Really Not A Rookie - Grady Sizemore

by dmitri on Feb 11, 2008 3:47 PM EST

John posted a crystal ball for Grady Sizemore on this site in April 2006. Sizemore's actual performance in 2006 and 2007 was pretty close to what John had included in his crystal ball for those years.

For 2008 - 2010, John's crystal ball suggested a big step-up in performance - .304, 22 HR, 100 RBI in 2008; .334, 33HR, 119 RBI in 2009; .336, 35 HR, 117 RBI in 2010.

I understand that John posts the crystal balls to promote discussion and not as predictions of future performance, but Sizemore will not turn 26 until August and he is about to enter what should be his peak years. He also hit LH pitching better last year, although he did markedly worse against RH pitching.

How do you think Sizemore will do over the next few years?

Poll

How well will Grady Sizemore perform over the next few years?

Sizemore has a decent chance of approaching the stats shown in the crystal ball.

51 votes

Sizemore won't do as well as is shown in the crystal ball but .300, 30 HR, 90 RBI is likely.

62 votes

It will be more of the same for Sizemore (.280 - .295, 25 HR, 80 RBI).

44 votes

157 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

If he is going to approach .330

Gotta cut the strikeouts down...

by Dfarth on Feb 11, 2008 3:59 PM EST reply actions

Agreed!

Hello Dfarth,

I agree - Sizemore needs to cut down on the Ks, though his boosting the BB rate the last year helps a bit, at least when it comes to OBP.

Sizemore also needs to try to avoid those prolonged slumps he gets into on occasion, those 0-10+ to 0-20+ stretches, if he's going to be a consistent .300+ hitter, and especially if he's going to make a run at .330.

The good thing, as mentioned, was that he's still very young, so his skills should still improve a bit, and he's shown a solid ability to adapt, so I wouldn't consider it impossible for him to hit close to .330 at some point in his career, but he'll need to make more adjustments to have a solid shot of doing that in the future.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Take care and have a great day!

The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.

by indiansfan on Feb 11, 2008 6:37 PM EST up reply actions

Hello IndiansFan

We haven't seen much of you lately...have you been busy? Just taking some time away during the offseason?

Hope to hear more of your insights in the coming weeks/months.

by Dfarth on Feb 11, 2008 6:39 PM EST up reply actions

Long Slumps

Cutting down on his strikeouts will likely help on that big time too. I think we can pretty much say that him taking that next big step hinges on cutting down the strikeouts. That is the key to basically every knock against his offense.

Check out MVN.com/mlb-braves for the best Braves coverage

by was385 on Feb 11, 2008 7:35 PM EST up reply actions

+1

by GuyinNY on Feb 11, 2008 11:12 PM EST up reply actions

strikeouts are a problem

but the fact that he improved alot against lefties (130 OPS+), and reached triple digits in walks, shows that he's still improving.

by JPFrost on Feb 11, 2008 5:58 PM EST reply actions

Can I say something between A and B?

I don't think he'll hit for high average, but he could get near .290 some year and knock well over 30 homers consistently in his prime. Forty in one year isn't a stretch either.

by elrey34 on Feb 11, 2008 6:27 PM EST reply actions

agreed

and his RBI really depends a lot on where he bats. they shifted him alot around 3rd and 1st, obviously it's pretty hard to get 100 RBI leading off.

I think he probably won't be a consistent .300 guy, but man he produce bases at a crazy rate.

by RollingWave on Feb 11, 2008 9:22 PM EST up reply actions

I have to say,

I'm impressed by the diversity of opinions so far.

As of now...

A: 31%
B: 34%
C: 34%

I hope this makes for a great discussion. I'm a really, really big Grady Sizemore fan. (He grew up 20 miles away from where I did and I played LL with his cousin Kyle Sizemore, may he rest in peace. [best player on the team by far])

by elrey34 on Feb 11, 2008 10:00 PM EST reply actions