The answer is Bryce Harper. Having top-end hitter would be criteria #1. Then you want a guy who can also pitch and catch. I would bet that Harper is the only guy in the bigs who meets those criteria. He wouldn’t be as good at pitching as Simmons, but he was pretty good in his 57 JUCO innings.
Simmons hitting value exceeded expectations. Much of his overall value is with his glove. And that’s not to be ignored. But if you’re talking about filling out all of the positions with one guy, I don’t think you want Simmons “maybe-not-really-his-true-talent-level” wOBA of .324 at 1B and LF. Simmons is 23, fully three years older than Harper.
The fans projections for 2013 have Harper’s wOBA at .372. Simmons is at .317. I’m pretty sure that such a difference with the bat more than makes up for advantages Simmons would have on the mound and defensively.
Harper’s pitching line from JUCO (as a 17-year old):
Innings Pitched: 57.2
Hits: 41
Runs: 22
Earned Runs: 14
Base on Balls: 25
Strikeouts: 88
Cameron, take it from a guy that’s a little older than you are. 1. If the missus wanted that shower curtain enough to enlist the help of her mother, you better let her have it. 2. Whether you ARE cheap or not is beside the point. If the missus and her mother brought that thing home while you weren’t around to object, THEY think you are cheap and their opinion is the one that counts here.
Cameron is silly. He passes on a straight swap of Ellsbury for Bourjos like it’s a no brainer or an absurd proposal. The team control is fine, but Ellsbury will definitely bring back draft compensation, and has considerably higher upside for this season. If Ellsbury has a hot first half he could probably still bring back a better prospect than Bourjos. I understand both sides and think Bourjos is the better long term value, but Cameron consistently overrates cost controlled years, it doesn’t matter THAT much for teams like the Red Sox and Angels. I doubt the Red Sox would consider this move, Bradley Jr projects to be Peter Bourjos if not better and will be ready by the start of next year. The Angels might do it, with their roster construction and constant thirst for media attention I could see it. Either way the dismissive response is silly.
Tom says:
January 23, 2013 at 11:46 am
Ultimately, what is Samardzija’s ceiling? Could he be a good #2 starter? Too small of a track record as a starter to tell yet?
TheYellowSlant says:
January 23, 2013 at 1:17 pm
The correct answer to the multiply by 25 question is not Troy Tulowitzki, that’s silly.
It’s Buster Posey, American Hero.
JT Grace says:
January 23, 2013 at 2:14 pm
No, it’s Andrelton Simmons.
Mark Hanusa says:
January 23, 2013 at 3:51 pm
Hey, AJ… I’ll sell you my shower curtain! I’ll even give ya a bargain at $$$125!
rogue_actuary says:
January 23, 2013 at 5:26 pm
The answer is Bryce Harper. Having top-end hitter would be criteria #1. Then you want a guy who can also pitch and catch. I would bet that Harper is the only guy in the bigs who meets those criteria. He wouldn’t be as good at pitching as Simmons, but he was pretty good in his 57 JUCO innings.
Simmons hitting value exceeded expectations. Much of his overall value is with his glove. And that’s not to be ignored. But if you’re talking about filling out all of the positions with one guy, I don’t think you want Simmons “maybe-not-really-his-true-talent-level” wOBA of .324 at 1B and LF. Simmons is 23, fully three years older than Harper.
The fans projections for 2013 have Harper’s wOBA at .372. Simmons is at .317. I’m pretty sure that such a difference with the bat more than makes up for advantages Simmons would have on the mound and defensively.
Harper’s pitching line from JUCO (as a 17-year old):
Innings Pitched: 57.2
Hits: 41
Runs: 22
Earned Runs: 14
Base on Balls: 25
Strikeouts: 88
BillWallace says:
January 23, 2013 at 11:40 pm
I would go with strasburg
DrBGiantsfan says:
January 24, 2013 at 12:45 am
Cameron, take it from a guy that’s a little older than you are. 1. If the missus wanted that shower curtain enough to enlist the help of her mother, you better let her have it. 2. Whether you ARE cheap or not is beside the point. If the missus and her mother brought that thing home while you weren’t around to object, THEY think you are cheap and their opinion is the one that counts here.
brian says:
January 24, 2013 at 12:59 am
Cameron is silly. He passes on a straight swap of Ellsbury for Bourjos like it’s a no brainer or an absurd proposal. The team control is fine, but Ellsbury will definitely bring back draft compensation, and has considerably higher upside for this season. If Ellsbury has a hot first half he could probably still bring back a better prospect than Bourjos. I understand both sides and think Bourjos is the better long term value, but Cameron consistently overrates cost controlled years, it doesn’t matter THAT much for teams like the Red Sox and Angels. I doubt the Red Sox would consider this move, Bradley Jr projects to be Peter Bourjos if not better and will be ready by the start of next year. The Angels might do it, with their roster construction and constant thirst for media attention I could see it. Either way the dismissive response is silly.
Daniel says:
January 24, 2013 at 7:10 am
Loved the Ben Revere and Flowers responses, keep up the good work Dave!
yep says:
January 24, 2013 at 12:13 pm
So, women suck?
Tony says:
January 25, 2013 at 6:56 pm
We get MASN in High Point, NC, just down the road from Greensboro…it comes with our DirectTV package.
Tony says:
January 25, 2013 at 6:57 pm
er, just down the road from Winston-Salem.