitting #1, #7, or #8.