Longoria or Braun?

[rickyjay73]

I have been following these guys and am wondering how they compare. Both have young, offensively stacked teams they will soon be playing for. I know Braun has defensive questions, but can mash the ball. What will his MLB average and stolen base production look like down the road? Don't know as much about Longoria. Who are his comparisons? What will his numbers look like? How will he and Braun compare to each other from a fantasy perspective?

[05worldserieschamps]

They are really close but I still like Longoria more. He is like Alex Gordon in the fact that me made a near flawless transistion to the Minors from college, and is just a great hitter.

[High Heater]

Longoria for me and he's 2-3 yrs younger.

[SkeetNation]

Longoria for me and he's 2-3 yrs younger.

I understand the argument about age, but Braun is 23 months older than Longoria. I don't think that is a drastic enough difference to use as a critera in this case.

[master453]

2 yrs in the grand scheme of a players career doesnt mean much of anything. comparing a 28yr old vs 30yr old means little.

however, what HH was refering to is 2 yrs "development time" at the still growing stage (pre-majors) of a player's career. in this case, 2 yrs is a HUGE difference.

in order to properly compare them you need to take longoria's age 21 (2007) - .304/.429/.553 (in AA). and compare it to braun's age 21 (2005) - .350/.390/.625 (split between rookie and A-). braun's numbers look strong, but they were achieved at 2-3 levels (A to A+ to AA) below where longoria is playing.

now, would a 21 year old braun have flopped in AA? probably not. but he likely wouldnt have been anywhere near as good as longoria. braun age 22 (2006) put up .303/.361/.589 in AA, which is comparable to longoria 21 (2007), although the big obp gap (derived mostly from longorias dominant k/bb mark, one of the best indicators of player development) still suggests longoria is better and further along on the development curve.

without going into detail, they are also different types of players, and will likely provide different strengths/weaknesses as far as fantasy is concerned. so thats an additional consideration.

at this point, i'd say longoria has a slight edge, but both are top quality guys, and i'd welcome either on my teams.

[MadMobius]

2 yrs in the grand scheme of a players career doesnt mean much of anything. comparing a 28yr old vs 30yr old means little.

however, what HH was refering to is 2 yrs "development time" at the still growing stage (pre-majors) of a player's career. in this case, 2 yrs is a HUGE difference.

in order to properly compare them you need to take longoria's age 21 (2007) - .304/.429/.553 (in AA). and compare it to braun's age 21 (2005) - .350/.390/.625 (split between rookie and A-). braun's numbers look strong, but they were achieved at 2-3 levels (A to A+ to AA) below where longoria is playing.

now, would a 21 year old braun have flopped in AA? probably not. but he likely wouldnt have been anywhere near as good as longoria. braun age 22 (2006) put up .303/.361/.589 in AA, which is comparable to longoria 21 (2007), although the big obp gap (derived mostly from longorias dominant k/bb mark, one of the best indicators of player development) still suggests longoria is better and further along on the development curve.

without going into detail, they are also different types of players, and will likely provide different strengths/weaknesses as far as fantasy is concerned. so thats an additional consideration.

at this point, i'd say longoria has a slight edge, but both are top quality guys, and i'd welcome either on my teams.

now that's some kick azz analysis Master

Both guys will be pretty darn good. I'm very impressed with Braun's discipline at the plate (11 k's in 116 ab's (1 in roughly 10.5 ab's) that's pretty frickin nice compared to last years clip (100 in 457 ab's (1 in every 4.57 ab's).

I would just say that if you needed help this year, Braun is the guy. If you're just wondering who might have the better career, then Longoria looks like he might...

[bigken117]

Braun's no lock to stay at 3rd either with his D. Longoria could play SS he's so good.

[High Heater]

2 yrs in the grand scheme of a players career doesnt mean much of anything. comparing a 28yr old vs 30yr old means little.

however, what HH was refering to is 2 yrs "development time" at the still growing stage (pre-majors) of a player's career. in this case, 2 yrs is a HUGE difference.

in order to properly compare them you need to take longoria's age 21 (2007) - .304/.429/.553 (in AA). and compare it to braun's age 21 (2005) - .350/.390/.625 (split between rookie and A-). braun's numbers look strong, but they were achieved at 2-3 levels (A to A+ to AA) below where longoria is playing.

now, would a 21 year old braun have flopped in AA? probably not. but he likely wouldnt have been anywhere near as good as longoria. braun age 22 (2006) put up .303/.361/.589 in AA, which is comparable to longoria 21 (2007), although the big obp gap (derived mostly from longorias dominant k/bb mark, one of the best indicators of player development) still suggests longoria is better and further along on the development curve.

without going into detail, they are also different types of players, and will likely provide different strengths/weaknesses as far as fantasy is concerned. so thats an additional consideration.

at this point, i'd say longoria has a slight edge, but both are top quality guys, and i'd welcome either on my teams.