Will this be a breakout year for Wells?

[TheRawDAWG]

Toronto doesn't run--its against there philosophy. He will never have double-digit SBs there. And how can you project 15 more HRs when he is dropping 20 lbs. of muscle? He will be more like .300/95/20/95/8

Are you kidding me? first off Wells hit 33 homers last year so 42 would only be an increase of 9. He tailed off the power a little bit last year towards the end which is why he didn't hit 40 last year. But your projection of 20 homers and 95 RBIs is ridiculous. Are you in a league with some of these guys and trying to drive his value down? BTW, Wells lost the weight because he wanted to be in better shape so that he wouldn't have the late season power shortage. He didn't lose 20 pounds of muscle, he just toned himself to the point where he doesn't have any body fat. Hinske did the same thing. And I agree, if Hinske can steal 10 then Wells can steal 10 in Toronto. And he hit 23 homers and 100 RBIs his rookie year. Why would you be projecting him finishing lower than those totals? What a joke!!


My projection: .315, 115, 40, 130, 10. Write it down!!

[BcM]

.297
32 hrs
115 rbi's
102 runs
14 sb

[DBacksRule]

Well I know Id love to see numbers like those. Id love it if he could it turn up another notch in his power numbers and maybe get double digit steals.

[Mr. October]

I agree with Transmogrifier, I think last season was his breakout year also. I grabbed him in my keeper league last year as well. I think that he can get double digit steals depending on where he hits in that lineup(who's in front of him and behind him). That's my opinion anyways.

[mtarail]

I like Wells, too.

But I'd just like to point out that people are routinely taking him in the 3rd round. He hasn't proven to be a real threat to steal bases yet. As such, why not wait until the 5th or 6th round to grab Huff or Garrett Anderson, who will put up very similar #'s?

[mikcou]

Toronto doesn't run--its against there philosophy. He will never have double-digit SBs there. And how can you project 15 more HRs when he is dropping 20 lbs. of muscle? He will be more like .300/95/20/95/8

Are you kidding me? first off Wells hit 33 homers last year so 42 would only be an increase of 9. He tailed off the power a little bit last year towards the end which is why he didn't hit 40 last year. But your projection of 20 homers and 95 RBIs is ridiculous. Are you in a league with some of these guys and trying to drive his value down? BTW, Wells lost the weight because he wanted to be in better shape so that he wouldn't have the late season power shortage. He didn't lose 20 pounds of muscle, he just toned himself to the point where he doesn't have any body fat. Hinske did the same thing. And I agree, if Hinske can steal 10 then Wells can steal 10 in Toronto. And he hit 23 homers and 100 RBIs his rookie year. Why would you be projecting him finishing lower than those totals? What a joke!!


My projection: .315, 115, 40, 130, 10. Write it down!!

thats about where I have him

[xerxes]

i don't think he'll improve a ton more, but i was thinking he is like the new Manny Ramirez (consistent "monster" seasons year-in and year-out). i was worried about the steroid accusations, but i think he'll be OK. i did some research heres what i found:


<img src="http://cache.etopps.com/images/cards/025-00048fd.jpg"> <img src="http://www.homeruncards.com/imagesrc/vernon-wells.jpg">
<img src="http://www.tsn.ca/images/stories/20030919/wells_79188.jpg"> <img src="http://i.cnn.net/si/images/baseball/mlb/players/6327.jpg"> <img src="http://www.sanspo.com/mlb/allstar/2003/image/V_WELLS.jpg">
<img src="http://slam.canoe.ca/Aug26/slam2-ap.jpg ">


don't have a new pic, but he looks roided up in that last one. its hard to tell:

from tsn:

Feb 20 2004 - Vernon Wells, who said he had weight he could afford to lose, dropped 20 pounds during the offseason. In the past, a player who showed up at camp looking noticeably slimmer than the year before would receive a nice article about himself in the local paper. In 2004, however, it's accusations of steroid use that he'll face instead. "I've never ever seen a steroid," Wells said when asked. "I've never taken a steroid." Blue Jays hitting coach Mike Barnett backed him up. "From a physical standpoint, he's leaner," Barnett said. "He has lost weight around his middle. To me, his upper body and his legs are the same size as a year ago."

[Leber]

wells should improve on his stats from last year even though it is only a little bit...slimming down doesnt mean a whole lot, he should still rack up the rbis and since he is more experienced this year...i expect him to be a top 6 outifleder by the end of the year...

[jbuk]

I also think last year was his big year, can't see him improving much on it, this season year. He should still put up similar stats though.

[demoflauchy]

Well I just snagged him with the 8th pick in my keeper league (4 keepers). So essentially I got him with a 5th round pick!

I'd say that's a good bargain.