Besides C. Gillaspie and B. Jackson who will be the breakout stars around the league this year?

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Jurickson Profar
Dylan Bundy
Wil Myers
Tyler Skaggs
Billy Hamilton
Adam Eaton
Oscar Tavarez



I also think Bryce Harper and Brett Lawrie will take huge steps forward this year

B Jackson as in Brett?
Wow. If you're going to name a Cub, it can only be Rizzo.

These guys have some MLB time, but I think they will take big steps forward this year;
Chris Sale
Eric Hosmer
Chris Davis
Marco Estrada
Homer Bailey
Matt Moore
Justin Smoak
Gordon Beckham

_________________

it was meant to be funny Frank. Try to keep up around here.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Disagree.

Cespedes is another guy that has all of the tools, he battled some injuries last year also.

_________________
2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

Just realized I double posted, one post out of me is plenty.

_________________
2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

I meant for this year. Samardzjia possibly, but still think Rizzo is and will be better.

_________________

Samardzija is who i was thinking of.

Anthony Rizzo
Wellington Castillo
Kyuji Fujikawa
Dave Sappelt

_________________

Long live Beef Wellington!!

That nickname is going to stick. It's my mission this year.

_________________

I hope that the Black Unicorn gets off the ground for Martellus Bennett

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/giants/post/_/id/15480/bennett-im-kind-of-like-a-black-unicorn

Q: How is your conditioning with your extra weight?

Bennett: "I'm kind of bigger than I was. I'm more muscular than I was in the past. I actually started lifting weights really, really hard. But I'm in the best shape I've ever been. Ask any of the guys in the camp, I'm stronger than I've ever been, I'm faster than I've ever been. I could run all day. I'm kind of like a black unicorn out there. It's amazing to watch. You go out there and you see a big, black guy running down the field, it's usually me. So I'm pretty good out there. It's been great so far."

Q: How's your hamstring?

Bennett: "That was like 10 weeks ago. My hamstring feels good. You want to touch it?"

_________________

Saw the title and figured it was about Mark Grace.

_________________
Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

_________________

Lenny Dykstra

_________________

Oh yeah, wait til Zach McAllister puts a whole season together! The world wants to embrace Trevor Bauer! Everth Cabrera stole my girlfriend, amongst other things.

And when the Kyle Blanks era starts, you'll want to know where you are, probably at the second annual meeting of the Dee Gordon Nation meeting at some LA Hilton conference room.

Ah well, I'll just go back to considering myself a "real fan" because I'm all in on Salvador Perez.

_________________

+1

Cespedes is going to be a beast.

_________________
1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

Already is kinda Beastly



"Smardzija is a 18-20 game winner waiting in the wings"
-Hawk

"Smardzija's stuff was so much better last year, I think he's going to have a breakout year"
-Stone


Ironically, this was right after they labeled Cubs fans "an optimistic bunch"

Not really

_________________

Yes, yes he is... I'm talking like MVP caliber going forward.

_________________
1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

Yoenis Cespedes: Why the Slugger Will Be an MVP Candidate for the A's in 2013

BY MARK REYNOLDS (FEATURED COLUMNIST) ON FEBRUARY 9, 2013 2,771 reads 12

The Oakland A's had a busy winter stocking up on talent in order to defend their AL West title. They acquired outfielder Chris Young, shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, catcher John Jaso and infielder Jed Lowrie to bolster the squad.

The A's did lose shortstops Stephen Drew and Cliff Pennington, outfielder/desginated hitter Jonny Gomes, first baseman Chris Carter, starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy and catcher George Kottaras. Time will tell if the new additions can provide more value this year than the departures did last season.

Regardless of how well Young, Nakajima, Jaso and Lowrie perform, the biggest source of improvement from last season is likely to come from within.

Brett Anderson should more than make up for the loss of McCarthy in the rotation this year after making six impressive starts down the stretch last season to complete his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Anderson's rotation mates Jarrod Parker and Tommy Milone should continue to improve upon their stellar rookie seasons from last year as well.

Offensively, Josh Reddick showed what he was capable of in the first half when he hit .268/.348/.532—which should have earned him All-Star honors—before slumping to .215/.256/.391 in the second half. A full season at his first-half pace would go a long way to helping the A's defend their crown this season.

Yet no Oakland player—and very few players in all of baseball—have the tools that Yoenis Cespedes possesses. Cespedes has the natural talent to take a giant leap forward in 2013 and contend for the AL MVP award.


Cespedes is going to be an MVP candidate this year.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
He can hit for average, hit for power, run and throw—giving him four of the five tools scouts look for. The fifth tool, his defense, improved after he moved from center field over to left.

Cespedes improved drastically as the season wore on.

When I saw him in spring training, he was hacking at every breaking ball in sight. Then, he got off to a slow start in April—hitting only .244. He continued to struggle in May—hitting only .227 with a .534 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS).

He took off from there. His OPS improved to 1.016 in June, .961 in July, .788 in August and .874 in September. In the postseason, he hit .316 with a .381 on-base percentage.

The adjustments that he made throughout the season at the plate were impressive.

He became a more patient hitter as the season went along, which allowed him to get better pitches to hit and unleash his impressive power. He improved from a .465 slugging percentage with nine home runs in the first half to a .533 slugging percentage and 14 home runs in the second half.

All the more impressive is that he did this while transitioning to the United States from Cuba, learning a new position and battling through injuries. He missed 31 games with hand and hamstring injuries.

His at-bats became must-see events last year.

At 5'10", 210 pounds, he's built more like an NFL running back than a baseball player. He has tremendous bat speed, and he doesn't get cheated at the plate—taking controlled but vicious hacks. He does an outstanding job of getting his stout lower half into his swing via his quick-twitch weight transfer and hip rotation.


Cespedes looks more like an NFL player than a baseball player.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
He's a physical specimen with four plus tools. His natural power is right up their with the best sluggers in the game.

He finished his rookie year with 23 home runs, 25 doubles, five triples, 16 steals and an .861 OPS despite playing in a pitcher's park and skipping the minor leagues entirely. His tools and physique, combined with his ability to adjust to major league pitching, are going to lead to an even bigger breakout this year.

With a year to adjust to a new culture and a new position under his belt, Cespedes is ready to become an MVP candidate in 2013.

Keep an eye on this Wacha kid. It may not be this year (barring an injury) but he's gonna be a stud. Molina is on record saying that he believes the kid could be dominant in the Majors right now.

_________________
1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

Mike Stanton
Ike Davis
Viciedo



Book it

_________________
I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

So who will the A's trade Cespedes to?

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."