Nick Piecoro is the latest to examine who should stay at third base between Matt Davidson and Bobby Borchering.
Go here to read it.
Then come back here and leave a comment as to who you think will end up staying at the hot corner.
(Editor's Note: The comments are not meant to attack one player or the other, but rather be a rational discussion about two talented players. I reserve the right to not publish any comment that I feel is offensive or disrespectful)
Owen, I will be out in Arizona in a few days, at spring training. Would you like some pictures for the blog?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! I'm always willing to accept pictures for the blog. Email them to me at oserey@silverhawks.com.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Diamondbacks are handling the situation the right way.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is difficult to draft high school players based on team positional need, since the player may or not make the majors and it will normally take several years. I think that teams have to simply draft the best player available.
This best player available situation seems to have been the case with Davidson and Borchering. The Dbacks took two very similar players in the first 35 picks in the 2009 draft.
The reason that I believe that they are handling things the right way, is that either player could develop into an all star third baseman at the Major League level, and either player could fail to make the Majors altogether. I think that Davidson is a little bit ahead of Borchering right now both with the bat and on defense, but the gap between the two is fairly narrow.
I do not think that either player is ready for Double-A, and neither is going to be repeating the Midwest League. So both are going to be best suited in the High-A California league to begin 2011. Getting both of these guys on the same roster is a challenge and an opportunity. There is the challenge of giving both the opportunity to polish their defense at third, and there is the opportunity to allow them to play and learn other positions (first base for both most likely) while the other takes reps and games at the hot corner.
I am not sure that many people that read this will have the ability to watch these guys play and offer substantial opinion on which one will make a better Major League third baseman. I have seen a lot of baseball, and I know that I am not capable of telling anyone who will be better. (But to offer some insight on my opinion, I owned both in a fantasy baseball league that allows minor league keepers, and I kept Davidson over Borchering). Both players have similar strengths (power hitting) and weaknesses (strikeouts and major league level defense).
These guys are getting what they need, which is an opportunity to show their abilities on the field. Only time is going to tell us which is better.
While addressing the hitters weakness of too many strike outs can anyone explain when the original regulation strikezone becomes the shorter but wider major league strikezone.Is there a gradual transition through the professional levels or does it depend on the individual leagues or umpires? Thanks and GO HAWKS
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteAsking someone to define the strike zone used to be an easy task. It is clearly stated in the rule book what the strike zone is, so we should be able to just recite that.
However, anyone who has watched baseball over the years can attest that it has changed significantly and each umpire has his own interpretation as to what it actually is.