Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Pablo! Pablo!

"He's amazing," Cain said. "He just hits. That's what he does." (from Jason Skoda, MLB.com)

Matt isn't the only one who likes Pablo Sandoval. Eric Seidman at FanGraphs has a nice piece on our boy ("A Second Look at Pablo Sandoval") this morning.

The big bomb in the 5th yesterday was good for a .265 WPA--it changed our win expectancy from 32.7 % to 59.2 %, the biggest hit of the game. It is nice to see a guy creeping up on the vaunted .500 SLG plateau. Other than Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, Pablo Sandoval is our brightest star right now. Are any of our other youngsters capable of stepping up and delivering this level of performance (.856 OPS)? If you are going to be a hacker who doesn't walk much, you have to hit for high average and deliver some power. Keep it up, Pablo!

4 comments:

Theo said...

Pablo will grow into his power, watch the Venezuelan home run derby on Youtube, he hits some bombs. Most young players don't fully develop into home run hitters until their late 20's and early 30's. Look at Giambi and Bonds! Just kidding. Pablo is only 22. I'm pumped we have anyone like him, he's fun to watch. Is it too early to congratulate Sabes on developing a position player?

M.C. O'Connor said...

Not at all. We must encourage the man when he gets it right!

Ron said...

I don't know about you guys, but I am seeing multiple long-term newspaper headline (well, by time that he reaches the majors, probably exclusively internet story headline) permutations associated with a tall, left-handed first baseman whose surname is 'belt':

Round 5, Brandon Belt, 1B, University of Texas

The left-handed-hitting Belt led the Longhorns with a .336 batting average. He hit eight home runs in 57 games. Belt's Longhorns will compete in the 2009 NCAA College World Series, starting with their first-round game Sunday against the University of Southern Mississippi.

2014 SF Giants Headlines:

'First Place Giants' Surge Propelled by Brandon's Belts'

'Dodgers Belt-ed Back Into Last Place by Brandon's Bomb'

'Belted! Yankees Fall in 4 Straight As Giants Take Series Again'

M.C. O'Connor said...

And we also picked up the "toolsy-est" player in the draft--hulking JEREMY TOOLE from BYU. Just our luck, he's a pitcher! Apparently Young Mr. Belt is a converted pitcher.