Matt Lawton Or Jeremy Reed?

[wannabthechamp]

I am looking at these two for my bench, I was wondering who you guys think will put up the better numbers, most importantly, stolen bases because I think I need some. What do you think?

[Mercer Boy]

McClendon isn't a "running" coach for the most part. The most annoying thing about McClendon's running tactics is that he never lets guys take off early in the count. By the time he starts thinking about a steal, the hitters are in a protect count where they either foul it off or strike out.

I don't know if Lawton will have the "always green" light to run or not. If I were to guess, I'd say no. Our SB leaders for the past few years have been under 20 steals. Redman could never get on base enough to steal, though. I'd love to see them run more, but lord knows they'd just run into more outs.

I don't know anything about how Seattle runs other than Ichiro always taking off, and this Reed kid is apparently pretty speedy. I could see him getting quite a few steals much like how Castillo/Pierre do it in Florida.

[Sp_Da_Man]

I think they are both projected in the 20's somewhere.

I know Reed is fast but I don't see him having to steal much with guys like Beltre, Sexson, etc hitting after him.

[matdemos]

Last year Winn stole 21 (at 75% success) batting in the 2 slot and Reed stole 3 at the same rate in 65 PA. Winn had 679 PA so I'd say Reed has a great shot at 30-35 SB if Seattle hasn't changed their running strategy. Lawton *might* get 20.

[ravenmad22]

If Lawton can miraculously stay healthy, I see him stealing near 30 bases with better power #'s than reed. What does Lawton have to lose by running all the time in that lineup? It sucks and they'll need to generate offense any way they can. I did read earlier this year that Lawton is hitting leadoff and has the green light all day. Lawton himself predicted 30+ steals based on the # of attempts he'll make.

I like Lawton because of the better HR #'s. If Lawton gets 550 AB's he'll hit 20 HR.