| Douglas Benton. 10th August, 2008 - 10:33 pm
 After scorching the major leagues for the better part of the first month, the Arizona Diamondbacks have fallen hard back to earth, and it continued as they lost three of four games at home to the Atlanta Braves. One of their problems have been the lack of development from their younger players which the following illustrates.
Stephen Drew SS: He is one of the few players who has built on last season and continues to get better. In the Atlanta series, he went 6-18 while hitting for the cycle over the four games and including five extra-base hits. Drew is leading off now and has hit .280 with 14 home runs and 48 RBI as he has started to show some surprising power. His .481 slugging percentage is fourth best among shortstops. He is probably a No. 6 hitter who could continue rallies after the power hitters. He lacks the plate patience to stay at the top of the order, but he has taken a step forward in his development, nonetheless.
Mark Reynolds 3B: Reynolds has developed his power game this year, but that also means he has widened his strike zone and, thus, has developed some holes in his swings. He is second in baseball in strikeouts (147) and is 17th among third basemen in on-base percentage (.324). Against Atlanta, he went 3-14 with a home run and a double but also struck out seven times. On the year, Reynolds is batting .246 with 24 home runs and 79 RBI. It was only a matter of time before Reynolds found his power at the major league level, but now he needs to learn how to use it. He is a middle of the order hitter down the road who can put up similar power numbers to this year but as a more complete hitter. He can do that once he realizes the play might be a single to the opposite field.
Conor Jackson LF/1B: The Diamondbacks wouldn’t give up Jackson in proposed deals for first baseman Mark Teixeira, and there is good reason for that. At 26 years old, Jackson has good command of the strike zone while still having improved power. Against Atlanta, he went 4-16 with a double and two strikeouts. On the year, he has hit .315, 12 home runs, 60 RBI and has 46 walks to just 42 strikeouts. He is a good candidate for a No. 2 hitter because he is a high contact guy who can still give power from that spot in the line-up. He is the most developed of this group but still has room to grow.
Chris Young CF: Out of this group, Young is the only player who I see who can dominate a game offensively and defensively. However, he has regressed greatly in 2008 as he has hit .232 with 15 home runs and 57 RBI with 121 strikeouts in 116 games. Young is in that part of his development where he thinks he is a power hitter when he isn’t. Shortstop Rafael Furcal went through this stage during his early days in Atlanta, as well. Young is in the mold of today’s lead-off hitter who can hurt with speed and a little power. When he is right, he is in the lead-off spot getting on base and hitting doubles while being a pest on the base paths. Against Atlanta, he went 2-15 with three strikeouts while batting lower in the order.
Will Arizona make the playoffs? Email your picks to Douglas.Benton@realgm.com |
