Will Middlebrooks the next 3b?

[lesterkett]

He is now batting .305 with 76 RBI. He has rarely slumped all season.. big papi out and bring middlebrooks to play 3b and youk dh?

[lesterkett]

for 2013 season

[SoxFanForsyth]

He's in AA right now. Give him a year in AAA and then we'll see. Youk's contract runs up after next season, although there is a $13mm club option for 2013. I wouldn't be surprised if the Sox don't pick up his option for 2013 in order to give the job to Middlebrooks and have Lavarnway DH.

[AtWork]

It's possible, I believe he also leads the Sea Dogs in errors though. He's still got work to do.

[Dojji]

Our next 3B is quite likely Jed Lowrie, but Middlebrooks is definitely on the horizon. He might have a couple Reddick-line false starts though, he's not the most disciplined hitter. Very very talented young third baseman and I can't want to see him in the bigs. Rolen-like ceiling IMHO though probably with a somewhat lower OBP (~.330-.340). This kid's gonna be a pure stud if he clicks.

[rlchange]

I like to see good plays go slowly from, A, AA, AAA. I really don't like them to skip one, it really can develop and get that player ready for the majors. So probably, we will see him in AAA next year.

[Dojji]

and quite probably the year after as well, if the team is concerned at all about his hitting discipline.

[jacksonianmarch]

He took awhile to progress and his K/BB rates are alarming. Rolen isnt a good comp. Rolen has always had good patience in his hay day. I'd look more at a Joe Crede comp. 20+HRs, bad walk rates, average fluctuating in the .270 range.

[AtWork]

He took awhile to progress and his K/BB rates are alarming. Rolen isnt a good comp. Rolen has always had good patience in his hay day. I'd look more at a Joe Crede comp. 20+HRs' date=' bad walk rates, average fluctuating in the .270 range.[/quote']

 

 

He was just named the best offensive prospect in AA and you're comparing him to Joe Crede. Will it never end?

[jacksonianmarch]

.270-.280 with 30HR potential. I didnt say the old broken down Crede towards the end of his career.

[SoxFanForsyth]

He took awhile to progress and his K/BB rates are alarming. Rolen isnt a good comp. Rolen has always had good patience in his hay day. I'd look more at a Joe Crede comp. 20+HRs' date=' bad walk rates, average fluctuating in the .270 range.[/quote']

 

Um. Joe Crede hit .254 lifetime. He touched .270 once, and had an OBP of .304. Middlebrooks, at 22, is hitting .304/.347/.515 in his first full season of AA. That's a pretty terrible comparison.

 

I can see maybe a Matt Williams. Career .270 hitter with around a .320 OBP. Peak seasons have him around a .290/.340/.550, 20-30 HR power. He won't have that 45 HR season that Williams had, but I can see that being a better comp.

[AtWork]

.270-.280 with 30HR potential. I didnt say the old broken down Crede towards the end of his career.

 

You didn't specify Crede in the best year of his career either, you simply said Joe Crede - a lifetime .250 or so hitter who had one good year and a couple of OK years.

[SoxFanForsyth]

.270-.280 with 30HR potential. I didnt say the old broken down Crede towards the end of his career.

 

Crede retired at 31. He hit .283 one time in his career. He played 150 games twice in his career. This is a horrendous comparison. He was consistently inconsistent, hitting anywhere from .215 to .260 in any given season.

[Dojji]

Most likely we're looking at a middle ground somewhere in the range of Garrett Atkins back when he was good.

 

Also, Crede was a fine 3B before his health caught up with him. That wouldn't be a bad result with Middlebrooks. I think he can do better, but that's neither here nor there.

 

Actually you know a guy who might make an interesting comp is one Mike Lowell. He also wasn't the most patient guy, and his good OBP tended to be driven by his batting average. Pre-injury Lowell was a star caliber player, and a target I wouldn't mind WMB shooting for.

[AtWork]

Crede retired at 31. He hit .283 one time in his career. He played 150 games twice in his career. This is a horrendous comparison. He was consistently inconsistent' date=' hitting anywhere from .215 to .260 in any given season.[/quote']

 

 

He had an old soul. Way to blow Jacko's excuse out of the water.

[jacksonianmarch]

His K/BB rate will limit his ability unless he improves on that. His power is solid, he can hit for average in the minors and I dont know much about his defense.

[Dojji]

His defense is considered plus I believe.

 

This is Soxprospects' take on his glove

 

Plus-to-better arm. Light on feet defensively with strong anticipation, reactions, and first step. Solid footwork and stays square to the ball. Can stand to improve range to his left by stabbing less at the ball and taking another step or continuing to become comfortable throwing on the move. Rounding towards a plus defender.

 

Sounds pretty Lowellish, although he'd have to take more walks to really earn a Lowell comp. Still, apparently that's an extreme arm and high-end hands at a position that demands both, so hey, not bad. Kid runs faster than Lowell anyway, who was a turtle even before the labrum tear.

[BigPapiEnFuego]

Our next 3B is quite likely Jed Lowrie

 

Please god, no. No.

[jacksonianmarch]

He reminds me of Brandon Laird from last yr.

[Dojji]

Please god' date=' no. No.[/quote']

 

Oh come on, it's not like Youk won't be around, it's just that he gets dinged up so much that he's probably gonna DH a lot once we're not burning the roster spot on Ortiz.

[Dojji]

He reminds me of Brandon Laird from last yr.

 

Reminds me more of Mike Moustakas.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Oh come on' date=' it's not like Youk won't be around, it's just that he gets dinged up so much that he's probably gonna DH a lot once we're not burning the roster spot on Ortiz.[/quote']

 

I think we will lock up Ortiz to 2/20mm. And I don't think we will exercise Youk's option.

[Dojji]

No way. Sorry, we might go year to year for Papi for another few years, but we shouldn't tie ourselves to a 36 ear old DH for multiple seasons. It's time to move on and let him go prove us wrong for a few years with a marginal team while we bring on some offensive prospects like Kalish, Middlebrooks and Lavarnway -- which will be a whole heck of a lot easier to do with the DH spot open.

[SoxFanForsyth]

No way. Sorry' date=' we might go year to year for Papi for another few years, but we shouldn't tie ourselves to a 36 ear old DH for multiple seasons. It's time to move on and let him go prove us wrong for a few years with a marginal team while we bring on some offensive prospects like Kalish, Middlebrooks and Lavarnway -- which will be a whole heck of a lot easier to do with the DH spot open.[/quote']

 

Letting a .300/.390/.560, 30+ HR, 100+ RBI guy walk is a ridiculous notion, especially when you can lock him up for 2/20. If he demands 2/30 or something, ok, let him walk, but 2/20 is not worth the risk of someone like Lavarnway not hitting well and now you've got a huge hole in your line up where you could have a .950 OPS, 30+ HR guy.

[Dojji]

If I thought he'd be that guy going forward, I'd agree with you. I don't trust a guy his size to stay healthy enough to produce.

[ORS]

Reminds me more of Mike Moustakas.

Easy now. Moustakas put up a .999 OPS last year across two levels of MiLB ball, with 36 HR, as a 21 y/o. Middlebrooks is 22 this year.

 

Middlebrooks looks like an interesting prospect. Big scouting reports about his tools in his draft year, and it looks like he's starting to put it all together, but let's calm down a bit. I mean, are you ready to hit him up with 20x all-star status like you did with Lars Anderson the year Teixeira was on the market?

[example1]

Easy now. Moustakas put up a .999 OPS last year across two levels of MiLB ball, with 36 HR, as a 21 y/o. Middlebrooks is 22 this year.

 

Middlebrooks looks like an interesting prospect. Big scouting reports about his tools in his draft year, and it looks like he's starting to put it all together, but let's calm down a bit. I mean, are you ready to hit him up with 20x all-star status like you did with Lars Anderson the year Teixeira was on the market?

 

I agree here (sorry, late to the party). Middlebrooks is a good looking prospect. Really nice frame that he will grow into more, probably will be an athletic 3B. Solid offensive and defensive skills make him appear pretty well-rounded. That said, his offensive numbers don't just jump off the page (to me at least). A guy with .347/.515/.862 at AA is nice but we're not talking about Evan Longoria here. I actually like the Travis Fryman comparisons (5 time all star). SP compares him to Scott Rolen. That would be a really, really nice upside but seems a bit hopeful to me. :dunno:

 

As for the David Ortiz discussion, I think a lot of what the Sox do depends on how they do this year and what Ortiz wants. If the Sox manage to win the WS this year I think that buys the FO some freedom to do what they want to do. I suspect the issue will not be Ortiz asking for 2/20 vs. 2/30, I think it will be him asking for 3/30 and that will be too long. He will huff and puff about his loyalty to the team and they will not want to go 3 years.

 

They do have Lavarnway, Kalish, Middlebrooks, Youkilis and Gonzalez who can all take some time at DH and I think they would be wise to open up a spot if the price is too high (long) for Ortiz.

[Dojji]

I don't think it's utterly unreasonable to be a bit exuberant about Middlebrooks at this time. It's clear that he hasn't finished growing into his toolset. As he is right now, he has everything he'd need to develop into a highly talented third baseman, and as young as he is, at the level he's playing, not that unreasonable to project him to add some growth on top of that.

 

Sure no one's ever going to let me live Anderson down (although he does still have time, and is coming around), but the fact is the Sox have a pretty good batting average when it comes to developing prospects and getting them ready to produce so I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that I like Middlebrooks' chances to succeed too.

[jacksonianmarch]

Reminds me more of Mike Moustakas.

 

Lol, you are such a homer. So you'd say he's Moustakas? The guy who put up an OPS of 1.100 in AA a year younger than Middlebrooks? Lol. I like Middlebrooks, but he fits the Brandon Laird model (lots of power, lots of K's, minimal walks)

[boston22407]

Lol' date=' [b']you are such a homer[/b]. So you'd say he's Moustakas? The guy who put up an OPS of 1.100 in AA a year younger than Middlebrooks? Lol. I like Middlebrooks, but he fits the Brandon Laird model (lots of power, lots of K's, minimal walks)

 

Your are too............