Second coming of Joey Votto--JJ Wetherholt Cards leadoff man--Foresee over 40% OBP

[Bully4you]

This kid really knows the strike zone.
Over 40% his rookie year is doable.
He should leadoff even with lefties.
Budding Superstar.
Has a lifetime 45% OBP.
We may have another Joey Votto.

[sikeston bulldog2]

This kid really knows the strike zone.
Over 40% his rookie year is doable.
He should leadoff even with lefties.
Budding Superstar.
Has a lifetime 45% OBP.
We may have another Joey Votto.

Or.

George Brett.

[Bully4you]

This kid really knows the strike zone.
Over 40% his rookie year is doable.
He should leadoff even with lefties.
Budding Superstar.
Has a lifetime 45% OBP.
We may have another Joey Votto.

Or.

George Brett.

Yep.
I can see that.
Kids gonna be SPECIAL.
The best player on the team right now.

[sikeston bulldog2]

This kid really knows the strike zone.
Over 40% his rookie year is doable.
He should leadoff even with lefties.
Budding Superstar.
Has a lifetime 45% OBP.
We may have another Joey Votto.

Or.

George Brett.

Yep.
I can see that.
Kids gonna be SPECIAL.
The best player on the team right now.

And check this out. With the move towards automated strikes, if he mastered that zone, he will get many more pitches to hit, thus making him even more lethal.

[Bully4you]

This kid really knows the strike zone.
Over 40% his rookie year is doable.
He should leadoff even with lefties.
Budding Superstar.
Has a lifetime 45% OBP.
We may have another Joey Votto.

Or.

George Brett.

Yep.
I can see that.
Kids gonna be SPECIAL.
The best player on the team right now.

And check this out. With the move towards automated strikes, if he mastered that zone, he will get many more pitches to hit, thus making him even more lethal.

When does that start?
I see it's now a part of ST.
But when will it be in the regular season.

[sikeston bulldog2]

This kid really knows the strike zone.
Over 40% his rookie year is doable.
He should leadoff even with lefties.
Budding Superstar.
Has a lifetime 45% OBP.
We may have another Joey Votto.

Or.

George Brett.

Yep.
I can see that.
Kids gonna be SPECIAL.
The best player on the team right now.

And check this out. With the move towards automated strikes, if he mastered that zone, he will get many more pitches to hit, thus making him even more lethal.

When does that start?
I see it's now a part of ST.
But when will it be in the regular season.

My take is this year. To a limited degree.

[Bully4you]

This kid really knows the strike zone.
Over 40% his rookie year is doable.
He should leadoff even with lefties.
Budding Superstar.
Has a lifetime 45% OBP.
We may have another Joey Votto.

Or.

George Brett.

Yep.
I can see that.
Kids gonna be SPECIAL.
The best player on the team right now.

And check this out. With the move towards automated strikes, if he mastered that zone, he will get many more pitches to hit, thus making him even more lethal.

When does that start?
I see it's now a part of ST.
But when will it be in the regular season.

My take is this year. To a limited degree.

I for one will welcome it.
Umps are really inconsistent.

[sikeston bulldog2]

This kid really knows the strike zone.
Over 40% his rookie year is doable.
He should leadoff even with lefties.
Budding Superstar.
Has a lifetime 45% OBP.
We may have another Joey Votto.

Or.

George Brett.

Yep.
I can see that.
Kids gonna be SPECIAL.
The best player on the team right now.

And check this out. With the move towards automated strikes, if he mastered that zone, he will get many more pitches to hit, thus making him even more lethal.

When does that start?
I see it's now a part of ST.
But when will it be in the regular season.

My take is this year. To a limited degree.

I for one will welcome it.
Umps are really inconsistent.

I have threaded this before- bigger benefit from ABS, pitchers or hitter.

I think the hitter that really knows the zone can wait until pitcher has to give in more, like deeper in counts. I look for many more foul balls as well as more balls in play on account of the new system.

[Bully4you]

This kid really knows the strike zone.
Over 40% his rookie year is doable.
He should leadoff even with lefties.
Budding Superstar.
Has a lifetime 45% OBP.
We may have another Joey Votto.

Or.

George Brett.

Yep.
I can see that.
Kids gonna be SPECIAL.
The best player on the team right now.

And check this out. With the move towards automated strikes, if he mastered that zone, he will get many more pitches to hit, thus making him even more lethal.

When does that start?
I see it's now a part of ST.
But when will it be in the regular season.

My take is this year. To a limited degree.

I for one will welcome it.
Umps are really inconsistent.

I have threaded this before- bigger benefit from ABS, pitchers or hitter.

I think the hitter that really knows the zone can wait until pitcher has to give in more, like deeper in counts. I look for many more foul balls as well as more balls in play on account of the new system.

I think it benefits the hitters more.
And the hitters need it in the worst way.
They are all being outclassed by pitching the last many years.

[ScotchMIrish]

Sounds great. Show me.

[rockondlouie]

This kid really knows the strike zone.
Over 40% his rookie year is doable.
He should leadoff even with lefties.
Budding Superstar.
Has a lifetime 45% OBP.
We may have another Joey Votto.

Or.

George Brett.

Not going to be a 3rd baseman BDog

Chase Utley

[sikeston bulldog2]

This kid really knows the strike zone.
Over 40% his rookie year is doable.
He should leadoff even with lefties.
Budding Superstar.
Has a lifetime 45% OBP.
We may have another Joey Votto.

Or.

George Brett.

Not going to be a 3rd baseman BDog

Chase Utley

Simply to amuse me, but if he did play third, would Brett be a good comp.

[rockondlouie]

This kid really knows the strike zone.
Over 40% his rookie year is doable.
He should leadoff even with lefties.
Budding Superstar.
Has a lifetime 45% OBP.
We may have another Joey Votto.

Or.

George Brett.

Not going to be a 3rd baseman BDog

Chase Utley

Simply to amuse me, but if he did play third, would Brett be a good comp.

I sure hope so, but..........

Brett (.305 .369 .487 .857 career w/317 HR's) is one of the elite hitters in MLB history, that bar may be a bit too high for JJW.

Utley (.823 career OPS) may also one day be a Hall of Famer but he comps better to the type of hitter JJW could be w/likely a bit more power than JJ but less speed as JJ could steal more bases.

In his prime (26 - 32) Utley posted a .293 .383 .513 .896 slash, that would likely be JJW's ceiling prime too.

Let's hope he gets there!

[jcgmoi]

Wetherholt's top offensive comps per ZiPS are Mike Andrews, Alan Trammell, and Larry Stroman. One very good, one HoFer, one who never got out of the Expos system. Impressive for a kid with just 500 professional PAs.

Of the other comps I've run across, Gregg Jeffries is my fave.

[CorneliusWolfe]

This kid really knows the strike zone.
Over 40% his rookie year is doable.
He should leadoff even with lefties.
Budding Superstar.
Has a lifetime 45% OBP.
We may have another Joey Votto.

I’m not one to jump the gun on prospects, but I admit I had the same thought when I saw his .000 batting average along with the whopping .550+ OBP!

I guess it doesn’t hurt to dream, right? We are overdue to hit on a superstar.

[JohnnyMO]

I hope you guys are right about JJ, but I'm in believe it when I see it mode. I've heard it so many times before about prospects and then they are barely above replacement players.