Larson - the real deal?

[hybrid]

That's a little harsh. I wouldn't say he's never hit well in the majors. He hit .275 with 4 HR in 51 AB's in 2002, which is pretty good for a rookie. Last year he tanked, but if he gets a prolonged chance I think he could be really successful. In keeper leagues he's worth a look. Certainly not over a guy like Lowell, but he's worth a bench spot, and you can plug him in if he gets hot.

i don't think it's really that harsh....

2001 - triple a - .255 - reds - .108 (age 25)
2002 - triple a - .340 - reds - .275 (age 26)
2003 - triple a - .323 - reds - .101 (age 27)

Not verry good at all and Larson will also be turning 28 fairly soon. He has had an injury each of the last two years. So I really not sure why anyone would think much of him. Like i said keep him to see how he performs, I just doubt he will do anything. But who knows I've been wrong before.

[LBJackal]

So his last 2 years have been great, except for a bad stint in the majors last season. You make it seem like those minor league totals are over a full season. If you actually project his MiLB stats over 150 games, he'd have had 47 HR and 129 RBI in 2002, and 42 HR and 154 RBI in 2003, with a great BA in both seasons. Not too shabby, is it.

If he's healthy, he could be awesome. A lot of people (including myself) wrote off Podsednik for being too old coming out of the minors, and he didn't even have a good track record. Larson has actually been pretty damn good in the minors, and if he gets a shot would be well worth the roster space he'd take up.

[hybrid]

So his last 2 years have been great, except for a bad stint in the majors last season. You make it seem like those minor league totals are over a full season. If you actually project his MiLB stats over 150 games, he'd have had 47 HR and 129 RBI in 2002, and 42 HR and 154 RBI in 2003, with a great BA in both seasons. Not too shabby, is it.

If he's healthy, he could be awesome. A lot of people (including myself) wrote off Podsednik for being too old coming out of the minors, and he didn't even have a good track record. Larson has actually been pretty damn good in the minors, and if he gets a shot would be well worth the roster space he'd take up.

yeah then you would be projecting only about 50 at bats for larson. he played basically 80 games each the last two years in the minors. podsednik was a very rare player and only had 26 at bats, where as larson has had 173. to expect larson to do something like podsednik isn't very likely. there totally different to except from age, larson has produced in the minors and not much in the majors while podsednik's major league season was better then any he had in the minors. but as i said before i could be wrong, i just wouldn't bet on him doing much.

[LBJackal]

Yeah the fact that he played so few games is worrisome. But I said "if he's healthy". Let's hope the injury bug isn't something in the water in Cinci. Seems like it, with Griffey and Kearns making regular trips to the DL.

[thehat]

The fact Larson has torn up the minors doesn't amount to much. Phil Hiatt tore up AAA for a decade but couldn't hit at the next level. And he's hardly the only one. And this is his fifth year at AAA, after turning pro in 1997. Maybe Larson finally gets it together this time, but for the most part guys who plug along at that level for that long don't make good major leaguers. What's even more disturbing is that he was a first round draft pick in '97, so it's fair to say he's been a flop. He could be worth a flyer if you have a vacancy on your roster, but I wouldn't give up anything of any note for him...and I sure wouldn't bench Lowell in the process.