Defensive Indifference

As part of their fantasy draft prep, CBS Sportsline put up an article a few days ago identifying the top 25 rookies to watch in 2008. And while I only have minor qualms with the players they chose to include on their list, I found myself simultaneously shocked and a little pissed at how heinously bad the anonymous writer(s) are at identifying comparables for players. For people who write about baseball for a living, they seem to know very little about what qualities make a player what he is.

Of the 25 pairs of (supposedly) comparable players, at most 10 were at all defensible by logical standards. As for the other 15…well, where do I begin? Rather than bore you with my arguments against all of them, instead I’ll discuss three that were particularly egregious to the knowledgable fan’s intelligence.

1. Cameron Maybin and Alfonso Soriano: On the surface this might appear to make sense—two “toolsy” players who happen to not be white. However, when you get beyond that, it’s pretty clear that these players are not really similar at all. Soriano is a Brain Dead Caribbean who can’t take a walk to save his life, is known for his combination of power and speed, is subpar defensively, and didn’t make the bigs until age 23. Maybin, on the other hand, has shown excellent patience at the plate, and while he also is known for his speed, has shown nothing more than average power as of yet. Furthermore, he made it to the bigs a full three years earlier than Soriano, and actually knows how to play defense by all accounts.

2. Brandon Wood and Troy Tulowitzki: This may be the worst of the bunch. Brandon Wood is a classic hacker in the Adam Dunn mold—he strikes out an ungodly amount, but makes up for it with excellent power and a good walk rate. While he has played shortstop in the past, he spent most of last season as a third basemen in AAA. Either way, he is not exactly noted for his defense. Tulowitzki, on the other hand, is a defensive specialist who has solid power but does not strike out nearly as much as Wood. Comparing Wood to Tulowitzki is like comparing Ryan Braun to David Wright—they may play the same position and both have good bats, but they have completely different playing styles and skill sets.

3. Daric Barton and Nick Swisher: Granted, both are first basemen who at one time or another have called themselves Athletics. Beyond that, however, they are completely different players. Barton’s minor league career has been notable for his low strikeout rate, something that is rare for a first basemen. His power has been slow to develop, but he has a very good eye. Swisher, on the other hand, is the classic slugging first basemen: high strikeout rate, high walk rate, and good power. Maybe it’s possible that Barton will develop into a Swisher-esque player, but that would require him to start hitting for a lot more power while simultaneously losing his ability to make contact. Again, this is about as superficial of a comparison as there is.

Maybe I should cut these guys a little slack since this list is simply for fantasy purposes. Still, they could have a put a little extra effort into this list and made it a lot less laughable. Have some self-respect, CBS Sportsline.