sue me, I was inspired.

I've been saying this for a couple of weeks now. I think he's been miscast as a leadoff hitter simply because he's fast. So what do we know?


  1. He's fast
  2. When he runs into a ball, he can hit it a long way
  3. Elite defender
  4. He's either slumping or his entire approach is wrong.


Let's look at points 1 and 3. Unless he get's injured or grows into some odd version of Adam Dunn, these two points should last him roughly at the level he's at, for another 6 years easy. His SB% for the year is 80%, but it's early. And SB's are overrated anyway.

Now let's look at points 2 and 4. His frame suggests power, but the results have been anything but. He had a nice burst at the end of last year, but it was one of those "one of these things is not like the others..." He never displayed that kind of power before EXCEPT at Low A. Look at his Low A splits:

Code:
	AB	H	2B	3B    HR	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	
Bat 1st	397	100	20	3      8	0.252	0.354	0.378	0.732	
Bat 3rd	65	20	4	1      2	0.308	0.387	0.492	0.879	
Bat 5th	50	17	5	1      2	0.340	0.365	0.600	0.965
The sample is smaller, Stubbs lower in the order, but a few things stick out.
His K rates are MUCH lower. In fact in his career, his highest OPS (in his minor league career) is batting 3rd.

He's miscast. The question is do the Reds see it that way? What would I do?

Send him to AAA, bat him 3rd. Maybe 2nd, but probably 3rd. Don't emphasize the speed aspect of his game, let it compliment it. Teach him a more compact swing that produces power results. Just my 2 cents.