Guide to Some New Guns - ViewPoint 9
Written by MadAlan
July 2, 2005

Heading into the All-Star break the early surprises and flashes have now dimmed, leaving behind the flecks of gold on the bottom of our gold pan.

Under “New Guns” below we have exposed the newest obvious up and coming gems for the baseball fan. These are players that display the skills and in most cases about 250 at-bats to point out that this will be a good season for their owners.

The “Guys To Know” is a group of players that have spent a little time in the Major’s already and are now becoming the butterflies they were to be. They have figured it out and are becoming players to reckon with. This follows next week, please enjoy.

Some New Guns
Jorge Cantu TB Age 22 Major League power and a Major League bat over all. At this moment he has 48 RBI’s, 13 home runs and a .303 BA. He is not fast; he is below average in speed and base running.

Rickie Weeks Mil Age 21 Weeks has as fast a bat as anyone in the Major Leagues. He will dazzle at the plate for many many years while stealing bases and doing all the little things a true star does. This guy will grow into an awesome talent and the home runs will go from 12 this year to 25 next year and 25 stolen bases too, in both years.

Wilson Betemit Atl Age 23 Betemit has a bat similar to a player named Chipper Jones, enough said. Yet, to keep his name on the game card all he is doing is gathering hits, in the clutch too, but that is it. Watch him because as he realizes his name will be on the every-day line-up he should put on display the power and speed he retains. He can become a 30-30 player at any moment.

Aaron Hill Tor Age 22 A big-time clutch hitter, limited power at present but a steady bat collecting lots and lots of hits right now. Hill is the 2B of the future where his RBI’s and clutch hitting will make him a highly rated second baseman. His power is about 12-15 homers, not enough to cover such a power spot as 3B. Hill had exactly 8 games in the month of June where he did not get a hit, while contributing 4 games with 3 or more hits in a game.

Mike Morse Sea Age 22 Morse already has 8 multi-hit games and half of those were 3 hit games. Morse is a big man and should soon produce numbers similar to Mike Young in Texas but with 15 stolen bases. His first 100 at-bats in 2005 came at a cost of a .341 batting average. He shows equal or less power than Jeremy Reed his teammate.

Edwin Santana LAA Age 21 Santana will win about 10 games this year on his way to a steady membership in the All-Star games and the bright future expected of him. He is the real deal. At present do not play him except on games you have confidence in. The fastball is not always a mover. Sometimes it is a home run, in 32 innings he has given-up 7 home runs.

Ryan Church Wash Age 25 Church was a Minor League power monster but he has been more solid in the clutch and batting average so far in the big time. He will have a Kevin Mench type career, 20-25 home runs now and next year 28 homers then in the 30’s. Church is faster on the bases than Mench but Mench has better base-running instincts.

Willie Taveras Hou Age 23 Expect Taveras to be in the battle for the stolen base crown from now on with a very good batting average around the .285 range. He was not in the Houston managements plans for this season until after the All-Star break. Because of injuries he has played extremely well. Some pitchers have him figured out, two low pitches away, but each close to a strike then chest high fastballs for the strikeout.

Jason Ellison Sfg Age 26 He is the “old-man” on this list and would not be playing if Bonds were around. That makes him a big discovery and a future as bright as most anyone in the NL with little power and a below average centerfielder arm, with great speed and knowledge on base running and how to get on base OBP .347.

Matt Holliday Col Age 25 Holliday runs very well for a big man. Expect regular seasons of injuries and a batting average of .285. Before his injury he had already collected 5 games with 3 hits or more in a game. He is not really a fast runner but he knows the game of baseball and he will steal every time he sees the correct moment. Last season he had 13 home runs; I don’t see that happening this year. Check his lifetime numbers to see that he is allot like Garret Anderson, loads of RBI’s with about 18 homers. Good player because he plays in wonderful Colorado.

Nook Logan Det Age 25 Watch him steal 35 bases this season with a .290 batting average. Because he bats ninth he does not score very often for a man on second base regularly toting a batting average always around .300. Great glove.

Brad Hawpe Col Age 24 Hawpe is a power bat with a decent .280 average, hits well in the clutch as well. He will not steal bases and he won’t hit at a .300 batting average either. He does the rest, very well since this is his first full Major League season. This season is not going to be the awesome year next season will be, but he should hit around 20 home runs and drive in 80+RBI’s this year.

Jhonny Peralta Cle Age 21 Peralta has a solid power bat and a decent average to go with it, the question has been his fielding. It is still a question mark. His bat is solid no matter about his Rawlings glove. As if the Indian’s needed another power hitter in the line-up to replace Mr. O. Vizquel who was a wizard at a great many things more then his Rawlings. He uses a Wilson A2000 I believe anyway. Peralta is a leader type, intense player who could hit 30 homers each year soon, committing about 15 errors in those seasons as well.

Lance Niekro SFG Age 25 Big-time power source with a high batting average. Great glove, great power, great batting eye, great bloodlines and a future All-Star.

Garrett Atkins Col Age 25 a future 30 homer, 100 RBI player, sooner than later. With a good work ethic he should improve his fielding.. At the least catch balls hit at him. Range needs good footwork and that will come from his coaching. He is on my team, I believe in him.

Russ Adams Tor Age 24 Adams should finish his first season with a dozen homers and 60+ RBI’s and a hard .265 batting average. His future may not be at short, consider him a prospect for a smaller range position as first or third. A future All-Star no matter where he plays.

Jeremy Reed Sea Age 23 Reed is a hitter and fielder in the mold of Ichiro with a lot less power. Reed is a future batting champion. The big surprise is his lack of stolen bases, he was expected to be in the 30 SB range this year. I say “Keep Away.”

Robinson Cano NYY Age 21 Cano was brought up as a defensive replacement for the Womack mistake. His fielding has been as above average as his hitting has been. He is no base stealing threat. Big-time clutch hitter. We do not see him as the long-term future for the Yankees at 2B.

Ruben Gotay KC Age 21 Gotay is a year away from 15 homers, 70 RBI and 25 steal season. Gotay will become a .270 hitter, amazing fielder and an RBI machine.

Chris Young Tex Age 24 He has continued to impress with each start, cool, calm and smart. Hitters are hitting him at a .244 average. By press-time he is probably a known commodity. Although he has won 8 games so far, his last 3 games he has been hit pretty well. The better hitters have moved up in the box taking on his slider as it begins to break lower, he has given up 5 home runs in the last three games.

Huston Street Oak Age 21 What he did to college batters he has accomplished in the Majors. Batters are stroking his pitches at a .184 BA, his WHIP is an unbelievable 1.09 and he is the closer at present with his first four career saves.

Yhency Brazobán Lad Age 25 The Dodgers needed a closer right away and up stepped ‘the kid’ Brazobán. Two wins and 13 saves later he established himself as having the correct mentality for this difficult job.

Dave Williams Pit Age 24 the best hitters have done in his first career 275 innings is a batting average of .246 and a tremendous WHIP for a starting pitcher of 1.28.

Aaron Heilman Nym Age 25 His first season batters hit him at a .300 clip, the next season they got to him at .257, and now they are no longer hitting him well, going .243. He has pitched a total of 152 innings.

Andrew Sisco KCR Age 21 In his introduction to the Majors he was not overwhelmed as much as he has destroyed the batters in his 30 games of professional experience leaving hitters swinging a measly .201 and he has a WHIP of 1.24

Madalan

Madalan.asw@verizon.net