Profiling a player these days means grading a player in all aspects of the game, depending on whether he is a hitter or pitcher. The scale ranges from 20 to 80, stops every 10 points, and is as follows:
20 - poor
30 - well below average
40 - below average
50 - Major League average
60 - above average
70 - well above average
80 - outstanding
This profiling system is known as the “Yankee Profile,” as the founders of the system includes then New York Yankee crosschecker Bill Livesey, who is a special assistant to Toronto Blue Jays G.M. J.P. Riccardi, and San Francisco Giants G.M. Brian Sabean.
Profiling, as opposed to simple grading, is used as a way to prioritize a player’s tools by position. A player’s priority tools are looked at much more closely than a player’s secondary tools so a player’s severe strengths are weighted properly against his severe weaknesses. This device is used so a player such as Manny Ramirez isn’t penalized too much for being a below average runner and defender. Ramirez might rate an 80 in the power and hitting for average areas but somewhere between 20 and 40 in defense and speed. Prioritizing allows for such a player to remain a top graded player.
Scouts look for a two-tool combination that totals at least 120, and a three-tool total of at least 170. Using Ramirez as the example, the two-tool grade would be 160, while his three-tool total would be in the 180 -190 range.
A five-tool player isn’t always among the best players and this profiling system shows how that is. None of us believe that Ray Durham has more of an impact than Sammy Sosa, do we? Durham grades about average or better in all five categories (speed, glove, arm, power, average) while Sosa grades below average in two areas. The profiling systems, whichever one is used, are ways for clubs to determine a player’s potential impact, thus the five separate areas of grading.
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