Melvin Mora

[DominicanLou]

I have him in a keeper league and will probably be keeping him. I think he can come close to last year's stats and he does have a pretty good lineup around him.

[pomplona's finest]

It seems to me that people keep shying away from him with doubt, I myself still have these feelings lingering but I think he has proven himself enough to merit a draft pick.

[ensanimal]

It seems to me that people keep shying away from him with doubt, I myself still have these feelings lingering but I think he has proven himself enough to merit a draft pick.

for sure he merits a draft pick, it all depends on where that draft pick will be. i'm pretty sure someone will jump on him before my liking anyways.


and then it will come back to bite me in the ass as mora would then go on to put up these same numbers.

[pomplona's finest]

Well I was saying that where he will most likely be taken would be good value. This thread alone has shown that there are many doubters, and if enough people pass on him he would be well worth the price.

Around what round(s) do you think he'll be drafted?

[mojowitt]

Not only should he match this year's stats, he may very well surpass them. Mora missed 22 games because of injury. Add another 60-80AB and you have even better #s. He hit over .300 and over .400OBP vs. lefties and righties, and never slumped terribly (.266/2hr in july). In addition, I think the Orioles will get a good OF or 3B in the offseason (they didnt spend all of their FA budget last year and will free up another 13-16 million this winter). This will give him even more opportunities in a potent line-up. The guy is only 32 and has produced every year he's been allowed to play regularly. To show you what others in my keeper league thought of him, I got Beltran and Figgins for Mora and Sosa and I got offered Blalock straight up too.

[stumpak]

The odds of Mora surpassing last year are pretty slim. I am not predicting .250, but it is tough to see how last year was not a career year. Almost all players are downtrending offensively at his age, not hitting their peak. Plus he has an injury history, so it is not a given that he will have those extra 20 games.

The other thing to remmeber is that the Orioles are idiots, so don't expect a smart move for the OF/3B hole that they have. They want to put asses in the seats, not win. They are apparantly interested in Sosa, which is clearly the last thing they need. Just like the Orioles to be adding to their already burgeoning collection of washed up DH-types (Surhoff, Palmeiro) while they have a AAA pitching staff. But I guess you have to replace the small bats, brittle bodies and big contracts of Segui and Cordova with someone.

[Pedantic]

I don't know about a .340 average, but I think an average well over .300 is very attainable. After all, he's posted an OPS over .900 for the past two years. Last year, it was easy enough to write it off because of the injury. However, now that's he's done it in a (more or less) full season, I don't think we should so easily write him off. As I said earlier this year (too bad I didn't act on it though), he was never really given steady playing time until 2003. Now that he has a starting position, I believe he will continue posting good numbers. As far as age, Mora was a pro soccer player and amateur boxer in Venezuela, so I think he definitely has the athletic ability to keep performing at a high level into his 30's.