What's so great about Chavez?

[Members Only Jackets]

I've followed baseball all my life but in recent years it's been less and less. But last year I got into Fantasy b ball I found a liking for it again....While researching players in the off season every article raved about Chavez, saying how good he is....I wasn't really following the A's last year so can someone tell me what I can hope for out of him?

So I picked up Castilla and temporaily benched him.

thanks

[Hyde]

The good - He absolutely crushes right handed pitching and he's a good fielder.

The bad - If your grandma throws left handed then she could probably get Chavez out consistently.

[WhiteHot]

The good - He absolutely crushes right handed pitching and he's a good fielder.

The bad - If your grandma throws left handed then she could probably get Chavez out consistently.

Wow. I just looked up the stats for last year:

vs. righties .312, 20 HR, 72 RBI .954 OPS
vs. lefties .220, 9 HR, 29 RBI .674 OPS

[bibsybob]

he'll put up better numbers against lefties this year, hes maturing as a hitter.

[Transmogrifier]

Don't worry, he'll be fine. If you want to take him out when facing lefties, fine, but I wouldn't worry about it. He's still developing as a hitter, and I expect a big year, even with no protection.

[sinicalypse]

well the thing is that chavez has been a perennial 30/100 type (tho i believe he hit 29 last year), and he's one of the best fielding 3B in all of baseball, if not the best.

he's pretty young, he seems to be a "dude" type of guy whom people can get along with, and well, here's the thing...

he's traditionally a really slow starter. i had him in 02 and it was just like it is now.. you're looking at (and these are generous estimations) i believe .240/3/10 right now and like "wtf" cuz even troy glaus is looking like a stud compared to dirty chavez.

thing is that one of these years, prolly the year he learns to hit .275 against lefties, he might start off as hot as he finishes, and if he does you're looking at 40/130 or something.

3B isn't as deep as 1B, yet can be a sufficient power position if you staff the right guy. the reason chavez is such a big deal is because he's basically guaranteed to produce. barring injury, the worst season i see him having is like .250/25/85, so if that's your floor, you look upwards towards the ceiling and start to daydream.

people like chavez because you plug him in at third on your team and you pretty much know what you're going to get. and one of these years you figure .300/40/130 is going to happen, so thats why there's hype around the guy.

[frog99]

I'll give you the highlights of the Baseball prospectus scouting report:


"One of the most consistent, yet maddening players in the majors.... beautiful lefthanded stroke that repeatedly punishes right-handed pitchers.... if you can become a league-average hitter against lefties, he'll be a top-teir MVP candidate on a regular basis..."





they predict 30 home runs and a .280 ba. And BP is one of the most accurate predictures of numbers.

[AcidRock23]

I think that he just needs to take more BP vs. the Oakland Lefties in the offseason. That would have to be the best way to get the hang of it!!

I think both the leftie thing and the second half thing apply here. From a fantasy viewpoint, it'd be pretty safe to platoon him and Castilla, just playing Vinnie when Chavez is going up against a lefty.