2004 Twins — Michael Cuddyer
Posted by SBG on Tuesday, November 23rd, 2004 at 8:01 am
| STICK AND BALL GUY'S 2004 TWINS ANALYZER | ||||
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Michael Cuddyer |
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| AVE: .263 | OBP: .339 | SLG: .440 | GPA: .263 | |
| G: 115 | AB: 339 | HR: 12 | RBI: 45 | |
Offense
Michael Cuddyer is a decent offensive player. Let's get that out there right away. He hit 12 home runs in 339 at bats (a much better rate than Lew Ford). He slugged about the same as Ford overall, despite his much lower batting average. His OPS of .779 isn't Oh-My-God-Wonderful, but it's a helluva lot better than, say, Luis Rivas'. His OBP is a little better than average (and .009 better than Torii Hunter). No question, Mike can hold his own. And he's still only had 571 at bats at the major league level.
Mike's biggest problem is that he strikes out a whole lot (74 times in those 339 at bats). I've seen times when he seems pretty clueless out there. Even so, his numbers have improved and he's still only 25 years old. Mike's a big upgrade offensively at 2B from Rivas, no question.
Defense
Mike's not a great defensive player, but I think he'll be adequate. If he does play second base, I think he can be passable. Considering that Rivas has pretty lousy range, I don't particularly shudder when I think of Cuddyer playing second. Did I mention that he's a better hitter than Rivas?
Salary
Serfdom.
Durability
Cuddyer has had some injury problems. He had a neck problem in 2004 and was hurt a fair amount in 2003. I don't think he's got any major problems, but he's not Cal Ripken, Jr., either. Some injury risk here.
Intangibles
What can you say about Cuddyer except that he needs to play. He's a big strong kid with punch. He's still only 25 years old. I like his punch, he hits right handers respectably (.245/.317/.421 last year). I think that if he gets 500 to 600 plate appearances, he will have better numbers. He's got to play. He's got to play every day. He's got to play second base every day.
Projection
SBG predicts that Michael Cuddyer will again be a part time player. 2005 will bring about more frustration for Twins fans (and Cuddyer) when he does not crack the every day lineup. This seems ludicrous, I suppose. How could he not play 2nd or 3rd? I think he should play second, but part of me says he won't. Man, I'd like to be proven wrong here.
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