03/01: YB Community Projection: Robinson Cano
Posted by: James
Robinson Cano - 2nd Baseman (Ummm...graphs)
Age: 23 Years Old.
Three-Year History and splits:
Outlook: After breaking onto the scene last year when taking over for the much-maligned Tony Womack, Robinson Cano heads into the 2006 with the burden of expectations. A lot of Yankee fans who have been looking for the next great homegrown product have latched onto this kid and might be expecting a bit too much of a leap from the 23-year old.
That being said, Cano was an above-average second baseman last year (and worlds better than Womack). He was 4th in the majors last year in batting average amongst qualified second basemen, 14th (of 16th) in OBP, 8th (of 16th) in SLG and 8th in extra base hits (even though he had about 100 fewer plate appearances than the rest of the players on the list). What does that tell us? Well, for the most part, he puts up decent power numbers for a second baseman but his value is driven mostly by his BA and will remain so as long as his plate discipline remains at the same level. He's put on some muscle this off-season that hopefully won't result in a decline in his ability to make contact or in Cano trying to jack everything out of the park. He was consistent last year (except for a horrid August when his line was .207/.252/.261/.513) and actually got a little better in the second half. He might have been pressing a little bit in front of the home crowd as he put up much better numbers on the road (.252/.274/.378/.652 at home vs. .335/.358/.525/.883 on the road). Who knows, this could just be a fluke but with another year under his belt and now firmly entrenched as the second baseman, hopefully it evens out a little bit. Also, keep in mind that in the past, he's improved in his second go-around in the league so rather than a sophomore slump, we could be looking at a sophomore superstar (but Bryan Smith over at Baseball Analysts doesn't expect that to happen).
SG over at RLYW did a good outlook for Cano earlier and this one line really sticks when thinking about Robbie: "I'll just try to enjoy what Cano can do, not focus on what he can't do, and imagine the possibilities if things break just right."
Please post your predictions for the following stat line in thecomments section:
Age: 23 Years Old.
Three-Year History and splits:
| SEASON | Level | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | A | 90 | 366 | 50 | 101 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 50 | 17 | 49 | 1 | .276 | .313 | .377 | 690 |
| 2003 | AA | 46 | 164 | 21 | 46 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 0 | .280 | .341 | .366 | 707 |
| 2004 | AA | 74 | 292 | 43 | 88 | 20 | 8 | 7 | 44 | 24 | 40 | 2 | .301 | .356 | .497 | 853 |
| 2004 | AAA | 61 | 216 | 22 | 56 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 30 | 18 | 27 | 0 | .259 | .316 | .403 | 719 |
| 2005 | AAA | 24 | 108 | 19 | 36 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 6 | 13 | 0 | .333 | .368 | .574 | 942 |
| 2005 | MLB | 132 | 522 | 78 | 155 | 34 | 4 | 14 | 62 | 16 | 68 | 1 | .297 | .320 | .458 | 778 |
Outlook: After breaking onto the scene last year when taking over for the much-maligned Tony Womack, Robinson Cano heads into the 2006 with the burden of expectations. A lot of Yankee fans who have been looking for the next great homegrown product have latched onto this kid and might be expecting a bit too much of a leap from the 23-year old.
That being said, Cano was an above-average second baseman last year (and worlds better than Womack). He was 4th in the majors last year in batting average amongst qualified second basemen, 14th (of 16th) in OBP, 8th (of 16th) in SLG and 8th in extra base hits (even though he had about 100 fewer plate appearances than the rest of the players on the list). What does that tell us? Well, for the most part, he puts up decent power numbers for a second baseman but his value is driven mostly by his BA and will remain so as long as his plate discipline remains at the same level. He's put on some muscle this off-season that hopefully won't result in a decline in his ability to make contact or in Cano trying to jack everything out of the park. He was consistent last year (except for a horrid August when his line was .207/.252/.261/.513) and actually got a little better in the second half. He might have been pressing a little bit in front of the home crowd as he put up much better numbers on the road (.252/.274/.378/.652 at home vs. .335/.358/.525/.883 on the road). Who knows, this could just be a fluke but with another year under his belt and now firmly entrenched as the second baseman, hopefully it evens out a little bit. Also, keep in mind that in the past, he's improved in his second go-around in the league so rather than a sophomore slump, we could be looking at a sophomore superstar (but Bryan Smith over at Baseball Analysts doesn't expect that to happen).
SG over at RLYW did a good outlook for Cano earlier and this one line really sticks when thinking about Robbie: "I'll just try to enjoy what Cano can do, not focus on what he can't do, and imagine the possibilities if things break just right."
Please post your predictions for the following stat line in thecomments section:
| AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|
Mike A. wrote:
I think Cano's numbers may suffer a bit because he'll be in the 9th spot for all, or at least most, of the year.
Of course, he'll also be the best number 9 hitter in baseball.