A few weeks back in a game thread On Base Machine suggested the Reds try to trade for Devil Rays AAA outfielder Elijah Dukes. After looking at this stats, I agreed without a doubt that we should. His stats were so good infact, that it got me wondering why he isn't in the bigs yet.
Let's compare Dukes to Gathright
Gathright (MLB):
.189 BA
.308 OBP
.213 SLG
.521 OPS
O HR
7 RBI
10 SB
3 CS
Good defensuve range
Dukes (AAA):
.322 BA
.416 OBP
.572 SLG
.988 OPS
6 HR
28 RBI
3 SB
3 CS
very good defender
So why is it that Gathright is the Rays' starting CF and Dukes in AAA?
Well let's take a look at Dukes' personal problems.
Arrested for assault
Ejected from several games
Suspended for the amount of ejections
Turned down the AAA all-star game because he is only a backup
So the question I pose to you is when does attitude overshadow production? Gathright granted is young, but he is flat out terrible. It seems in almost any other situation Dukes would be up at least getting some PT in CF.
Brandon Phillips was thought to have attitude problems when we traded, I don't think they were quiet this sevre, but he still had attitude problems. Depending on the asking price, would you be interested in the Reds getting Dukes?