Will Venable ...

[da_mane_man]

what do you guys think his ceiling is? i'm in a deep mixed league and i just picked him up. the only problem is that i now have 3 padres hitters and none of them are named adrian gonzalez.

[ayebatter]

Has a little pop, has a little speed, doesn't have a full time job - 350 at bats 10/8/.260

[Grounded Polo]

Has a little pop, has a little speed, doesn't have a full time job - 350 at bats 10/8/.260

What? He has RF locked up.

Venable's worth a look in deeper leagues, I have him on one.

[RedSoxNation04]

You should find everything you need right here....http://www.fantasybaseballcafe.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=406005

[da_mane_man]

oh, that's right. i remembered seeing a thread about him but i didn't remember what it was called. thanks.

[thejusman1]

He reminds me of a poor man's Nate McLouth. I don't know if he'll ever be disciplined enough to bat over .250, because he hardly ever draws a walk. I had him in a Cafe league and cut him over Reimold, Magglio, Hafner, and Pods. We'll see if that was a wise decision.

[ayebatter]

Has a little pop, has a little speed, doesn't have a full time job - 350 at bats 10/8/.260

What? He has RF locked up.

A guy that hits .250/.260 never has anything locked up, with Gwynn / S.Hairston / Venable sharing 2 outfield spots,and you're expecting anything more than 350-400 at bats a piece right now you're dreaming.

[wrveres]

Has a little pop, has a little speed, doesn't have a full time job - 350 at bats 10/8/.260

What? He has RF locked up.

Venable's worth a look in deeper leagues, I have him on one.

RF is his, so he will get more than 350 ab's and i like the guy in deeper leagues too. when the friars got rid of Kouz, it opened up a bunch of playing time for Wil!

[Maris09]

Has a little pop, has a little speed, doesn't have a full time job - 350 at bats 10/8/.260

What? He has RF locked up.

A guy that hits .250/.260 never has anything locked up, with Gwynn / S.Hairston / Venable sharing 2 outfield spots,and you're expecting anything more than 350-400 at bats a piece right now you're dreaming.

Well lets see, he got about 300 at bats last year, didn't start the year with SD (only 60 at bats before the allstar break), and they also had a lot more options to use in the OF last year.

Then factor in that Gonzo is GONE at some point this year.....Kyle Blanks can go ahead and slide over to 1B.....which means there will be ANOTHER open spot in the OF....

Pretty sure you're dreaming if you DON'T think he gets more than 350-400 at bats.

[Cobra_Kai]

Then factor in that Gonzo is GONE at some point this year.....

I wouldn't count those chickens before they've hatched. First, Gonzalez has made some noise about staying in SD, and expressed his willingness to take deferred money from the Padres. Second, the Padres have to know that they'll get better trade value for Gonzo after this season. Right now, the Sox have the 1B and 3B spots locked up (this is assuming the Sox are the most likely destination). They're not going to give up the farm to then have to either play Gonzalez at DH or to bench Beltre. However, suppose the Red Sox experiment in "defense first" blows up in their faces this year, they miss the playoffs, NYY does well, etc. You think they won't trade off some big prospects for Gonzo in the offseason? I think that's much more likely, IMO. Add to that the fact that they'll have Ortiz, Beltre, and Lowell all with expiring contracts, which would leave the door open for them to sign Gonzalez to a nice extension.

If the Red Sox are still the most likely destination (as most seem to agree they are), then I don't think it's an automatic that Gonzo is traded this summer. I think the winter is much more likely.