Who do I keep?

[albsur2008]

I definitely say take Alexei. Seriously, look at this comparison:

Player A's Rookie Year: Age 25, 574 ABs, 77 Runs, 18 HRs, 73 RBIs, 43 SBs, .268 AVG
Alexei Ramirez's Rookie Year: Age 26, 480 ABs, 65 Runs, 21 HRs, 77 RBIs, 13 SBs, .289 AVG

Player A's Second Year: 696 ABs, 128 Runs, 39 HRs, 102 RBIs, 41 SBs, .300 AVG
Alexei Ramirez's Second Year: ?????

Player A is Alfonso Soriano in 2001 & 2002. They have similar K/BB ratios which show that they don't walk a lot but who needs walks when you can rake. Granted, Soriano was on the powerful Yankees at the time but Alexei's numbers were still amazing considering that he was hitting seventh, eighth or ninth for a good majority of the season. Alexei Ramirez is apparently also faster than the 13 SBs show from this year and if he's rumored to hit leadoff for the White Sox as an everyday shortstop in 2009, I'm expecting HUGE things from him. He's just getting used to the majors.

GO WITH ALEXEI!!!

[AquaMan2342]

I am wondering why people are going Hart over Ramirez when their statistics are so similar to each other. I am not always a proponent of picking somebody solely because of position scarcity, but SS is easily the shallowest position in baseball. The gap between Hart and Ramirez seems to be small. Take out Ramirez's April, which was basically attributed to his inability to quickly adjust to the colder Aprils in Chicago and his stats are ridiculous.

[Deadfish]

Id say it was between Victorino and Alexi...


HR SB BA R RBI
Victorino 14 36 .293 102 58
Hart 20 23 .268 76 91
Alexi 21 13 .290 65 77

[bigken117]

It's a tough call, but thanks to their respective positions I would probably roll with Alexi also.

[HOOTIE]

Let's not get too crazy here. 26 is late to be a rookie. Alexeis oba was poor, his sb% was poor, and he hit few doubles. Hart had a down year, but his 45 doubles could turn into a few more hrs. Hart is entering his prime. I think he's much more likely to approach 30 hrs, 90 rbis, 20+ sb, then Alexei.

[The Artful Dodger]

Tough call. I'm not quite as sold on Alexei as some are, but given that he's capable of a 5-cat line at a scarce position, he's tempting to take here. The only things holding Hart back are his high K rate and low walk rate that made him more hit-or-miss than usual (in fact the Brewers offense had a down year as a whole), but I give him the slight edge over Alexei. Another thing to consider is if Hart hits leadoff or in the two-hole next year despite a poor OBP, but he did flourish in mid-season when he was hitting leadoff.

[coleminer]

I would go with Alexei also, esp. if he gives you 2B or SS flexibility. If he improves his SB% and bats at the top of the line-up, you have a 5 cat monster at scarce position(s).

[San D]

I am wondering why people are going Hart over Ramirez when their statistics are so similar to each other. I am not always a proponent of picking somebody solely because of position scarcity, but SS is easily the shallowest position in baseball. The gap between Hart and Ramirez seems to be small. Take out Ramirez's April, which was basically attributed to his inability to quickly adjust to the colder Aprils in Chicago and his stats are ridiculous.

I was wondering the same thing in another thread. I was mostly concerned that I overrated Hart due to his size and an age 27 season coming up. However, after reading many comments, this is going to really be his third full season. His stats two years ago were so good that people are confident that he can make adjustments in his 3rd full year and regain those skills.

[clark-e_00@subr.edu]

Alexi 21 13 .290 65 77

[speedy27]

another vote for Alexei...