1. Justin Upton – Diamondbacks
2. Andre Ethier – Dodgers
3. Brad Hawpe – Rockies
4. Will Venable – Padres
5. Nate Schierholtz – Giants
It was a real tough call between Upton and Ethier, but I’ll go with Upton, with the difference being his 20 stolen bases last season. He really had a breakout year, hitting .300 with 26 homers and 86 RBIs. He had 12 errors in the outfield, but has a great arm. He’ll have to prove he’s a superstar now, because he just signed a six-year, $51.25 million deal.
Ethier was Mr. Clutch last year, as time and time again, he bailed the Dodgers out late in games. 31 homers, 108 RBIs, and 42 doubles helped carry the Dodgers while Manny was sidelined. His road stats weren’t nearly as good, so when he gets those up, he’ll be an even bigger threat in the middle of the order.
Hawpe continues to put up big stats for the Rockies, yet rarely seems to get noticed. Last season marked four straight with 20+ homers. Throw in a .285 average, 42 doubles, and 86 RBIs, and it was another huge year.
Venable gets the edge over Schierholtz because Venable seems to have more pop. Actually, neither one of them are any good, but at least Venable hit 12 homers last season. True, he only hit .256, but he has one career error in right field, so that has to count for something.
Schierholtz hit .267, but with a mere five home runs and 29 RBIs in 116 games. He might be a decent player, but can’t hit. And with the Giants’ weak offense, they can’t afford to have too many guys like him dragging their good pitching down.
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