Not a Rookie: Loney

by JapanDan on Mar 17, 2008 8:30 PM EDT

Hi. I don't think that John will have time to get around to covering Loney, so I was wondering what you all think of him. His minor league stats were mostly not so good, but he was very young, and he did hit .380 in 98 games at AAA as a 22 year old. His MLB numbers are actually a lot better than what he did in the minors. But from what I have seen in terms of forecasts, it looks like he will be the second coming of Mark Grace. What do you expect of him?
Thanks for your thoughts.

Poll

James Loney's future . . .

Perennial all-star

25 votes

Flop

3 votes

Mark Grace version 2

9 votes

Worse than Mark Grace

1 votes

More power than Mark Grace

63 votes

Better average than Mark Grace

7 votes

108 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 11 comments

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Comments

Response

I keep waiting for MLB pitchers to find his weaknesses and he just keeps on smoking the ball. I thought he showed a surprising amount of power last year to boot. He may not put up monster HR totals playing all those games in Dodger Stadium, AT&T and Petco, but from what I've seen, he reminds me more of Crime Dog McGriff with a better BA than Mark Grace.

by DrBGiantsfan on Mar 17, 2008 8:33 PM EDT 0 recs

From what I've seen of him

I think Don Mattingly might be a better comp than Crime Dog. Under control at the plate, good eye, not high in strike outs or walks, hits the ball all over with good power. He won't match Mattingly with the glove, but at the plate that's the guy who comes to mind watching him.

by red257 on Mar 18, 2008 7:19 PM EDT up 0 recs

Loney's MLB stats...

446 AB's 61 R 143 H 19 HR 85 RBI 36 BB .320 Avg .372 OBP .543 Slg

I think that shows a pretty solid all around player with plenty of power potential. Not to mention he is 6'2" 220.

He looks like he is going to be a stud.

He easily could develop 35+ power. Heck he has already shown 25+ power.

by tt68 on Mar 17, 2008 9:22 PM EDT 0 recs

ive always liked him better than most

...i think he'll be adrian gonzalez-like, with a better peak... or like DrB said, he does remind me of the Crime Dog

by daveh33 on Mar 17, 2008 9:49 PM EDT 0 recs

LA 1b?

So do most people agree that Loney > Kotchman?

The Dodgers won't win a playoff series until the Cool-a-Coo returns.

by mckeeno on Mar 17, 2008 9:49 PM EDT 0 recs

i would say yes

confidently

by daveh33 on Mar 17, 2008 9:52 PM EDT up 0 recs

This year

How do you guys think Loney will do in 2008?

by metsfan on Mar 17, 2008 10:00 PM EDT 0 recs

He's going to be worth a 10th round pick in draft

My Dodger predictions(5x5):

Chad Billingsley: 182 IP, 173 K, 15-9, 3.52 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 0 SV

Jon Broxton: 72 IP, 80 K, 6-3, 2.37 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 17 SV

Jon Meloan: 46 IP, 32 K, 4-4, 3.67 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 1 SV

Matt Kemp: .319 AVG, 75 R, 23 HR, 83 RBI, 18 SB

James Loney: .311 AVG, 82 R, 26 HR, 102 RBI, 9 SB

Russell Martin: .287 AVG, 91 R, 21 HR, 91 RBI, 25 SB

Andruw Jones: .257 AVG, 94 R, 32 HR, 109 RBI, 19 SB

by METSMETSMETS on Mar 17, 2008 10:28 PM EDT up 0 recs

lol

Andruw hasn't even stolen double digit bases since 2001, but he's suddenly going to jump to 19 again?

"Motivation, being good is a lot better than being pathetic." - thefasterblade, Project Prospect

by PujolsJunkie on Mar 17, 2008 11:01 PM EDT up 0 recs

only the loney

power is the last tool to develop. doubles turn into homers. sweet lefty swing. wrist injuries tend to linger. conor jackson, daric barton, casey kotchman, mark grace, john olerud, lyle overbay, adrian gonzalez. AAA demoralization james loney syndrome (colletitis). i voted for the mark grace one.

by wily mo on Mar 17, 2008 11:21 PM EDT 0 recs

Loney

I second the Don Mattingly comparison. I don't know that Loney will develop that sort of power, but he certainly could and he'd be a really great player...

by GuyinNY on Mar 18, 2008 8:09 PM EDT 0 recs