Add new comment

Like I said I don't think he'll lose much (or any) offense due to his skillset (we've seen that Home/Road splits can be really overrated with guys like Holliday and Soriano), but I've taken a closer at his D and I'm not sure if he deserves the +5 run ratings RF and UZR are giving him. He looks more like a young Ibanez, than a Gabe Gross defensivley.
Maybe I'm giving him a hard time, but he looks more averagish to me after looking at the vid. In Safeco I could see him losing 5 runs just due to the space of LF. I'd set his range at about 0 to -5 runs in the OF in Safeco and about averagish in a neutral park, although I could be wrong and the metrics could be right. Not a poor OF, but he doesn't look like a plus glove either.
I really like the idea of targetting him, but long-term maybe you keep Saunders and Smith can play every position in the OF so he can be your regular #4 OF and DH. On days when Smith is in the OF, you can give one of your regulars a rest day at DH.
I do really like his chances at 3+WAR even without the +5 runs in LF. Hes a lefty OF with very good plate skills combining above-average batspeed and massive power. He crushes power pitching which bodes well for his development curve as well as trasitioning to the AL.