2012 version of 2010 Bautista & 2011 Morse ??

[SpecialFNK]

Bautista started to show what he could do in September of 2009. Morse started to show what he could do in 2010 when he got playing time in August and September.
I don't know if Morse was guaranteed regular playing time coming into 2011. it helped him that Adam LaRoche got injured and he could move to 1B.

[cordscords]

Brent Morel hit 8 homers in September. Similar to Bautistas finish in '09.

[Halo Homers]

Ike Davis could be a 30+ HR guy with the fences pullled in 15 ft and the walls lowered to boot at Citi Field. The pitching he'll face in the NL East will mute this; perhaps the division with the best SP now.

[B-Chad]

As someone else said, the names in this thread shouldn't be considered likely to make this type of leap in production, just potentially capable. With that in mind...

Bradon Allen/Chris Carter: Both find themselves embroiled in a battle for at-bats at 1B and DH with Daric Barton and Kila Ka'aihue. Both have excellent raw power, and both have contact issues. If either, or both, run away with regular playing time they could be sources of power. Of course, they'll need to strike out less frequently for that to happen. The A's are rebuilding, so they may get some leash. Kila Ka'aihue is out of options, so he may have a slight leg up in the competition. I've also seen it floated around the net that the A's are shopping Allen, so perhaps his chance will come outside of Oakland... or not at all.

Mat Gamel: Ugly strikeout rate in the majors, but under 20% at Triple-A the last two seasons. He's always gotten good scouting reports on the bat, the glove is another story. He looks to be the leader in the club house to replace Prince Fielder at 1B for the Brewers, so opportunity is there. He had his best home run output last year, 28 in 545 plate appearances. Granted, that came in the hitter friendly PCL. There was a time people were excited about him as a prospect, perhaps he begins living up to those expectations this year.

[Inukchuk]

Good to see you back, Josh!

Also a big fan of Gamel late...

[Element]

Good call on Gamel. His K% has gotten better in each of the past two seasons as well. It's note worthy that Milwaukee has yet to even bring in a RH platoon option for him.

[Niffoc4]

Good call on Gamel. His K% has gotten better in each of the past two seasons as well. It's note worthy that Milwaukee has yet to even bring in a RH platoon option for him.

There has been talk that they will start Hart at 1B against lefties though.

[Ender]

Good call on Gamel. His K% has gotten better in each of the past two seasons as well. It's note worthy that Milwaukee has yet to even bring in a RH platoon option for him.

There has been talk that they will start Hart at 1B against lefties though.

I wouldn't put a lot of stock into that. Morgan can't hit LHP at all and it is no sure thing that Aoki can hit them which is the only other real option to play RF. Gamel doesn't have a platoon split in the minors really so he should play every day if he can hit.

[B-Chad]

Good call on Gamel. His K% has gotten better in each of the past two seasons as well. It's note worthy that Milwaukee has yet to even bring in a RH platoon option for him.

There has been talk that they will start Hart at 1B against lefties though.

I wouldn't put a lot of stock into that. Morgan can't hit LHP at all and it is no sure thing that Aoki can hit them which is the only other real option to play RF. Gamel doesn't have a platoon split in the minors really so he should play every day if he can hit.

I was curious to see how his splits looked in Triple-A this year, but unfortunately MiLB has his winter league splits up. Tough to give the guy too much grief for struggling against southpaws in the majors with such a small sample of plate appearances to work with. I think he'll be given a shot in the spring to prove he's capable of playing everyday, and not just serving as the better side of a platoon. Another guy who could come into play in terms of the platoon is Logan Schafer. He doesn't really have much left to prove in the minors. He didn't hit righties as well as lefties in the AFL, but the major difference lied in the batting average. He still walked and slugged at similar enough rates. That said, I still think Gamel will be given a shot to run away with the everyday job.