Ryan Howard = 40+ HR's ???

[HitMen05]

I see him becoming in the next year or 2 the NL version of David Ortiz.

285-36-117 is possible this year

He will be a very good RBI man, and will only get better the next couple of years

[colt4523]

I got him in the 8th round pick 89, I just hope he gets a lot of at bats vs lefties.

[Shadow of the Sun*]

His ST is reminding me a lot of Andruw Jones' last year, and we all know how that turned out.

[Krunk City King$]

His ST is reminding me a lot of Andruw Jones' last year, and we all know how that turned out.

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edwin encarnacion is not doing too bad either in the ST HR dept...

[DK]

Jones was always a hot ST hitter though.

I think 40 is very realistic for Howard. If I had to put my money on a number I'd say 38 in a full season.

[thedude]

It is impossible for him to hit .295 with 45 home runs. The only way he can reach 45 homers is if he plays against lefties. The only way he has .295 average is if he sits against lefties. Therefore, it is very very unlikely that he reaches both

Sounds like what people were saying about David Ortiz when he was Howard's age. I don't think he will hit 45 homeruns or .295, but i am not going to say that the high average and the homeruns are muatlly exclusice.

[d18Mike]

I'm loving this Howard hype! Hope someone takes Sexson-in-a- -Phillies-uniform off the board early. I'll take Richie a few rounds later and get the same production.

[great gretzky]

40?

Ia m deciding between him and felix in a keeper essentially. OR, I could keep halladay and helton, or some combination thereof.

I think 40 is a tad ridiculous. Other than brady anderson, beltre--that is rarefied air. I am high on the guy, but 40 seems a touch out of hand to me. Although, he will have a nice lineup in which to hit, and a short park, even if they did move the fences back.

[teddyballgamemvp]

40?

I am high on the guy, but 40 seems a touch out of hand to me. Although, he will have a nice lineup in which to hit, and a short park, even if they did move the fences back.

BP thinks it will happen.

[RAmst23]

I love drafting later into spring training, because everyone drafts the guy that's been hitting well. For Howard to hit 40 HRs he'll have to knock one out about once every 11 ABs, because he'll sit against lefties.

If you think Howard can knock one out at this pace, than go ahead and draft him expecting 40 HRs. I think Howard can do this in short bursts throughout the year, but not the whole season. He'll go into a slump because he's young, he'll tire down the stretch, he'll strike out too much... Howard won't be useless at 1B, and most likely be the 10th-14th best 1B.