03/19: YBCP 07: Melky Cabrera
Posted by: James
Melky Cabrera
Age: 22 Years Old (Turns 23 in August).
Two-Year History (check out the sponsor!), two-year splits and last year's splits.
Outlook: To say that Melky's second run for the Yankees in 2006 was a blessing would be an understatement. When Gary Sheffield went down, Cabrera was called up and earned the full-time gig by starting out hot, hitting .318/.392/.394/.786 in May and flashing some leather in OF. However, it seemed that El Leche would fizzle out just as quickly when he put up an anemic June line of .214/.312/.296/.608. At that point, I'm sure there were a lot of Yankees fans who might have agreed with John Sickels regarding Melky's bat (which he later publicly revised). Luckily for the Yankees, Melky proved he could make adjustments and from his low point on June 19th, he put up a .295/.365/.422/.787 line with a 36:46 BB:K ratio while adding 10 SBs (3 CS). Not too shabby for someone in his Age 21 season, no?
In any case, the really important question is now; where does the Melkman go from here? Should this be the best we can expect from him? I mean, a .400 SLG is probably not adequate from the corner OFer on a championship team. Still, Melky played well enough for practically a full year and put up a league average OPS+ at 21, something not too many people can boast about. Based on that (and the combined age of the Yankees OF), I would say that he deserves a shot to show the team what he can offer. If he can continue to control the strike zone, play a good OF and show a even a little bit more pop, this could get very interesting. With his positive attitude, a good work ethic and a solid support system on the team, I wouldn't put it past Melky to show continued improvement. Remember, people never expected Cano to be as good as he has been so far so take that as you will.
Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:
Age: 22 Years Old (Turns 23 in August).
Two-Year History (check out the sponsor!), two-year splits and last year's splits.
| SEASON | Team | G | AB | H | 1B | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Yankees | 6 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .211 |
| 2006 | AAA | 31 | 122 | 47 | 35 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 1 | .385 | |
| 2006 | Yankees | 130 | 460 | 129 | 94 | 26 | 2 | 7 | 75 | 50 | 56 | 59 | 12 | 5 | .280 |
| 2007 | Bill James | 105 | 364 | 104 | 75 | 19 | 2 | 8 | 55 | 47 | 36 | 45 | 9 | 3 | .286 |
| 2007 | CHONE | 558 | 163 | 114 | 32 | 3 | 14 | 74 | 72 | 57 | 80 | 11 | 4 | .292 | |
| 2007 | Marcel | 408 | 118 | 84 | 23 | 2 | 9 | 66 | 49 | 47 | 57 | 10 | 4 | .289 | |
| 2007 | ZiPS | 584 | 172 | 123 | 28 | 3 | 18 | 93 | 92 | 55 | 67 | 12 | 5 | .295 |
| SEASON | Team | BB% | K% | BB/K | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | BABIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Yankees | 0.0 % | 10.5 % | 0.00 | .211 | .211 | .421 | .000 | .235 |
| 2006 | AAA | 7.6 % | 7.4 % | 1.11 | .432 | .566 | .997 | .180 | .394 |
| 2006 | Yankees | 10.9 % | 12.8 % | 0.95 | .360 | .391 | .752 | .111 | .310 |
| 2007 | 9.0 % | 12.4 % | 0.80 | .352 | .415 | .766 | .129 | .309 | |
| 2007 | CHONE | 9.3 % | 14.3 % | 0.71 | .361 | .435 | .796 | .143 | .321 |
| 2007 | Marcel | 10.3 % | 14.0 % | 0.82 | .365 | .422 | .787 | .132 | .319 |
| 2007 | ZiPS | 8.6 % | 11.5 % | 0.82 | .355 | .445 | .800 | .150 | .309 |
Outlook: To say that Melky's second run for the Yankees in 2006 was a blessing would be an understatement. When Gary Sheffield went down, Cabrera was called up and earned the full-time gig by starting out hot, hitting .318/.392/.394/.786 in May and flashing some leather in OF. However, it seemed that El Leche would fizzle out just as quickly when he put up an anemic June line of .214/.312/.296/.608. At that point, I'm sure there were a lot of Yankees fans who might have agreed with John Sickels regarding Melky's bat (which he later publicly revised). Luckily for the Yankees, Melky proved he could make adjustments and from his low point on June 19th, he put up a .295/.365/.422/.787 line with a 36:46 BB:K ratio while adding 10 SBs (3 CS). Not too shabby for someone in his Age 21 season, no?
In any case, the really important question is now; where does the Melkman go from here? Should this be the best we can expect from him? I mean, a .400 SLG is probably not adequate from the corner OFer on a championship team. Still, Melky played well enough for practically a full year and put up a league average OPS+ at 21, something not too many people can boast about. Based on that (and the combined age of the Yankees OF), I would say that he deserves a shot to show the team what he can offer. If he can continue to control the strike zone, play a good OF and show a even a little bit more pop, this could get very interesting. With his positive attitude, a good work ethic and a solid support system on the team, I wouldn't put it past Melky to show continued improvement. Remember, people never expected Cano to be as good as he has been so far so take that as you will.
Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:
| AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|
Mike K wrote: