I'm assuming that Giancarlo Stanton will lead the team in homers. With that in mind, I'm going with Saltalamacchia.

I'm hopeful Ozuna knocks 25+ if healthy and on the roster full-time. But both of those are big 'ifs'. So I'll say Garret Jones hits around 30 in a surprisingly good year.

Very hard to call. I think Yelich, Ozuna, Salty, and Jones can all hit 20-25 HR's.

 

If I had to choose, I would go with Jones... 24 HR.

I don't know. Other than Stanton, I don't see anyone on the team getting to 20. That's my prediction.

I'm hopeful Ozuna knocks 25+ if healthy and on the roster full-time. But both of those are big 'ifs'. So I'll say Garret Jones hits around 30 in a surprisingly good year.

 

No way that happens.

 

No way Garret Jones hits 30 HR, either.

I don't know. Other than Stanton, I don't see anyone on the team getting to 20. That's my prediction.

yeah I would tend to agree. Some of those guys aren't getting a full season of at-bats anyway.

 

I'll guess Jones is #2, but McGehee & Yelich could be close.

No way that happens.

 

No way Garret Jones hits 30 HR, either.

 

Agree on Jones, but if Ozuna plays a full season his track record certainly shows he can hit 20+ homers. Doesn't mean he will, but he certainly could.

No way that happens.

 

No way Garret Jones hits 30 HR, either.

 

You're right w/ Jones, I meant 20. Considering his career high is 27, 30 is pretty much out of the question. But I could see him providing some MUCH needed power at 1B. Everyone else, with the possible exception of Ozuna, will likely fall short of 20.

Agree on Jones, but if Ozuna plays a full season his track record certainly shows he can hit 20+ homers. Doesn't mean he will, but he certainly could.

 

Ozuna was awful at the plate last season outside of a short stretch and showed very little power ability. He clearly wasn't ready for the big leagues. I'd be surprised if he gets a full season's worth of ABs let alone hit 25 home runs.

 

People on this board really overrate Ozuna for some reason.

Jones equals ruggiano.Jones with 18

Ozuna was awful at the plate last season outside of a short stretch and showed very little power ability. He clearly wasn't ready for the big leagues. I'd be surprised if he gets a full season's worth of ABs let alone hit 25 home runs.

 

People on this board really overrate Ozuna for some reason.

No one is overrating Ozuna. The guy was extremely clutch last season and would drive in runs when needed. When there were runners on base he was the only player in the lineup that I felt confident would drive in the run. Its no secret he needs to work on plate discipline, but he is a run producer. His defense last season also deserves some mention. I actually think he did as well as we could've asked from him after Stanton went down. What more do you want from a 22 year old? He's only going to improve.

 

At the very least he should be in the utility role in the outfield. Platoon type player that can come in during rally innings while manning the outfield with his rocket arm. He would be wasting his talent in the minors IMO.

I wouldn't have Ozuna sharing time in the majors. I would either start him every day or have him play every day in AAA at the start of the 2014 season.

I'd go with Garrett pilot jones.

No one is overrating Ozuna. The guy was extremely clutch last season and would drive in runs when needed. When there were runners on base he was the only player in the lineup that I felt confident would drive in the run. Its no secret he needs to work on plate discipline, but he is a run producer. His defense last season also deserves some mention. I actually think he did as well as we could've asked from him after Stanton went down. What more do you want from a 22 year old? He's only going to improve.

 

At the very least he should be in the utility role in the outfield. Platoon type player that can come in during rally innings while manning the outfield with his rocket arm. He would be wasting his talent in the minors IMO.

 

Of course people are overrating Ozuna. Predicting that he hits 25 home runs in the bigs after a poor offensive 2013 season and a complete lack of power is evidence of that.

 

The "clutch" argument is silly. Yes, he hit well with RISP last season but that's mostly a function of small sample size. It's that old school style of thinking that doesn't hold up when scrutinized by statistics. It's the same kind of thinking that motivated the disastrous Carlos Lee trade ("he is a run producer").

 

Platooning him or using him in a utility role would also be idiotic. He has the potential to be a starter in some capacity, so he needs at bats. The Marlins rushed him to the bigs last season, so he should be getting most of those ABs in the minors if he still isn't ready.

You're right and everyone else is wrong. We understand. Let's move on.

You're right and everyone else is wrong. We understand. Let's move on.

 

He is right, though. Maybe down the line Ozuna can be a player capable of the numbers people expect of him this season, but for now he's a young player who put up shitty numbers in 2013 with limited experience in Double A. I don't think it's reasonable to expect him to just skip Double A again and put up 20+ homeruns even with an off season to prepare.

He is right, though. Maybe down the line Ozuna can be a player capable of the numbers people expect of him this season, but for now he's a young player who put up s***ty numbers in 2013 with limited experience in Double A. I don't think it's reasonable to expect him to just skip Double A again and put up 20+ homeruns even with an off season to prepare.

 

Just because it's not reasonable doesn't mean he can't do it, either. I for one made it very clear that I believe he is capable of 20+ homers, but that him actually achieving that number might not be realistic. But realistic or not, he is probably capable... I don't think we really know what we have in Ozuna at this point, but his tools show a lot of reason for optimism.

Just because it's not reasonable doesn't mean he can't do it, either. I for one made it very clear that I believe he is capable of 20+ homers, but that him actually achieving that number might not be realistic. But realistic or not, he is probably capable... I don't think we really know what we have in Ozuna at this point, but his tools show a lot of reason for optimism.

The bolded part is absolutely terrible logic.

 

As for the rest of the post, you never supported that prediction with anything. You pulled out some super optimistic projection out of your ass, like you always do, with nothing to back it up.

 

You just keep saying he has "tools" so he must be good. Solid analysis.

I would like to see more of Ozuna, since last year was a very small sample size. He's almost certainly going to get the playing time now that Ruggiano is gone.

The bolded part is absolutely terrible logic.

 

As for the rest of the post, you never supported that prediction with anything. You pulled out some super optimistic projection out of your ass, like you always do, with nothing to back it up.

 

You just keep saying he has "tools" so he must be good. Solid analysis.

 

It wasn't meant to be logical, just saying it's possible. Also, I actually never predicted anything. I mentioned that based on his track record he is capable, but we don't even know if he will get the playing time to support a prediction.

 

I also said he has tools, so he has a high ceiling. Dude has an above average hit tool, good power, great arm, great glove, and above average speed. One thing that he lacks, and will likely always lack, is plate discipline because he's just so aggressive at the plate. Is anything about that not correct? We have no idea what kind of player he'll end up being, but there's plenty to be optimistic about.

We'll be lucky to have another guy hit 20 home runs this year.

It wasn't meant to be logical, just saying it's possible.

You know, if we all thought the same, this would be a boring place to talk baseball. Just playing devils advocate guys.

 

For the record, just because something sounds illogical doesn't mean it can't happen, as I stated. Some of you say Ozuna hitting 20 homers is impossible, just like I'm sure it was impossible for Chris Davis to hit 50 homers before last season, for example.

I'm in the group that believes Ozuna CAN hit 20+. The question is, will he? Probably not this year. But we're not prophets, and we can't exactly say he will hit 20 or more because he did it in Jupiter.

You know, if we all thought the same, this would be a boring place to talk baseball. Just playing devils advocate guys.

 

For the record, just because something sounds illogical doesn't mean it can't happen, as I stated. Some of you say Ozuna hitting 20 homers is impossible, just like I'm sure it was impossible for Chris Davis to hit 50 homers before last season, for example.

 

This post makes SomethingFishy look like he belongs in Mensa.