Quote:
Originally Posted by jacksonianmarch
He will struggle off the bat. Look at his history, he has always had a 30-40 game adjustment period. But once he adjusts, he is just plain solid. High OBP with tons of steals and a lot of range in the OF. He is a potential leadoff guy.
|
I plugged Gardner's total MiLB stats from all levels--a respectable .289/.388/.386 batting line--into the MLE calculator at minorleaguesplits.com as a SWB to NYY conversion. It came out as a .246/.332/.322 batting line. BP PECOTA projected Gardner as a .236/.313/.327 hitter in MLB entering the season. When I look at the unusual stats vs. LHP in 2008, the ultra-high BABIP, and the tendency of many high-OBP/low-SLG batters to decline severely in IsoD upon promotion to MLB, I think that expecting too much from Gardner may be overoptimistic.