Will Wood Be As Productive As Scouts Say?
by letsgolaangels on Dec 7, 2009 11:26 PM PST
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PrintWith Figgy headed to the M's, the Angels finally have a chance to use Brandon Wood.
If Wood doesn't work out the Angles do have options. They could use Maicer Izturis or Erick Aybar as the 3rd Baseman. Many scouts say Wood can hit about .290 and 20-40 homers a season. Under the circumstances I think that his production might be down a little because there is a big difference between the majors and the minors. What do you think?
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270 and 25 hrs
add 80 rbis and his 7th/8th bat in the order will be the best in league
Confidence breeds success, self-doubt breeds failure
he needs acuda's blessing if it's gonna happen
#34, never forget.
by jtkelly86 on Dec 8, 2009 1:40 AM PST reply actions 2 recs
That's really not so bad
Again, think Glaus—he showed some power in his first year, but still whiffed a lot. It took a couple of seasons before he refined his batting eye.
20 HR would be a dramatic power increase over what he have had at the 3B spot for years. As long as Wood adapts and develops in the role, then I would be very happy with the above numbers for a first complete season.
"He's not a Rhodes Scholar to begin with''~Theo Epstein, talking about Papelbon
by George Kaplan on Dec 8, 2009 4:51 AM PST up reply actions
Troy always had a better eye than Brandon
but I would be happy if Wood could work 45-50ish walks, much like Kendry. In fact, I think Brandon’s BB number may be more telling than any of the other stats Limey listed above. If he can control the strike zone at all, he should be fine.
And a 750 OPS isn’t far from the 789 OPS we got from 3B last year. Like you said, George, I would be happy with those numbers for a first full season.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you." - Woody Hayes
by johnnyangel101 on Dec 8, 2009 9:19 AM PST up reply actions
"Always"?!?
Do you think there might be a wee problem with your scientific sampling?
How about letting Wood get a full year under his belt before pronouncing him as having a worse batting eye than Glaus?
"He's not a Rhodes Scholar to begin with''~Theo Epstein, talking about Papelbon
by George Kaplan on Dec 8, 2009 9:40 AM PST up reply actions
Yes, always
Age 21 – Troy walked in 8% of his ML PA’s, his first taste of the show; Brandon hasn’t even drawn his eighth walk of his major league CAREER yet (in 236 PA’s).
Age 22 – Troy walked in over 11% of his ML PA’s. Brandon wasn’t even doing that at that age in the minors.
Age 23 – Troy hit 47 HR’s and drew 112 walks. In the American League. Brandon hit 31 HR’s and drew 45 walks. In the PCL.
Look, George, you’re picking the wrong fight here. I AGREE with you – Brandon Wood deserves a chance. I think if given the right opportunity, he will put up some solid numbers. We’re on the same page!
But, no, I don’t think he has the same strike zone discipline as Troy Glaus exhibited. Time will tell if he ever will. Even if he doesn’t, though, I still think he can produce.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you." - Woody Hayes
by johnnyangel101 on Dec 8, 2009 12:08 PM PST up reply actions
Interestingly Fangraphs are allowing Fan projections this year...
….based on a sample of 71 baseball geeks, this is the line predicted for Brandon in 2010:
257 / 316 / 449, 18HR, 58 RBI, 126k
So I wasn’t a million miles away…
I see red people
Wonder what would have been forecast for Morales last year?
"He's not a Rhodes Scholar to begin with''~Theo Epstein, talking about Papelbon
by George Kaplan on Dec 8, 2009 10:19 AM PST up reply actions
I think Kendry's 2009 pre-season predictions were
280AVG / 20HR / 85RBI or something like that.
I love this team.
by Downing Rules on Dec 8, 2009 11:52 AM PST up reply actions
Exactly
I think most armchair experts who ventured a guess this time last year greatly underestimated Morales’ production.
"He's not a Rhodes Scholar to begin with''~Theo Epstein, talking about Papelbon
by George Kaplan on Dec 8, 2009 1:16 PM PST up reply actions
except i wouldnt be surprised to see Kendry recede to those numbers in 2010...
the league has a lot of tape and the off-season is long.
Do it for Nick '09
by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Dec 8, 2009 1:59 PM PST up reply actions
I would take this...
to go with quality defense from 3b in his first season!!!
People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. ~Rogers Hornsby
I would take that
and actually call that stat line a successful first full mlb season for Woody. I just want to see him play good “d”, drive the ball some, and improve on that batting eye. Like many others, I think he needs ABs, and he’ll improve as time goes on.
1 line siggy line because I was asked nicely. Go Angels! helpfindscottajob@gmail.com
He could be...
He’s got all the tools, but can this sort of thing be predicted at all? I should think he’ll fall somewhere between Kendry and Dallas (yeah, a know, that’s a long way) but he should benefit from 2 seasons playing with Bobby Abreu. IFrom what we’ve seen, his defense is pretty good, so that should give him a cushion.
last year i would have been thrilled if kendry put up #'s like...
.270 20 hrs 65 rbi’s going in to the season and he far surpassed that, i’ll hope for the same #’s from wood.
I expect less-than-hoped-for-results.
1. Wood will start slow, with brief flashes of greatness, similar to what he has done to date.
2. He will settle in by June and start to turn it on.
3. By the time July is over, the league will have scouted him and found a couple of new weakspots, and he will slump. Badly.
4. September comes around and Wood will be regaining his stroke, finishing out the season without embarrassment.
5. Come October, Wood will be rather quiet in the Division series and the ALCS. But he will have 4 huge hits in the Word Series as the Halos win, and all the fans who have been sporting Woodys for the past three years wil be in love again, totally forgiving and forgetting the late July to early September slump.
6. And we will be right back here next December, with somebody asking a similar question. But we will be giddy about it all.
(Hey, my theory is that if you are going to put yourself out there with some crazy-assed predictions based on almost no material evidence, GO BIG!)
Had I owned the Pittsburgh Pirates, I could have saved America.
by Stirrups on Dec 8, 2009 10:13 AM PST reply actions 2 recs
He doesn't have a choice
So I’m gonna go ahead and so yeah, he will be. Having failure and demotion as your only alternative tends to be a good motivator.
"Well make more fuckin' money. This is America. You don't make money, then you're a fuckin' douchebag." - Mr French "The Departed"
"You gotta have nuts." - Torii Hunter
Who is this guy? He sucks.
Major League Stats
Age….AB…..AVG/OBP/SLG/HRs__K%
22….155…..187/.254/.284/_2___39.4
23……46…..261/.357/.478/_2___32.6
24….240….179/.268/.371/_10___35.0
25…..227….198/.294/.361/_8___29.5
26….No MLB ABs
The formatting sucks………..but this guy sucks even more. An average under .200, an OBP under .300, SLG under .400 and an unbelieveable K rate.
What happened next
After his age 26 season with no MLB ABs, here are his HR and AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS+ stats.
27…….32 HRs……..246/.351/.515/142
28…….45 HRs……..244/.356/.539/138
29…….38 HRs……..239/.303/.471/112
30…….21 HRs……..259/.348/.493/146 (363 ABs)
31……39 HRs………245/.343/.506/137
It’s Gorman Thomas (covering his 1973-1982 seasons), the free-swinging power hitter with the Brewers. Similar to Wood, Thomas posted excellent minor league numbers. At age 23 (1974) he hit 51 HRs (.297/.413/.656) in AAA, but as the numbers show he struggled badly against MLB pitching. He spent his entire age 26 season (1977) at AAA where he hit 36 HRs (.322/.436/.640) and came back to perform very well the following year in the majors.
I don’t expect Wood to become a league-leading HR hitter like Thomas, but the Gorman Thomas lesson is patience. Give Wood time and he could develop into a solid power hitter at MLB level.
by Fan Since 1981 on Dec 8, 2009 11:32 AM PST up reply actions
that was a creative little way of expressing something....
Do it for Nick '09
by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Dec 8, 2009 2:01 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah but for every Thomas there are a hundred Mcphersons
Absolutely Wood needs a chance to play, but for a 125 million dollar team with World Series hopes, I guess I just would have liked to see some more foresight- like playing him more than twice a month last year or some backup plan- a corner outfielder who could be moved into 3rd if necessary. It just seems like 3rd base could become a black hole for the forseeable future if this guy chokes.
by Balls and Strikes on Dec 8, 2009 4:58 PM PST up reply actions
And for every McPherson...
… there is a Kendry Morales, Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick, Mike Napoli, and Alberto Callaspo. How many good young players do the Angels have to develop before the psychic wound heals?
Yeah, that's the spirit!
It just seems like 3rd base could become a black hole for the forseeable future if this guy chokes.
Optimism: The other white meat.
I think you forgot to criticize the Angels for not preparing for the possibility of an alien spacecraft crashing into the bullpen and wiping out our closing staff.
Instead of worrying about every possible thing that might go wrong, why not hold out a good thought for a kid who has shown great talent and is ready to graduate to the big leagues and stay awhile?
"He's not a Rhodes Scholar to begin with''~Theo Epstein, talking about Papelbon
by George Kaplan on Dec 8, 2009 8:08 PM PST up reply actions
Naw, I guess its just hearing the plan is for Izturis to be our starting 3b
With Wood getting a chance to win the position from him thats got me.
Yeah, I grew up watching the Angels in the 90’s so guess I am fearful a little pessimistic of a return to those days.
Anyway, here’s to the hope Wood can win the position from mighty mouse.
by Balls and Strikes on Dec 8, 2009 8:43 PM PST up reply actions
If Wood doesn't work out the Angles do have option
Well, it’s good that the Angles can work all the angles. :-)
Angels baseball. We do what we must, because we can -- HaloDutch
All this talk of our 3B depth
Makes me hope that trading s-rod for Kazmir pans out in the best way possible.
#34, never forget.
Wood Out of Options is the Problem
Whether the Angels have options if Wood doesn’t work out isn’t the issue, it’s they’re facing that he must clear waivers before sending him down again if he doesn’t work out. They’ve been toiling with a shaky situation here, hopefully he works it!
He won't get sent down
But he could be pulling splinters out of his butt and backing 3b and SS
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
Scioscia loves platoons
Kendrick can help prepare Wood for this special role centered around Scioscia’s love for utility bench players.
by Quinlan's Goofy Swing on Dec 9, 2009 9:12 AM PST reply actions
Kendrick "earned" his utility role last year
Just like he earned the starting job (replacing Kennedy) at 2nd base in 2007 for what he did in 2006.
He’ll be the full-time 2nd baseman again in 2010
R.I.P. King Ad-Rock #34
Izzy, ooh I hope not
If Izzy is our everyday 3rd baseman by the end of the season, iit may very well be an early end of the season for us.
Here’s hoping that Wood can hit at least .240 with 25 HR and 85 RBI. A poor man’s Troy Glaus. At least old Troy could field his position reasonably well. Wood still hasn’t shown that he’s that comfortable in the field.
Hey, I am willing to be optomistic, I’m just saying that Izzy is no everyday 3rd baseman. He doesn’t get on base like Figgy, and he doesn’t hit for power like Glaus. As much as Scioscia has been known to hit Izzy at the 3 hole, there is no way, on this green earth that he belongs there.
Go Brandon Wood!
by righteous halo on Dec 21, 2009 12:59 PM PST reply actions
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