EY2?

by rmarx on Apr 28, 2011 5:09 PM EDT

Note: This involves both a minor leaguer and it's for fantasy purposes, so I'm posting this at both Minor League Ball and FakeTeams. I hope that's okay.

Anyway, I wanted to get everybody's thoughts on Eric Young Jr. He has been putting up good offensive numbers for over a season now in AAA (including a good start this year), and the guy is a base stealing machine. To me, having somebody who can steal 60+ bases with 2B eligibility seems like a great thing to have. Over on MLBTR, there was a post speculating that EY2 may be called up soon (among many others). I mentioned something about fantasy, and people seemed to really disagree that he is worth anything from a fantasy perspective. What are your thoughts? I just found out that my league is only a partial keeper league now (keep 6-10 players) and not a full dynasty league any more (keep all players), so I'm not sure if he's worth stashing any more, but I have room on my bench right now, so why not?

So what are your thoughts on EY2? All-Star? Good MLBer? Average MLBer? Terrible MLBer? Completely useless and you're pissed at me for wasting your time? Please let me know. I just don't understand why I'm high on this guy and it seems like NOBODY else is.

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for one, in real life he isn’t a good defender so it limits his value for a mlb team. Also when given a shot he hasn’t shown much besides speed, yes SSS and all but the Rockies (and fans) don’t seem to be sold on him either. Probably get more information if you asked the fans as they can usually tell you more.

by hybrid on Apr 28, 2011 5:42 PM EDT reply actions

he's utility at best

I’m a Rox fan. Herrera is their 2B. That guy does everything right. Jose Lopez has played well this year (at times) too. I don’t see an opening for EY2 in the bigs right now. If anything, he’s part of a trade package later in the season. Long term, EY2 is a good utility because he can play the OF and 2B, or maybe 3B.

by noelman31 on Apr 29, 2011 1:24 AM EDT reply actions

Sure, he has the speed to steal 60 bases

But in order to steal bases, you need to be able to reach base

by jackyz on Apr 29, 2011 12:51 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

General thoughts

EY2 is a gifted base stealer. He hasn’t done much in his time in the big leagues (.244/.312/.285), but this is in 250 PA, or a little less than half a season. That’s not a very big sample size.

He’s shown the ability to hit for average and draw walks in the minors, but so far that hasn’t translated to the big leagues. Granted, his AAA stats are inflated by his environment (Colorado Springs) but with his ability to draw walks, if he can hit around .260 he could have a .330-340 OBP and with his speed be valuable. Defensively, he can at least be league-average at second base.

Right now there’s no opportunity for playing time, but speaking realistically Herrera is playing over his head right now. Here’s a guy who in three seasons at Colorado Springs had OPS’s of .747, .692, and .664, so it’s very unrealistic to expect him to keep up a .824 OPS in the majors.

The Coors Effect

by Tom (RFTN) on May 2, 2011 1:58 AM EDT reply actions

+1

Tom put it better than I could have.

EY2 has the ideal leadoff skillset – the ability to get on base consistently + the speed and instincts to make a difference on the basepaths. His D at 2B was always the question, but he showed improvement in that area in 2009 and 2010. IMO he is the smart choice for the long-term answer at 2B for the Rox. EY’s problem right now is Herrera is playing well over his head.

by guru4u on May 2, 2011 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions