MLB_DeRosa Trade Opens Door for Fontenot

[心得]


[出處] 以下文章引用自:

http://www.behindtheplatefantasy.com/2009/01/derosa-trade-opens-door-for-fontenot.html

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[文章]

Fontenot has played two seasons with the Cubs now and has been very impressive when given the opportunity to play. Fontenot was awesome in limited playing time in '08. In only 243 AB Fontenot hit .305 with 42 R, 9 HR, and 40 RBI. He also came up with a lot of big hits in crucial situations for the Cubs.

Fontenot also had some tremendous peripheral stats. He had a very good BB% of 12.3% and a SLG of .514. He also had a BABIP of .355. Fontenot sprays line drives all over the field. His LD% in '08 was a solid 24%.

He may be a little guy but he packs a lot of punch in his bat. He also has some good speed. He only stole two bases last year but if he's given the opportunity to play everyday he should be in double digits. He's also an above average fielder and shouldn't lose playing time because of his defense.

Fontenot is going to be a big time sleeper heading into '09. Mark my words. He will be a solid option late in drafts for a thin MI position. The Cubs also recently signed Aaron Miles but I don't believe that he will be the everyday second baseman. The Cubs will be losing a lot of run production by trading DeRosa and while Fontenot will not be able to make up all of that, he can help much more in that area than Miles. Also, Fontenot has become a favorite of Lou Pinella's and I don't see any way that Miles gets the starting job over him.

Mike Fontenot has been way off the fantasy radar and probably still is. I may be letting the cat out of the bag but pencil him in as a top infield sleeper heading into 2009.


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Guest Comment
One thing I would be wary of with Fontenot, or I guess possibly two things stemming from one issue, is that he almost never hit against lefties. That would probably mean if he starts every day, his overall numbers will suffer a bit from the platoon split being factored in. The more dangerous problem would be if Pinella continues to sit him against lefties and give the switch-hitting Miles those starts. Miles got quite a bit of playing time over the superior Adam Kennedy in St. Louis (Miles had a better offensive year with the help of an unrealistically high BA, but not enough to make up the difference in the field), especially against lefties, and the Cubs liked him enough to give him a 2 year deal, so I wouldn't be surprised if he got a lot of those starts against lefties.

There is no reason Miles should be taking any starts from Fontenot on a regular basis, but he has gotten way too much playing time before, the Cubs just paid way too much to get him, and Pinella has always been reluctant to play Fontenot against lefties (granted, he had better options than Miles to use instead). It's at least enough to set off some caution flags to me.

Kincaid - Do you mean Fontenot almost never PLAYED against lefties? Because that would be true. But in a limited number of at bats (22) he did have nearly a .900 ops against lefties.

I've seen enough of him to think he could

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easily hold his own as an every day player. The fact they went out and got Miles makes me believe Miles will get a lot of playing time. More then he deserves. The Cubs ALWAYS find a way to stunt a players development and that is exactly what they are doing with Fontenot. They say they want to get more left handed, yet they don't give guys like him a fair chance. Just watch, they'll do it again.


Both of you guys make great points. The thing is Fontenot is the superior player. It won't take long for Pinella to realize this. Miles will get some PT but Fontenot will get the bulk of the starts. It doesn't matter to Pinella how much Jim Hendry paid a player. If he has a better option he's going to go with it. i.e. Fukudome.