Who Gets the Next Long-Term Deal?
April 11, 2007 by Geoff Young
Filed under Stats and Analysis
In light of the recent Chris Young signing, Patrick Sullivan at Baseball Analysts examines some other current bargains and provides a list of good young players that clubs should lock up to long-term deals asap. I love this type of analysis and mostly agree with Sully’s list — my main reservations are with Bobby Jenks and Curtis Granderson, but those are minor quibbles.
Granderson has an interesting list of comps through age 25 over at Baseball-Reference. I guess the question becomes whether you believe he’s more Reggie Sanders than Jeffrey Hammonds. Personally, I think I’d wait another year before making a move with Granderson — sort of like Khalil Greene in San Diego. It’s a nice start, but let’s see a little more before making a serious commitment.
Jenks? He just makes me nervous, which probably says more about me than it does about him.
Anyway, read the entire article and come to your own conclusions. At the very least, this provides a great thought exercise…
I’m going to agree on waiting a year on Granderson. This is only his second full year in the majors. But I’m only agreeing because it’s too early to worry about locking a guy up who isn’t even arbitration eligible until 2009. There’s no reason to rush.
Any time watching this kid play and he looks like he’s going to be a winner. He’s made one error in his career, and that was a pretty minor one. He covers the outfield in Comerica Park nicely. He seems to be putting all the pieces together at the plate, too. He’s just fun to watch and a real fan favorite. Oh, and PECOTA really likes his future, too.
Thanks, Kurt, for the visual scouting report on Granderson. I only know him from his numbers, which never tell the whole story. It’ll be interesting to keep an eye on him this year and see what path his career takes.