Jose Reyes Predictions

[shortsavage]

Jose Reyes will definitely bat at the top of the lineup. I think he has enough pop to hit around 15 HRs too. He was a .285 hitter in the minors and so far he has hit .283 in the majors, granted the sample sizes for both are limited, but I would still say he has a great shot at hitting .290 in 2005.

Bracket Jose Reyes in the Joe Mauer category. They both have the tools to be the most valuable player at their position.

Also, and I know I have brought this up multiple times, Vladimir Guerrero and Alex Rodriguez's back concerns were monumental for a while, then they put those to sleep. Jason Schmidt went into the 2004 season as a risky player then went on to contend for the CY Young award. J.D. Drew finally let his numbers do the talking. David Wells logged a pretty healthy season. Pudge proved that he still has some young blood left in him. Even Chipper Jones did not miss a ton of time.

I could go on and on and on.

After associating with the Cafe community for a few years, I can tell you that many of the people around here with high post counts strongly dislike players with injury concerns and low batting averages. Some things get blown out of proportion. But then again, everyone makes mistakes, myself included.

[rlee]

Reyes worked on a conditioning program with Mackey Shilstone in New Orleans before he went home.

He's played the entire winter season in the Dominican Republic, hit over .300 without a hint of injury. He was quoted in one of the NY newspapers as saying that he has never felt better. He also said he was going to try and get back with Shilstone before ST.

I think the risk of injury last year was real, and it obviously proved to be, but is much diminished this year.

The Mets are counting on him to lead off and get on base in front of Beltran (maybe), Delgado (much MORE of a maybe), and they hope a rejuvenated Piazza.