At the point we drafted him? I'm MORE than okay seeing if he can be a cludgy thumper at 2nd. Uggla's bat would have played in LF too, so that's not a bad fallback position. He's another chip-on-the-shoulder guy since he could only get one scholarship as a hitter (to Siena) after he ripped his shoulder up as a pitcher, which WAS his ticket to college ball. He's a fiery, passionate guy and the role of the underdog fits him well.
He's the MAAC's all-time HR leader, the school record-holder in both average (.380 career) and obviously HRs with 56, and I would expect him to hit the ground in Everett in a few weeks. Now being the MAAC leader in a division that was founded in 1980 with teams like Army and Fordham isn't as impressive as setting the Pac-10 HR record, but I don't need him to be Mark McGwire, either.
Paolini fell in the draft, funnily enough, partly because he didn't do well with wood bats in the Cape Cod league last year. That plus his defensive question marks kicked the player College Baseball Daily called the 53rd best college player down to the 10th round.
He's got steal written all over him...if he can use that mitt at all.
2011 - .346/.440/.664, 10 2B, 0 3B, 19 HRs, 32BB/36K in 211 ABs, 11 errors, .962 fielding %
2010 - .368/.439/.816, 13 2B, 2 3B, 26 HRs, 22BB/27K in 212 ABs, 4 errors, .981 fielding %
Seeing how little his stat line dropped with the new bats is ridiculously impressive. Looking forward to seeing Paolini swing a wood bat for us shortly.
~G
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