The Development of Melky Cabrera

by Stephcaflowne on May 4, 2008 2:26 PM EDT

Of course, it's still early and small sample sizes apply but what is going on with Melky Cabrera? He just hit his 6th home-run off Carlos Silva and he's currently batting .297 on the year with an .880 OPS. Last year, he had 8 homers for the whole season. So, he'll obviously eclipse that by quite a bit. He's also taking more pitches per at-bat this year than compared to his career norms, while playing what looks to be a pretty good CF.

He's on a pace to hit 30 or so homers, but I don't think anyone is predicting for that to happen. However, 20 HR/20 SB with a .285 batting average and .360 OBP does not seem so far-fetched any more. It seems like no one ever believed Melky would turn into anything more than a useful 4th OF/borderline starter but keep in mind, he's still only 23 years old. Is this a real break-out and if so, how good can he reasonably become?

Certainly a long way since John said he couldn't hit... just poking some fun at you, John. ;-)

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ARL matters

While he was in the bigs full-time at 21 in 2006, the conventional wisdom said that he had likely reached his ceiling, and was not going to improve as a hitter. However, given how few guys are full-time big leaguers at 21, it was ridiculous not to expect him to improve. He hit well throughout the minors despite always being young for his level, so I can’t say I’m particularly surprised how well he is hitting in the majors. While I don’t see 30 homers as a likely outcome, I think 15-20 with maybe 15 steals, good plate discipline and solid defense in center will make him an above-average centerfielder, a valuable commodity for the Yankees, at least until Austin Jackson is ready.

http://mvn.com/milb-yankees/

by lemonjello on May 4, 2008 3:44 PM EDT reply actions

Agreed. Melky is the second Yankee to have surprised me in recent years. They are not the same player, but in some ways I thought of Melky as I did of Robby Cano when Cano first came up. In both cases I thought this was a servicable player, someone who could do a decent job, but would never be more than an 8th- or 9th-place hitter.

In both cases, they have surprised me and turned into better players than I thought. Cano is now a very good 2B guy, above average. Melky? Still improving, and now I’m no longer willing to say he’s reached his peak yet. I’m still watching and learning. And I think the Yankees are glad to still have him.

by FunWithHeadlines on May 4, 2008 9:54 PM EDT up reply actions

disagree

I don’t think anyone thought he hit his ceiling. While he was a LF or RF hitting with good on base but without true speed or power he was in fact a 4th OF for a playoff team.

The move to CF does change his value, probably more so than his latest power burst.

by pedrophile on May 4, 2008 8:50 PM EDT reply actions

you Shouldn't

be impressed with hitting a homer off of Sliva.

1941 .406

by FrozenTed9 on May 4, 2008 9:28 PM EDT reply actions

so far

1 : Roy Hallada
#2: John Bale
#3: Johnaton Papalbon
#4: Gavin Floyd
#5: CC Sabathia
#6: Carlos Silva

that’s pretty impressive, it’s not like he’s just hitting them off scrubs, 3 of them were against legitimately awsome pitchers. and Floyd might have turned a corner (though he’s been pretty gopher prone in his career and pitching in the cell)

by RollingWave on May 4, 2008 9:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Agree. Impressive.

But even more than the power, I’ve been most impressed with his at bats. Perhaps more than any other Yankee thus far, Melky has been patient at the plate, looking for his pitch and something he can drive.

IMO, the power spike has as much to do with his approach as it does any new found physical strength.

by b1leper on May 5, 2008 9:30 AM EDT up reply actions

um

and why not exactly

by nms on May 5, 2008 10:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Early results

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves now. Remember how many homers J.J. Hardy had at this point last season and how many he has now.

If I recall, we didn’t think Melky would hit that many homeruns because his “body type” didn’t seem to tend towards power (I would assume his swing wasn’t a power swing either). Six homers this early in the season is good but who’s to say he hits another 6 over the rest of the season?

by Lunkwill Fook on May 5, 2008 9:40 AM EDT reply actions