Adrian Cardenas or Esmailyn Gonzalez

[bmd]

Out of these tow SS prospects, who do you think will turn into the better major league hitter?

[oakiedragon]

Well, Cardenas will almost definately move to a different position. Rollins is a mainstay at ss for philly, being the team captain and all, not to mention a 30/30 threat. Cardenas has the potential to hit for a solid avg. .270-.290 with about 15-20 hr annually. So he doesnt profile as a 3b, possibly a shift to the OF. But he does have the potential to exceed those projections. He was overlooked his entire high school career playing behind Chris Marerro. Gonzalez is a bit of an enigma. Something like Andrus but not as high of an upside. Ive heard everything from a potential 5 tool player to more of a singles speedster. He apparently is an excellent defender so he shouldnt move from ss. Since there is a wide spectrum of projections for him and no real concrete stats to go off of he could turn out to be the next Jose Reyes or the next Rey Ordonez. About 3 yrs ago I went through the same thing with Andrus when he was signed, but there was more of a concensus that he was a top talent then there seems to be with Gonzalez. Andrus is still having his problems working out his kinks but he is only 18-19 yrs old with 3 yrs of pro ball under his belt. I expect the same with Gonzalez. He will need time to work out his defects, but with this amount of hype at a young age, and at a prime position he might be worth the gamble, more so then cardenas. His potential upside is considerably higher but as is usualy the case so is his risk. But if your looking for a ss go with Gonzalez. Because coming from a Phillies fan, Cardenas will never see the infield as a Phillie. And personally my money is on Gonzalez.