Could Tui hold his own in the majors already? Probably. His 2009 was already a lot better than his 2008 -- in 2008 he fanned every 3rd time he went to the plate, whereas in 2009, he battled pitchers to an Obi-Wan vs Anakin backpedalling draw.
I'm not sure what stats you're looking at Doc - his 22 ABs in the pros where he didn't strike out in 2009?
In the minors in 2009 he did exactly what he did in the majors in 2008 - Struck out every 3 ABs. 89 Ks in 253 ABs concerns me, even though it doesn't seem to bother you. You thinkin it was injury-related?
As for Kotchman, the ONLY reasonable explanations that I can come up with are that a) Jack believes he can get a Real First Baseman (tm) in mid-season or b) he wants a better stop-loss against Branyan's back than Carp is before he commits cash to Russell the Muscle.
I like option a best. :)
~G