Quote:
Originally Posted by Brutus the Pimp
Who said I haven't seen them both play? I have, and I'm not changing my tune. As I've said repeatedly in this thread, I don't think Francisco is very good defensively at third and his approach at the plate is not one that is likely to translate to Major League success. In fact, Todd Frazier played 35 games at third this year in Louisville: committing 3 errors. Franciso committed 11 errors at Louisville in 62 games.
Francisco has better tools. No one is arguing that. But better tools won't always win out and I don't see Francisco being much at the next level. Not that I think Frazier will either. I think he's more of a solid but not spectacular guy.
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I agree that Francisco isn't very good at third, but his arm makes up for much of that. Too, the Reds like him enough to keep him there and to move Frazier to LF (which is his likely major league position). That tells me one of two things:
1) Either they think Francisco is trade bait and they're shining him up for trade at his most attractive defensive position. This option makes little sense with the way Cincinnati has played him, however, as they've basically bounced him along the I-71 shuttle last season, rather than letting him destroy AAA pitching.
2) They like Francisco at third and think Frazier profiles in a less defined role playing around the diamond. This makes sense, as Frazier played three defensive positions and eventually settled on playing him in left field. Since Sweet and Cincinnati had both Francisco and Frazier as options for 3B/LF and went with Francisco, it stands to reason they think the kid can play there.
As to not being much at the next level, that's been said about Francisco for three years now. Next year at a new level, he's sure to struggle, Redszone experts have said. Yet, year after year, he not only doesn't struggle, he improves.
Francisco's OPS has gone 718 to 763 to 799 to 847 to 890.
Meanwhile, Frazier's OPS has gone from 943 to 853 to 832 to 781.