03/17: YBCP 07: Bobby Abreu
Posted by: James
Bobby Abreu
Age: 33 Years Old (Turns 34 next March).
Three-Year History, three-year splits and last year's splits.
Outlook: Traded to the Yankees at the trading deadline, Bobby had 209 ABs in Yankee pinstripes and he made them count, going .330/.419/.507 in that span (which coincidentally, is pretty close to Jeter's stat line for the full year). Everyone knows Abreu's game by now; he is a remarkably patient hitter and takes his share of walks (his 124 BBs would have led either league had he been eligible) and strikeouts (138 Ks). After he switched leagues, perhaps after a concerted change in his approach at the plate, Abreu put a few more balls in the air, helping him in the XBH and SLG category as a few of those fly balls ended up going out. Other than that, he is an on base machine who fits very well into the Yankee line up. His acquisition allows Torre to put a left handed version of Derek Jeter (though Abreu is more patient) in the line up right after the Captain. As a bonus, Bobby averaged 4.44 pitches a plate appearance as a Yankee, which when combined with Jason Giambi behind him, will help wear pitchers down and get the Yankees into the other team's bulllpen early.
Bobby is currently rehabbing a stained oblique but the injury is not expected to cost him significant time (or more importantly, effectiveness). Also, Abreu will be in a modified-walk year as he would be playing for the Yankees to pick up his $16MM option at the end of the year. Who knows, perhaps we could see a contract year big-time season. Actually, it'll be interesting to see how Abreu ages as his closest comparison through age 32 is none other than Bernie Williams, who had his last great season at age 33.
Still, the important number to keep an eye on this year will probably be Bobby's SLG percent as Abreu's power outage (relatively speaking) has been well documented since the 2005 All-Star Break. However, even with diminished power, Abreu is a great addition to the Yankees lineup; a professional hitter with great on-base skills, good instincts on the basepaths and is someone the third in a line of 3 players who could each put up a 20-20 season.
Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:
Age: 33 Years Old (Turns 34 next March).
Three-Year History, three-year splits and last year's splits.
| SEASON | Team | G | AB | H | 1B | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Phillies | 159 | 574 | 173 | 95 | 47 | 1 | 30 | 118 | 105 | 127 | 116 | 40 | 5 | .301 |
| 2005 | Phillies | 162 | 588 | 168 | 106 | 37 | 1 | 24 | 104 | 102 | 117 | 134 | 31 | 9 | .286 |
| 2006 | Phills-Yanks | 156 | 548 | 163 | 105 | 41 | 2 | 15 | 98 | 107 | 124 | 138 | 30 | 6 | .297 |
| 2007 | Bill James | 160 | 588 | 170 | 104 | 43 | 2 | 21 | 104 | 99 | 123 | 141 | 26 | 9 | .289 |
| 2007 | CHONE | 529 | 148 | 98 | 32 | 1 | 17 | 106 | 78 | 109 | 129 | 25 | 5 | .280 | |
| 2007 | Marcel | 504 | 146 | 90 | 35 | 2 | 19 | 90 | 90 | 99 | 115 | 27 | 6 | .290 | |
| 2007 | ZiPS | 534 | 153 | 98 | 34 | 1 | 20 | 89 | 98 | 114 | 122 | 28 | 7 | .287 |
| SEASON | Team | BB% | K% | BB/K | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | BABIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Phillies | 18.1 % | 20.2 % | 1.09 | .428 | .544 | .971 | .242 | .334 |
| 2005 | Phillies | 16.6 % | 22.8 % | 0.87 | .405 | .474 | .879 | .189 | .335 |
| 2006 | Phillies-Yankees | 18.5 % | 25.2 % | 0.90 | .424 | .462 | .886 | .164 | .375 |
| 2007 | Bill James | 17.3 % | 24.0 % | 0.87 | .415 | .476 | .891 | .187 | .350 |
| 2007 | CHONE | 17.1 % | 24.4 % | 0.84 | .407 | .440 | .847 | .161 | .342 |
| 2007 | Marcel | 16.4 % | 22.8 % | 0.86 | .406 | .480 | .886 | .190 | .343 |
| 2007 | ZiPS | 17.6 % | 22.8 % | 0.93 | .414 | .466 | .880 | .179 | .339 |
Outlook: Traded to the Yankees at the trading deadline, Bobby had 209 ABs in Yankee pinstripes and he made them count, going .330/.419/.507 in that span (which coincidentally, is pretty close to Jeter's stat line for the full year). Everyone knows Abreu's game by now; he is a remarkably patient hitter and takes his share of walks (his 124 BBs would have led either league had he been eligible) and strikeouts (138 Ks). After he switched leagues, perhaps after a concerted change in his approach at the plate, Abreu put a few more balls in the air, helping him in the XBH and SLG category as a few of those fly balls ended up going out. Other than that, he is an on base machine who fits very well into the Yankee line up. His acquisition allows Torre to put a left handed version of Derek Jeter (though Abreu is more patient) in the line up right after the Captain. As a bonus, Bobby averaged 4.44 pitches a plate appearance as a Yankee, which when combined with Jason Giambi behind him, will help wear pitchers down and get the Yankees into the other team's bulllpen early.
Bobby is currently rehabbing a stained oblique but the injury is not expected to cost him significant time (or more importantly, effectiveness). Also, Abreu will be in a modified-walk year as he would be playing for the Yankees to pick up his $16MM option at the end of the year. Who knows, perhaps we could see a contract year big-time season. Actually, it'll be interesting to see how Abreu ages as his closest comparison through age 32 is none other than Bernie Williams, who had his last great season at age 33.
Still, the important number to keep an eye on this year will probably be Bobby's SLG percent as Abreu's power outage (relatively speaking) has been well documented since the 2005 All-Star Break. However, even with diminished power, Abreu is a great addition to the Yankees lineup; a professional hitter with great on-base skills, good instincts on the basepaths and is someone the third in a line of 3 players who could each put up a 20-20 season.
Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:
| AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|
Patrick wrote:
106 R
20 HR
111 RBI
27 SB
.301 AVG
.410 OBA
.481 SLG