by Cards07Champs » Wed Aug 15, 2007 1:03 am
Cardinals fan, but I'm a KC native so I watch them quite a bit.
Butler's closest comparable I can come up with is Carlos Lee, but somehow even less athletic. I think he has legit 30 HR pop and .925 or so OPS skills.
Gordon...man I just cannot figure this kid out. I have no idea at all why he isn't hitting. His swing stays in the hitting zone for a long time, it's compact, it's powerful...it's just freakin' beautiful. Unfortunately, he seems to have no approach at the plate at all. He hasn't taken a plan to the plate with him all season. I think his hitting coach has done him a huge disservice by not instructing him on what it takes to be a ML hitter. He just gives ABs away because he goes up there looking for a mistake he can crush.
I think he'll be a Wright-type player as well, but his learning curve is probably 2 seasons behind where I hoped he'd be. If you're in a deep keeper league, he may be worth a look for 2009 (I keep 15, so he'll be one of mine), but I still don't expect anything out of him in 2008 either. He just hasn't progressed at all, outside of a hot June that really only made up for some very tough luck in the early part of the season.
He's earned that sparkling .720 OPS this season. The tools are there, but he's just not come that far this year.