One of the players from my Todd Team, Todd Linden, could be promoted to the San Francisco Giants this week. Check out his minor league stats:
Todd Linden 2005 Fresno (AAA)
.326/.446/.692
AB: 224
HR: 19
2B: 21
3B: 2
SB: 6/7
BB: 47
SecAvg: .598
Iso: .366
I know Fresno is in the Pacific Coast League, and I know the PCL inflates offense...but seriously look at those numbers for a second... Linden has a .598 SecAvg, and an Iso higher than his batting average.
He should most definitely help in the outfield, and once Barry Bonds comes back one of the helpless players on the roster can be cut down like Jim Brower recently was to assure Linden of a starting job somewhere if he deserves it.
Linden has never had real success in the minors previous to this year, so he is either coming into his own finally, or the Giants are trying to catch lightning in a bottle. Either way, 2005 might work a tad better with him around.
Here is his 2005 PECOTA Projection:
.255/.346/.412
AB: 244
HR: 7
2B: 13
SB: 3/4
BB: 29
VORP: 9.4
WARP: 2.4
EqA: .272
MLVr: -.036
I expect Linden to do better than that, but if he doesn't...well it still beats this:
.211/.246/.293
AB: 123
HR: 2
2B: 4
BB: 6
VORP: -7.8
WARP: -0.3
EqA: .177 (.230 is Replacement Level)
MLVr: -.370
You guessed it, thats Marquis Grissom, whose time in the majors has apparently run out. Without his late career power spike that fueled his time as a Giant he does not really serve a purpose. Especially with these fielding stats:
FRAR: 3
FRAA: -2
Rate: 94 (6 runs below average per 100 games)
If Linden pans out, lets not just think about the ramifications that has for the Giants; all of a sudden I have a serious powerhouse lineup for my Team of Todd's, thank you very much.