Add new comment

I get the recognition skills one, I guess.  He can be very choosy, but I wouldn't call his hit-tool "below average."
And power-wise...his swing looks a LOT like Chipper's swing, with that lazy slow hack that hits the ball off the top of the bat and doesn't look squared up...until it goes 12 rows back in CF.
He doesn't have Chipper's eye, but it's no crime not to be a first-ballot HOFer.
I think his power's gonna be more durable than you think, taro.  I still have him pegged for an .850ish OPS but I don't think that's maxing out his potential.  If he can consistently drive the ball from both sides of the plate (something he did in college but hasn't mastered in the bigs yet) then his .280/.400/.550 years are gonna look a lot like an elite hitter.
He's not gonna hit .200 against righties going forward.  He's not gonna continue to have more power at the Safe than on the road.
I just hope he doesn't have to keep being the cog that drives the entire offense (.975 OPS in wins, .500 in losses).  He hits a huge slump, we set the record for the longest losing streak in club history.  Not fair to a guy who's basically a rookie, not at all.  So I'm waiting for the reset button to better judge him going forward, because the guy we saw in April and the first part of May is the guy I expect to see in 2012 and 2013.
Hopefully he can wrap up the year with another month or two like April and get his feet back under him before the offseason.
~G