Forum > Elvis Andrus
Heck no.
Borbon got so much grief earlier in the season and he's fought all the way back to lead Andrus in batting average, homers and rbi in about 160 fewer at bats. Andrus should be 8th or 9th and Young should be sixth or seventh.
Try Borbon, Kinsler, Cruz, Hamilton, Vlad, Young, Molina, Moreland and Andrus if all are healthy enough. That's a lineup that hasn't been tried all year either. Without Hamilton go Kinsler, Murphy, Vlad, Cruz, Young, Molina, Moreland and Andrus and Borbon. That one hasn't been tried either.
David
If Hamilton is healthy enough to play in October, he's going to be in center field with Murphy in left field and Cruz in right field. Borbon broke out of that whole "on pace for the worst offensive season ever by a CFer" thing and I'm happy that he did so, but I can't imagine that they'd view him as anything more than a late-inning defensive sub/pinch-runner in the playoffs.
As far as Jason's question is concerned, no, probably not. Josh was dead on about this issue a few weeks ago. I know somebody's going to bitch about not wanting to tinker with the lineup right before the post-season, but his .347 OBP is highly misleading because of his monstrous early-season walk rate. I realize you have to take the entire season into account, but his walk rate has been consistently on par with his '09 walk rate for the latter two-thirds of the season -- and maybe even a tick worse -- and it's gotten to the point that you have to consider sticking Kinsler or maybe Murphy in the lead-off spot.
Joey Matschulat
I think we all got really excited when we saw Andrus make a couple of amazing defensive plays last season and actually didn't completely suck at hitting for a rookie. But most All-Stars take a dramatic step forward in their second year in the majors. Andrus has taken a step back. I think the age excuse is just that-an excuse.
If he's truly the amazing player he was billed to be, he'd be producing, regardless of age.
Andrus's stats look more along the line of Omar Vizquel offensively. That's not bad, but it certainly isn't great, either.
PATRICK B.
Would I be crazy to suggest a batting order of Kinsler, Hamilton, Murphy, Cruz, Guerrero, Young, Moreland, Treanor, and Andrus?
Dave H
I'd put Kinsler back on top and hit Andrus in the bottom three. Joey first brought attention to the declining walk rate months ago. Andrus' offensive development is a tad disappointing this year, but I still feel in the long run he's going to be an asset at the plate, at least for his position.
t ball
But most All-Stars take a dramatic step forward in their second year in the majors.
I think "dramatic" is a bit strong. I would say most AS-caliber players do improve, but it's not to a significant extent, and I've flipped through plenty of BR hitter profiles for good players where they were about the same in their second year or somewhat worse. Development isn't linear.
Joey Matschulat
So here's a couple of other shortstops who didn't take a "huge leap" offensively from year one to year two (all numbers are wOBA):
Ozzie Smith: Rookie - .296, Sophomore - .244 (didn't exceed a .300 wOBA until year five)
Derek Jeter: Rookie - .353, Sophomore - .348 (still good regardless)
Barry Larkin: Rookie - .330, Sophomore - .302
Allan Trammell: Rookie - .313, Sophomore - .309
Luis Aparicio: Rookie - .302, Sophomore - .301
Julio Franco: Rookie - .312, Sophomore - .308
Phil Rizzuto: Rookie - .346, Sophomore - .347 (.301 in year three)
Dave Concepcion: Rookie - .295, Sophomore - .231
Edgar Renteria: Rookie - .344, Sophomore - .302
Jimmy Rollins: Rookie - .330, Sophomore - .302
Rafael Furcal: Rookie - .359, Sophomore - .308
Jose Valentin: Rookie - .335, Sophomore - .305
Orlando Cabrera: Rookie - .325, Sophomore - .298
Michael Young: Rookie - .302, Sophomore - .299
Jose Reyes: Rookie - .338, Sophomore - .293
Troy Tulowitzki: Rookie - .361, Sophomore - .313
Ozzie Guillen: Rookie - .287, Sophomore - .256
Dave H
Should he be lead-off hitter for an October team?