Shelton hits another HR. Tigers' fans...is he for real?

[ChoneJohn]

Holy crap, he's been nothing but a wonderful surprise. Since I'm out on the West Coast, I've only been able to listen to games on the radio, but Shelton has been hitting the cover off of the ball!! Seems he always has at least 1 or 2 RBI, and his HR pace is pretty good so far. Therefore, you have to ask, will this last? I know that Pena won't get the call-up soon if Shelton continues like this, but is he capable of keeping it up? My team is kind of stocked with 1B (Hafner and N. Johnson), but I'm wondering whether people think I should drop Johnson for Shelton, if he keeps his playing time and stats up. Soooooo, is Shelton the real deal (I sure as hell hope so)?

[jblank]

Dude, Nick Johnson is hitting .320 with 40 runs and 40RBI, why drop him, the guy is producing better than most 1B are and he is up to 90th in the Yahoo rankings. Why drop him for a rookie that is bound to have growing pains and troubles once teams build a book up on him? Makes no sense but thats just my opinion.

[KolbSaves]

He's for real but Johnson is for realer. Keep him.

[baseballnewb]

Pick up Shelton, if he's still hitting well in a couple weeks trade Johnson who is likely to slide in the 2nd half or get hurt anyway.

[ChoneJohn]

All good answers, thanks fellas. I'm not going to part with Johnson just yet, but he has been slowing down, and I'm wondering whether he can keep up his consistency through the year. That said, Shelton, as a rookie, probably will be much more inconsistent for the rest of the year (although, damn!, he looks good). Geez...Shelton just slapped another into the outfield. I'm just happy the Tigers have him on their team!

[mcqfesijiba]

Shelton dominated the AFL and then proceeded to dominate AAA, so I think he definitely has the ability to remain at least solid for the rest of the season. His bat hasn't been questioned, it's just where he'll play and he definitely has a spot for now alternating between DH/1B with Dimitri Young.

By the way, he's technically not a rookie. Service time disqualifies him because he spent the entire season last year on the major league roster due to being a Rule 5 pick.

[BrettCB]

He's looked good for the most part, but I've seen the guy look silly up at the plate a few times, which is to be expected since he's a rookie. I got to see him first hand earlier this month when they were facing the Padres and he nearly got the big sombrero. Ended up 0-4 with 3 K's and a pop out. But, then again, he was facing Jake Peavy and I can see why.

However, I watch the Tigers regularly and I have been impressed with him. I see him producing solid numbers for the rest of the season with some hard spots due to his being a rookie.

[Cornbread Maxwell]

Tiger fans have been anticipating Sheltons arrival for a good yr now.

I agree with the rest that he'll probably go through normal rookie/inexperience slumps, but the guy can hit.

[benjapage]

still having trouble contextualizing his value. pierzysnki is an example of a fine, middle-of-the-road catcher in 5x5, h2h mixed-leagues. shelton doesn't compare favorably, does he? we're still talking bottom tier with room to grow, right?

b

[moochman]

Unless I were desperate for hitting I would wait and see how pitchers respond to Shelton. He is a pretty patient hitter with a decent eye and good power. But he hasn't been tested yet. I'd want to wait and see if teams can find and exploit any holes in his swing.