Community Discussion: What Should We Expect from Yonder Alonso?

Next up for Community Discussion: Yonder Alonso of the San Diego Padres.

Alonso played 155 games for the Padres, hitting .278/.343/.393 with 62 walks and 101 strikeouts in 549 at-bats. He knocked 39 doubles, but hit just nine homers, fewer than is generally considered ideal for a first baseman.

He was an above-average offensive player overall, with a 109 OPS+ and a 108 wRC+, plus his defense helped give him a safely positive overall WAR at 2.0. He had a terrible month of June (51 wRC+) but was stronger in the second half, with a particularly impressive stretch in July (138 wRC+) and above-average production in August and September.

Alonso is inevitably compared to Cubs rookie and ex-Padre Anthony Rizzo, who posted a 1.8 WAR in just 60% of Alonso's playing time and is two years younger.

In any event, while Alonso wasn't outstanding this year, he wasn't bad either.

The question for discussion is this: Will Alonso improve significantly in the coming seasons, or is what he did in 2012 a fair expression of his abilities?