Topic: Baseball
It's an exciting time to be a baseball fan with all the moves that are going on right now. A lot of the GMs are obviously making moves for the sake of making moves (see the nonexistent GM of the Red Sox) while others are getting some real bargains (see the Pirates in the Sean Casey deal).
But there is one trade that has, so far, interested me the most. The reason is that I had been pouring over a bunch of former prospects and their career minor league numbers to see if there was one that was well-suited for the Cubs.
An underdog who has been overlooked, if you will.
One of the guys I settled on (besides, Roberto Petagine, who I may get to later) was Esteban German. That was a couple of days ago. Well, today he got traded to a team that needs a ML 2B, someone to start on opening day. It seems like he will finally get his chance.
What is it that interest me about his guy? I'll tell you.
First of all, he was once a prospect. Otherwise, I probably would ignore the guy.
His OBP. In four, full AAA seasons, these are his OBPs: .390 (very good), .379 (still good), .380 (in 280 ABs), and last season at .400 (which is great).
OK, so we know he gets on base. It's not because of gaudy hitting numbers, this guy draws walks, sometimes more times than strikes out.
That's a good thing since this guy is a leadoff hitter.
He can also steal bases and won't get caught as often as other prodigious base-stealing threats. (stole 43 and was caught 6 times last season).
I think I read somewhere that he's a good defender, but I'm not sure.
Looks like a case of bad luck and bad timing so far for him. He'll be 27 this coming season and look for Kansas City to give him a serious shot at the leadoff spot and 2B position.
Posted by portocac
at 3:30 PM CST
