Dee Haynes

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #23 prospect in 2004
  It's no wonder that Haynes is a fan favorite. He grew up in Mississippi and now lives in Memphis, and he called the Memphis Redbirds' front office this offseason to see if he could help in any way. The Redbirds brought him in to help make season-ticket calls, so when he wasn't working out in the AutoZone Park weight room he was selling tickets to fans. On the field in Memphis last year, he had middling results on the heels of a breakout year in 2002. He had surgery to remove bone spurs from both big toes after the 2003 season, as well as laser-eye surgery. Haynes is a muscular specimen with above-average power potential, and he has a knack for getting the bat on the ball. He still needs to learn to lay off pitchers' pitches, though. He doesn't strike out a lot, but he rarely walks and gets himself out too often. Haynes should be average in left field, though he has to work to keep himself from getting too bulky. St. Louis' left-field situation is muddled, so it's conceivable Haynes could work his way into the picture with a hot spring. Realistically, though, he'll repeat Triple-A.
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  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #22 prospect in 2003
  Haynes was a relative unknown, even in his own organization, before he broke out in Double-A last season. He did so on the strength of one scorching month in particular: Haynes hit .367-9-34 in May, accounting for more than one-third of his production for the year. Haynes has big-time power potential with a stroke that should produce plenty of doubles as well as home runs. He's quite muscular, though he has to work on his flexibility. He's a liability on defense now, though the move from right field to left field helped him last year and he has improved. He still needs to work on his jumps and his overall range. Haynes also has to improve his pitch recognition and learn how to take pitches and handle breaking balls. After his hot start, pitchers fed him a steady diet of breaking stuff when he showed he couldn't handle it. If Haynes' defense improves, he could be a big league regular and have similarities to Dante Bichette, albeit with an average arm. If not, he'd still be a good bat off the bench. He'll try to prove himself at Memphis this year.