Franklin Gutierrez

[oddmanout7]

Remember him? He went 20/20 in the Dodgers system a few years back, but has since fallen off the map. He now has locked up the starting right field gig for CLE. He has had a good spring hitting over .350 with a few homers sprinkled in. Last season in 271 AB he hit .266 with 13 HR and 8SB. I believe he is slotted to hit 8th in the order right out of the gate, so his RBIs and Runs will be average at best, but he is a guy that is sitting on most of the WW in your leagues right now. I think he is deserving of making your watch list as he is only 25 years old still, and that ability he showed with the Dodgers is still there. he just needs to keep his strikeouts down, and he could provide good value off the WW.

I could see something to the tune of .270 20/15 given 500 ABs. That might even be better than the new import Fukudome, and you can get it for free. It is not guarenteed by any means, and he could fall flat on his face, but at the expense of a middle reliever or bench player, it wont hurt to find out.

[xeifrank]

I snatched him up in one of the latter rounds in my keeper league. He's got some upside with his power and speed potentials.

vr, Xeifrank

[San D]

He did very well cutting down on the strikeouts this spring in addition to his good average. I'm watching him also!

[Havok1517]

I think he could be somewhere around Milton Bradley, Coco Crisp, & Gary Matthews, Jr. stock

[gentlemanjerseydave]

Snagged him a couple weeks back to stash on my bench. He showed last year and this spring that it is not a stretch to believe him to be a 15/15 .270 guy with the potential to be 20/20 in a year. A definite flier in deep keeper leagues. Like it is stated above, he is worth more consideration since he cut his K's some in spring. If they don't bail out on him this season and allow him to develop regardless of a rough patch then I think we are seeing a mid-level keeper for a few years to come.

[-Slap-]

I've been targeting him in AL Only drafts this year.

[gentlemanjerseydave]

Snagged him a couple weeks back to stash on my bench. He showed last year and this spring that it is not a stretch to believe him to be a 15/15 .270 guy with the potential to be 20/20 in a year. A definite flier in deep keeper leagues. Like it is stated above, he is worth more consideration since he cut his K's some in spring. If they don't bail out on him this season and allow him to develop regardless of a rough patch then I think we are seeing a mid-level keeper for a few years to come.

[BitterDodgerFan]

is he a full time player? where's he batting, 9th?

[ididapoopy]

There are red flags by the bushelful going forward, though.

Gutierrez hit home runs on 16% of his fly balls, a rate similar to that of feared sluggers like Vladimir Guerrero and David Ortiz, and nearly six times higher than his rate in 2006. This is almost certainly going to regress in 2008.

He struck out 77 times in 271 at-bats, a worrisome rate for a player who has never had a firm grasp on the strike zone.

Another major red flag: In a surprisingly good season in which Gutierrez played much better than anybody could have reasonably expected, he on-based .318.

[jswede]

I could see something to the tune of .270 20/15 given 500 ABs. That might even be better than the new import Fukudome, and you can get it for free.

So far the Fukudome comparison is right on....

Fuku: 3-3; HR; 3rbi; 1run; 2.333 slg
Gutz: 3-3; HR; 3rbi; 2run; 2.000 slg

Definitely a guy to keep an eye on, if not stash.