Can Ryan Braun join the 40/40 club?

[owbc]

Braun has been great at the plate this year, but his stolen base total is also adding up. Right now he has 13 HR and 14 SB which puts him at almost a lock for a 20/20 season and on pace to surpass 30/30 easily. At his current pace, he will finish the year with 35 HR and 38 SB.

 

The only members of the 40/40 club are:

Jose Canseco (1988)

Barry Bonds (1996)

A-Rod (1998)

Alfonso Soriano (2006)

 

Braun will likely fall short as he simply does not have enough stolen base opportunities in front of Fielder and does not quite have the power to hit 40 HR in a season. But even 30/30 has only been reached 36 times, so it will still be a tremendous accomplishment if he can keep up his current pace.

 

Any other thoughts on his chances and predictions on how he will finish 2011?

[Funketown]

I'm willing to bet he'll crack 30/30 this season but 40/40 seems unlikely. I just don't see him as either a 40 HR guy or a 40 SB guy, although it's certainly possible for him hit 40 or steal 40.

 

I'm betting on 35 HR's this season with 35 SB's. It's really neat to see players with the combination of power and speed/baserunning ability.

[DuWayne Steurer]

He's almost gotten a little too enamored with his base stealing (in my opinion of course), and needs to reign it in a little bit. I know Prince is a patient guy and he takes plenty of pitches, but at the same time, I don't want him taking pitches that he likes just for the sake of giving Braun time to run.

[Oxy]

He's almost gotten a little too enamored with his base stealing (in my opinion of course), and needs to reign it in a little bit. I know Prince is a patient guy and he takes plenty of pitches, but at the same time, I don't want him taking pitches that he likes just for the sake of giving Braun time to run.

I have never understood this at all. Why does a guy need to take a pitch when a guy is stealing? I hear it all the time, but it just never computes for me. The only way it makes sense at all is if the hitter is just distracted by the runner so he doesn't think he can put a good swing on the pitch, otherwise it doesn't make sense. The odds of hitting a line drive right at somebody for the double play is pretty miniscule. Not nearly worth taking a good pitch to hit, and giving the catcher an opportunity to throw out the baserunner. I must be missing something--can somebody fill me in?

[owbc]

From what I understand, if a steal is called from the bench, the batter will usually swing to get in the way of the catcher.

 

As long as Braun doesn't get caught, he should continue to steal bases. Opponents have generally not walked Fielder after Braun steals second--last night was an example where the Brewers got a quick run from a Braun walk, SB, and a Fielder single.

[Ayt]

I'd be really surprised if Braun was being told to run with Fielder being told to swing or take the pitch.

[danzig6767]

Braun looks a little quicker this year to me, maybe his offseason training had something to do with it. That play yesterday where Braun scored from second on the Fielder single, Ryan was absolutely flying down the thirdbase line. His mix of power and speed is pretty rare, what an athlete.

 

A 40/40 season though seems pretty unlikely on both fronts, but 30/30 seems like a fairly safe bet given the way he's racking up steals.

[TheCrew07]

I don't think so, now he's got this nagging shoulder thing which will sap his power some. Unless he goes on some unreal tear he needs to stay healthy all season to reach that kind of milestone.

 

Doesn't it seem like every year he has a little injury that affects his swing for a significant amount of time?