I like your Boggs comparison - crack a lot of doubles, not any HRs really, and call it a day. Boggs hit a LOT of doubles, though, that first ten years.
Do I think Ackley can find power? Sure. So could Ichiro or Boggs, but they didn't. They chose not to.
If he DOES find power and he can stick at 2B for a while, he's gonna be the best 2B in the league.
But I'm not planning on him finding it immediately. First is gonna be defining the strike zone and getting his fair share of walks. Next would be attacking the zone and launching doubles all over the field.
After THAT we can talk about power. But seriously, when a guy can hit single-digit HRs like Carew and Boggs and be a HOF player, I don't need to be greedy. Biggio's (relatively) lower average and higher power is possible too - it comes out the same. All those guys played forever and got 3000 hits.
I kinda think that's being greedy too, but I don't know what to do about it. I have to downgrade his skillset to find comps for what happens if he never finds power, and his average suffers for it and...and...
To me, yes, Ackley could find enough power to pull Biggio's trick of 40 2B and 15 HR a year. With a comparable eye, too, you start talking about instant greatness.
I'm willing to settle for goodness to start with, that's all.
~G
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