The much-anticipated arrival of
Mookie Betts to the big leagues has sparked a flood of speculation as to what type of player he will ultimately become. Among the more reasoned assessments comes from the great
FanGraphs website. In an article on Betts' potential, Dave Cameron sifts through a mountain of data on past and present similar players and
comes to the conclusion that Betts could end to be either a Roberto Alomar/Dustin Pedroia type or (perhaps more likely) a player like Brett Gardner. Cameron cites the already well-honed plate discipline skills of Betts—developed at the tender age of 21. He then postulates that this skill might put Betts on the higher end of the spectrum—unlike
Coco Crisp, another similar player whose plate discipline developed
later in his career. All in all, if Betts can deliver a career along the lines of Alomar, Pedroia, Crisp
or Gardner, we'd be
very pleased.
