Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that Delmon Young is on the trading block.
If I were Omar I would absolutely get on the phone with the Twins to see what it would take to bring him to the Mets.
Young, a former 1st overall pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, has an ungodly ceiling and, most importantly for the Mets, is a righthanded corner outfielder with power.
| Career: Batting | Fielding | ||||||||||||||||||
| SEASON | TEAM | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
| 2003 | TB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | |
| 2006 | TB | 30 | 126 | 16 | 40 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 2 | .317 | .336 | .476 | .812 | |
| 2007 | TB | 162 | 645 | 65 | 186 | 38 | 0 | 13 | 93 | 26 | 127 | 10 | 3 | .288 | .316 | .408 | .724 | |
| 2008 | Min | 152 | 575 | 80 | 167 | 28 | 4 | 10 | 69 | 35 | 105 | 14 | 5 | .290 | .336 | .405 | .741 | |
| Total | -- | 344 | 1346 | 161 | 393 | 75 | 5 | 26 | 172 | 62 | 256 | 26 | 10 | .292 | .326 | .413 | .739 | |
While his big league numbers to date are only mildly impressive, it's clear that he has the potential to be a stud. He is only 23 years old (turns 24 in September), and has two+ full seasons under his belt at an age when most players are honing their skills in AA. The main issue with Young is walks--as in not enough of them. While he mostly likely will never be a high walk guy, I can see him upping his totals to the respectable range and bumping his OBP to .350-.360.
There is also his fielding--something of a bone of contention among analysts--is he a good fielder or a bad fielder? I will say he's good enough and then some.
He was second among all major league leftfielders in Range Factor in 2008. Moreover, he was second in Putouts and Assists as well. While I don't have the benefit of seeing him play more than a handful of times, anyone who is 2nd in all of baseball at their position in those three categories is getting the job done.
| Sortable Fielding: | |||||||||||
| NAME | GP | GS | INN | TC | PO | A | E | DP | FPCT | RF | ZR |
| Raul Ibanez, Sea | 153 | 153 | 1340.0 | 316 | 302 | 9 | 5 | 1 | .984 | 2.09 | .000 |
| Delmon Young, Min | 151 | 147 | 1324.0 | 301 | 282 | 11 | 8 | 2 | .973 | 1.99 | .000 |
| Adam Dunn, Cin/Ari | 119 | 118 | 981.2 | 222 | 210 | 5 | 7 | 1 | .968 | 1.97 | .000 |
| Ryan Braun, Mil | 149 | 148 | 1310.1 | 284 | 275 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.95 | .000 |
| Fred Lewis, SF | 112 | 101 | 906.2 | 195 | 178 | 11 | 6 | 1 | .969 | 1.88 | .000 |
| Carlos Lee, Hou | 110 | 110 | 915.1 | 192 | 187 | 4 | 1 | 0 | .995 | 1.88 | .000 |
| Carlos Quentin, CWS | 130 | 130 | 1147.0 | 240 | 228 | 5 | 7 | 2 | .971 | 1.83 | .000 |
| Matt Holliday, Col | 139 | 139 | 1229.1 | 252 | 240 | 9 | 3 | 3 | .988 | 1.82 | .000 |
| Manny Ramirez, Bos/LA | 119 | 119 | 974.0 | 200 | 190 | 7 | 3 | 2 | .985 | 1.82 | .000 |
| Jason Bay, Bos/Pit | 154 | 153 | 1345.2 | 266 | 254 | 8 | 4 | 0 | .985 | 1.75 | .000 |
| Pat Burrell, Phi | 155 | 154 | 1198.1 | 216 | 202 | 12 | 2 | 1 | .991 | 1.61 | .000 |
The real question with Young is his head. Yes, he has had some problems, primarily with umpires (authority figures?)
Here is the infamous bat throwing video:
One thing is certain....if a team can pry Young away at a reasonable price (Say Nick Evans and Jon Niese for example), they are getting a player with 30-30 ability who can step into an every day lineup now and deliver.
Omar, make the call.
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8 comments:
I agree with you 100%, I thought the same thing when I read this.
It kind of reminds me when the Mets traded for Ollie Perez, had great stuff, but was very erratic. That worked out very well for us.
Morning Sean! I'm still not quite over the Giants loss....sigh.
Anyway, getting back to Young....don't you think that Jerry Manuel would be just the kind of leader that Young would play his ass off and go to war for?
Yup, we should be playing tonight. But at least it is February, and we can finally begin to see the light for the baseball season.
Yes, I do think Jerry Manuel would be a very good manager for this kind of personality. Also, young kids with this kind of talent aren't available without issues. The issues he has are very correctable and at a young age, this guy can be a special player for the Mets for years to come.
Lastly, we need a corner OF'er. Stick Delmon in LF, and now all of a sudden our bench improves as well. This is the time to make the call, we could get a potential stud very cheap.
Correct.
I also think he'd fit in well with this team....old vets, young vets, a manager that communicates and understands his players, and a lineup that would not rely on Young, but work with his skills to get him to the next level.
Let me give you one more:
Everyone is comparing Young to Lastings...there are some similarities.
Let me give you a better one--Milton Bradley.
Yes, the guy that hit .321 with a 163 OPS+ last year.
Sports Dog,
Range factor and fielding % are kind of "debunked" as ways to judge fielders. UZR and the +/- system are 2 of the 3 best systems (PMR is the other). Notice the other big names on the range factor leaders? Dunn, Ibanez, Manny, Burrell, Braun - these guys are all awful defensively.
Young's 2008 fielding stats:
UZR: -18.4 (yikes)
+/-: -25 (double yikes)
The 2 systems agree - he is just brutal in the field.
Good points...it's why I linked his Fangraph info...he has "some" good measurables (assists, putouts, ZR), BUT, as you point out, his UZR is brutal.
That said, he is on par with a Tatis/Murphy platoon as a fielder, and the potential for a breakout offensive season is there.
Again, I have to disagree strongly:
"he is on par with a Tatis/Murphy platoon as a fielder"
Career UZR/150, OF
Young: -11.8
Murphy: 2.6 (small sample size, but still)
Tatis: -4.6
+/- this year
Young: -25
Murphy: +5
Tatis: 0
I like Young and wouldn't mind a trade for him. But we're fooling ourselves if we try to say he's anything but a terrible, awful fielder.
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