MCab - Into Camp

[MTUCache]

Linky

Nothing all that earth-shattering here, as we've all already heard the rumors of his off-season weightloss, but it's nice to get some pics to go along with them.

Honestly, he looks bigger to me than he looked back at Tigerfest a month and a half ago.... maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part.

Anyway, he's in camp. He's dropped 15 pounds. A few more before the season and he'll be looking a lot better than last year.

[Yoda]

Still looks pretty chunky. I can't get the picture out of my head when he first came up in his rookie season. He looked like a 13 yo boy.

[Tavish]

Hopefully his new shape will translate into near 40 HR or people are seriously overpaying for him in drafts.

[MTUCache]

Hopefully his new shape will translate into near 40 HR or people are seriously overpaying for him in drafts.

I haven't seen any (realistic) projections yet which have anything better than .320/105/125/35/5... don't know whether that qualifies him as being "overpaid" for or not, but 35 HR is the highest I've seen projected for him.

[Rotundor]

people are also banking on HIGH averages. I've seen as high as .340

[MTUCache]

people are also banking on HIGH averages. I've seen as high as .340

That's crazy... .340 against American League pitching that he's almost never seen before?

Batting between Polanco and Ordonez isn't going to all the sudden make the guy a HoFer... it might get him a few more meatballs in 3-ball counts, but it's not going to get the guy 50 extra hits this season.

340? That's making my head spin right now.... did the guy have laser eye surgery this offseason or something?

[Tavish]

Hopefully his new shape will translate into near 40 HR or people are seriously overpaying for him in drafts.

I haven't seen any (realistic) projections yet which have anything better than .320/105/125/35/5... don't know whether that qualifies him as being "overpaid" for or not, but 35 HR is the highest I've seen projected for him.

That looks close to what I have, I have him with a few less HRs and a few more Runs. Those numbers don't justify a top 7 pick IMO.

[jake_harv88]

I dont think people are over-paying for M-cab if he doesn't hit 40 Hrs. Part of M-cab's value lies in his consistency that hes provided over the last 4 seasons IMO.

M-Cab's rookie card. Definitely looks like he's 13ish...

[MTUCache]

Hopefully his new shape will translate into near 40 HR or people are seriously overpaying for him in drafts.

I haven't seen any (realistic) projections yet which have anything better than .320/105/125/35/5... don't know whether that qualifies him as being "overpaid" for or not, but 35 HR is the highest I've seen projected for him.

That looks close to what I have, I have him with a few less HRs and a few more Runs. Those numbers don't justify a top 7 pick IMO.

Well... being a Tiger-homer I can guarantee you he's not getting past #3 or #4 in most drafts around here... but I'm honestly not sure how that would translate to a non-Tigerfanboy draft.

With those projections as his numbers, it definitely puts him in my top ten, and I feel a lot more confident about his stability and return-on-investment than several other first-rounders which I consider "gambles" (HanRam, Reyes, Pujols, Braun, etc)...

In my mocks so far I've taken him (and seen him taken) around #5. I'll admit there's a fanboy factor in there for me as well (wishful thinking), but like I said, I feel he's a "safer" pick than several other top-10 projections.

To be honest, this is why I'm really hoping not to have picks #2-#5 this year.... I really don't want to draft any of the four guys I mentioned above in the first. I want to take MCab in the first, I'm just not happy doing it before #6 or #7.

[Yoda]

Hopefully his new shape will translate into near 40 HR or people are seriously overpaying for him in drafts.

I haven't seen any (realistic) projections yet which have anything better than .320/105/125/35/5... don't know whether that qualifies him as being "overpaid" for or not, but 35 HR is the highest I've seen projected for him.

That looks close to what I have, I have him with a few less HRs and a few more Runs. Those numbers don't justify a top 7 pick IMO.

Well you have to account for the fact that he's been as steady as anyone since his rookie season outside of Pujols. Also, he is only 25 yo and still in his pre-peak. The power spike should come soon if he stays on the current development curve.