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We tend to get pretty analytical around here, but sometimes you just need to sit back and enjoy watching someone play. Along those lines, I love what St. Louis Cardinals rookie Tommy Pham has accomplished this year.
While Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk have deservedly received most of the attention for their rookie play in 2015, the less-heralded Pham has been just as good, hitting almost as well as his teammates (wRC+129 compared to 138 for Grichuk and 137 for Piscotty) but playing better on defense (at least according to WAR), boosting his fWAR value to 1.7 in 164 plate appearances compared to 1.3 in 252 for Piscotty and 3.0 in 341 for Grichuk.
Wait, that's analytical. If you want more of that, everything in this article back in July is still valid. But this thread here is supposed to be about enjoyment, so back to that.
Pham is so much fun to watch because he is just so damn athletic. If you want to see how physical tools can translate into baseball production, watch Pham. He's electric. And it is a special pleasure in this case because he struggled with injuries and vision issues for years but was eventually able to develop the feel for the game that makes all the natural talent truly valuable.
Personally, I think Pham's skills are entirely real and that he can play this well over an entire season. On the right day Pham reminds me somewhat of lower-case Eric Davis. And (unfortunately) like Davis, Pham may never be durable enough to play 150 games a year.
So this is the Tommy Pham Appreciation Thread. Do you like Tommy Pham? Is the Eric Davis thing nuts? I am especially interested in the opinions of Cardinals fans or others who get to see him play regularly.
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