Your Ideal MLB line-up

[Brett Favre 0]

I picked Cano because, although he had half as many homeruns as Utley, he had a .342 BA compared to Utley's still impressive .309, and, although he only walked 18 times, he struck out 80 less times than Utley. I figured I had enough thump in the lineup, so I went with a contact hitter. I was just disappointed that I couldn't think of a really great left-handed or switch-hitting 3rd baseman to stick in my lineup to preserve my 'All Lefties and Switch-Hitters" motif. And I wasn't about to pick Chipper Jones.

 

I can understand the point of being a contrarian, but a 23 year old hitter who draws only 18 walks in an entire season is going to find himself in a lot of trouble in the future. He had an OBP of .365, but batted .342. There's no way he can sustain that unless he learns to take a pitch now and again. He could find himself with an OBP of around .300 if he doesn't keep those batted balls falling for hits.

 

After Cano came back from injury, post all-star game, he batted .365/.380/.635 with an OPS over 1.000 in 211 at bats. That's insane, even if he doesn't walk a lot. He's like the new Rod Carew. On the season he had a .342/.365/.525 line with an OPS of .890. Compared to Utley who had a .309/.370/.527 line with an OPS of .906 and a significantly higher one at home, which is a great hitters ballpark. If Utley is better, which he may be, it's not by much. Considering Cano had a monster 2nd half, and has done nothing but improve since coming up last year, including getting more walks, i'll take Cano.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I picked Cano because, although he had half as many homeruns as Utley, he had a .342 BA compared to Utley's still impressive .309, and, although he only walked 18 times, he struck out 80 less times than Utley. I figured I had enough thump in the lineup, so I went with a contact hitter. I was just disappointed that I couldn't think of a really great left-handed or switch-hitting 3rd baseman to stick in my lineup to preserve my 'All Lefties and Switch-Hitters" motif. And I wasn't about to pick Chipper Jones.

 

I can understand the point of being a contrarian, but a 23 year old hitter who draws only 18 walks in an entire season is going to find himself in a lot of trouble in the future. He had an OBP of .365, but batted .342. There's no way he can sustain that unless he learns to take a pitch now and again. He could find himself with an OBP of around .300 if he doesn't keep those batted balls falling for hits.

 

After Cano came back from injury, post all-star game, he batted .365/.380/.635 with an OPS over 1.000 in 211 at bats. That's insane, even if he doesn't walk a lot. He's like the new Rod Carew. On the season he had a .342/.365/.525 line with an OPS of .890. Compared to Utley who had a .309/.370/.527 line with an OPS of .906 and a significantly higher one at home, which is a great hitters ballpark. If Utley is better, which he may be, it's not by much. Considering Cano had a monster 2nd half, and has done nothing but improve since coming up last year, including getting more walks, i'll take Cano.

 

You've sort of inadvertently proved my point with that stats you've provided. His game is totally batting average dependent, which is a) usually not sustainable and b) really not sustainable if you can't draw a walk. Maybe he's a freak that defies all convention (like Wang is turning out to be) but I wouldn't bet on it. If he can get the rest of his game to come around, he'll be a valuable commodity for the Yankees.

[Guest Oedipus Rex]

Nine Carlos Zambranos.