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I think its kind of like a stock. Saunders stock right now is going to be higher than it ever is UNLESS he develops into a good player at the MLB level.
Saunders is likely going to struggle mightilly with the bat in the early going. Considering that Ackley's ETA is likely going to be soon, Ichiro and Gut firmly in CF and RF for the next few years, and with short-term solutions that are likely more productive (Langerhans, maybe Gross), I just think that a Wlad scenario is most likely. Hes going to struggle for a year or less, get replaced by Ackley in late '10 or early '11 before he gets a chance to adjust, and then get stuck in a yo-yo situation where hes either your 4th OF that gets 200 ABs a season or hes stuck in AAA after destroying his trade value for the past year+.
Saunders has good value, hes not an elite prospect, but I do think hes the Ms #2-3 prospect and recognized as such around the game. A couple years ago you may have been able to trade Wlad for a guy like Scott Baker, I'd like to see the Ms swap Saunders this offseason for a SP or a MI prospect. The ONLY scenario in which keeping him makes sense IMO, is if you think he'll develop quickly and/or you grade Ackley lower than most.