Hopefully he's more athletic than his brother Niles.
Hoping to change my username to 75769024
The error rates of Francisco and EE are about the same. But EE's errors were almost always throwing errors. Francisco's errors are almost always fielding errors. So Francisco's miscues are less costly. Still, he needs to improve and he doesn't show the amount of progress in the field nearly as much as he does at the plate.
His errors are physical errors. Simply put, Francisco has to get in better shape in order to play 3B adequately. If he does slim down (and perhaps bulk up), his range and his ability to get down on balls will improve.
In other words, what makes him a less than adequate fielder is fixable and fairly easy to do (unlike, for example, the years of bad habits EdE would have had to break in order to move his feet properly). It's simply a question of whether he will or not.
Because his arm is so strong (and accurate), Francisco could rightly be considered around AAA league average. At the major league level, he's below average, as his range is putrid and his ability to field low grounders is almost nonexistent. (Think Pablo Sandoval without the barrell chest.)
I like the Sandoval comparison. I had thought the same thing. Even if he hits a ton, I can't see JF playing for the Reds unless he can field his position at ML average. From what you say and what little I saw, that seems unlikely. I continue to believe that the best scenario is a monster AAA season and a trade to the American League. At the moment, Frazier is the 3B of the future even if he starts the year in LF.
At this point I could see Frazier having a very Mark DeRosa like career. Frazier is a bit bigger and has more power than DeRosa, but they fit a similar profile. I could see Frazier picking up a few 100 PA each of the next few years in a utility/back-up role, bouncing around a bit and then finally landing somewhere late in his prime and stringing some good full seasons together.
As it stands, I think his only chance for a full-time gig in Cincy is in LF.
Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.
It could be, but I believe Frazier is likely to be a better hitter. DeRosa is a classic in between player. I think Valaika fits that description...a good ballplayer, but not one that profiles well at any particular position. Hits for average, but not enough power for a corner, nor speed for the middle of the diamond.
I checked the minor league stats of DeRosa and Frazier.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/mi...d=derosa001mar
http://www.baseball-reference.com/mi...d=frazie001tod
Frazier has more HR's and a much better OPS than DeRosa at the same stage of development. I could see Frazier profiling at 3B. We shall see.
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