2nd Base- Robinson Cano
In 2008, fresh-off signing a new, lucrative contract, Robinson Cano disappointed. A miserable .151 April had Cano scrambling all year to match his average outputs from previous seasons. However, he seemed to rebound after a later-season benching by manager Joe Girardi. Besides his less-than-stellar batting, the knock on Robinson was that his effort and concentration frequently waned.
A strong spring, in which he batted .348, has the Yankees and us fans hoping that 93 run, 19 HR, 97 RBI Cano of 2007. He does posess an excellent skill-set, and can rake with the bat when he is dialed in (.342 average in 2006). He has a strong arm, but his range and quickness are not the best. However, I do think that Tex will have an impact on some of his concentration lapses, by grabbing some throws that are headed for error-city
Prediction- .312, 17 HR, 83 RBI, 86 runs, .898 OPS
Back-up- Cano has been durable, but we could see Miranda here, or Ransom when A-rod returns.
March 30, 2009 at 3:28 pm |
Not enough walks and not enough homers to post that kind of OPS. He should rebound, but sprint training stats are particularly irrelevant for an inpatient hitter like him. In spring, he’s either seeing kids or vets who are throwing mostly fastballs. His test will come when the regular season rolls around and he is fed a steady diet of breaking pitches off the plate. If he learns to lay off, he’s a borderline star again. If not, he’s destined for mediocrity.