MICHAEL RESTOVICH

1/3/79; '97 2nd (Minnesota); Rochester, MN (HS)
R/R; 6-4, 250

Level
BA
OBP
SA
AB
2B
3B
HR
BB
K
SB
CS
1998 A (Minn)
.444
.490
.644
45
5
2
0
4
12
0
0
1998 R (Minn)
.355
.489
.607
242
20
1
13
54
58
5
2
1999 A (Minn)
.312
.412
.513
493
30
6
19
74
100
7
9
2000 A+ (Minn)
.263
.350
.408
475
27
9
8
61
100
19
7
2001 AA (Minn)
.269
.345
.489
501
33
4
23
54
125
15
7
2002 AL (Minn)
.308
.357
.538
13
0
0
1
1
4
1
0
2002 AAA (Minn)
.286
.353
.542
518
32
7
29
53
151
11
7
2003 AL (Minn)
.283
.406
.415
53
3
2
0
10
12
0
0
2003 AAA (Minn)
.275
.346
.465
454
34
2
16
47
117
10
3
2004 AL (Minn)
.255
.314
.447
47
3
0
2
4
10
0
0
2004 AAA (Minn)
.247
.291
.449
425
20
3
20
25
104
4
3
2005 NL (Colo)
.290
.353
.452
31
2
0
1
3
5
0
0

The Pirates acquired Restovich from Colorado for a PTBNL shortly after the Rockies placed him on waivers. He moved around quickly in a short period of time in 2005. The Twins waived him during spring training, as he was out of options and they had other players they liked better. The Devil Rays claimed him, but he didn't make their roster and was claimed again on waivers by the Rockies. The Rockies placed him on waivers when they wanted to add more pitchers to their roster. Despite an off year in 2000, he was considered a top hitting prospect for several years with the Twins. His stock gradually slipped as he failed to win a regular job with them and his AAA performance went downhill, especially in his third year there. Restovich is a big guy who's always been regarded as having excellent power potential. He's a good athlete and runs well, although he may be only adequate defensively. He has, however, played some CF. His minor league performance bears a lot of similarity to Chad Hermansen's, especially his weakening plate discipline and growing K totals as he moved up. His plate discipline was generally a little better than Hermansen's, however, until it collapsed in 2004. He's handled major league pitching fairly well in limited opportunity, so it's not a given that he'll struggle with the Bucs. They acquired him after Craig Wilson went down for two months with an injury. They were already short on RH hitting before Wilson was hurt, so Restovich will have a chance to fill a serious need. He's likely to be platooned at least initially, as he's had a strong platoon split in the majors so far. Whether he sticks with the Bucs over the long term will probably depend on his performance up until the time that Wilson returns. Both the Devil Rays and Rockies have a lot of promising young corner players, so the fact that they let Restovich go doesn't necessarily reflect that badly on him. Still, it's clear he's no longer regarded as a top prospect.

Return to Outfielders