Position
OF
Height 6-0
Weight 200
Born 1-7-79
Bats Left
Throws
Right
Diamondbacks 1997 1st Round pick from Immaculatta High School in
Flemington, New Jersey.
Jack Cust is currently playing left field for the High Desert Mavericks
in the Class A California League. In my opinion he is the currently the
games best prospect with the least amount of attention or hype. Lets take
a quick look at his Statistics for this season. .336 avg. 104 runs 150
hits 42 doubles 3 triples 32 home runs 111rbi 91 walks
142 k's .659 slugging pct .448 on base percentage 10 errors.
His Average, Home Runs, Slugging Percentage and Onbase Percentage are all
Tops in the Lg. He is third in doubles and 4th in runs scored.
Taking a closer look inside the numbers if he had not been hurt and
missed 2 weeks of the season he would be a lock for the for the Triple
Crown. Yet there have been very few articles regarding this prospect. One
of the biggest knocks on Cust has been his defense. While in high school
he played primarily third base and first base. Upon being drafted by the
Diamondbacks he was moved to left field. He never played an inning or a
game at 1st Base, due to contrary belief, he has always been a left
fielder with the Diamondbacks. Every season his defense has improved and I
believe at a minimum he will be an average defensive left fielder. But the
real reason the Diamondbacks are so high on Cust is his approach to
hitting. Cust has a great eye and doesn't swing at many bad pitches.
Although his strike out total for this season is high it can be
attributed to the pitching in the Cal Lg., not very consistent. Rarely do
you find a hitter that draws as many walks as Cust does and hits well over
.300 and have that not that be his strong points. The thing that separates
Cust from most prospects is his incredible power. If you ever get a chance
to see him play make sure you get there early because you will see more
than your share of batting practices bombs when it's his turn to hit. If
Cust were with another organization he would have been promoted to AA
already but the Diamondbacks have taken the same approach to all their top
prospects believing that they should spend an entire season in A ball no
matter what the statistics show. As an indication of how high they are on
Cust he was the only position player in the organization selected to play
in the 99 Arizona Fall League at the age of 20. Look for Cust to start the
99 Season at Double A El Paso with a call up to Triple A Tucson by Mid
Season.
He should challenge for an Outfield position with the Diamondbacks in
the year 2001.