Adam Lind?

[StearnsFTW]

If the Brewers decide to keep Braun at 3rd, is he an option? It would seem that with the re-signing of Reed Johnson that the Jays have squeezed Lind out of their OF picture again. This is a guy that I've long thought could be a very productive player if given the chance, as his career minor-league .378/.506/.884 line would indicate. He bats left-handed and could slide nicely into the 2 hole. As much as I like Ethier (or better yet, Adrian Beltre), I think Lind has a higher ceiling. The biggest obstacle would be compensation, since the Jays likely aren't interested in the Brewers' pitching overruns. Any thoughts? Also, I'm not sure about his defense, although I think it's not great.

[JohnBriggs12]

Lind may have some upside but he's unproven at the ML level (whereas Ethier isn't). I think the Brewers want someone with predictable production based on a record in the ML. They have other candidates (Gross, Gwynn, Dillon) who might be able to produce but might is the key word.

[StearnsFTW]

I agree that Ethier has already proven more, no doubt about it.

 

My main concern with Andre is what it would take to get him. It almost seems as if Lind could be had for a minor leaguer the way the Jays are blocking him with low-production/low-ceiling guys like Matt Stairs and Reed Johnson.

[TooLiveBrew]

Lind is a great idea for LF, if the Crew has to resort to that. He'd come cheaper than Ethier (precisely because of the 'track record' thing), and should be around an .800 OPS number with significant PT in 2008. Ethier probably brings better OBP, so there's more value there, too... but I still think Lind is a solid choice, should it come to that.

[DrWood]

while lind is young and could develop, I don't know what he could do better than Gross next year.

[TooLiveBrew]

That's a good point. Crazy - I've totally been forgetting about Gross this offseason. Sorry, Gabe! He'll be a great 4th OF bat to give guys days off while injecting OBP into our lineup.

[StearnsFTW]

That is a fair statement, drwood. I guess my answer would be "hit".

 

And I am not trying to be a wiseguy.

 

Lind, to me, is a guy that could potentially be a very very good hitter. I understand that he probably won't be a .800+ guy as a rookie, but he could prove to be a valuable player this year as well as a valuable chip next offseason.

 

Plus, I find it hard to believe he'd be worse in the field even though I'm not sure of his defensive ability. I AM sure of Gabe's though, and it ain't much.

[DrWood]

gross is a much better fielder, and runner, and up to this point, HITTER!

lind had a sub .300 OBP, didn't he?

[TooLiveBrew]

You're sure of Gross's fielding ability & it's not much? That's just incorrect. Gabe is a fine fielder. Not one of the best in the game per se, but well above average.

 

Lind has a .302 OBP in 350 MLB ABs. He has a .378 OBP in 1392 minor league ABs. I'll take the larger sample every time. Will he likely be a .375+ OBP guy in the majors? No - but don't think for a moment that he's Estrada with the OBP.

 

To compare Gross with Lind at the same age as Lind now (23), you see very similar players. If anything, Lind has displayed more power at this point in his career than Gabe had by 23.

[Big Reed]

I read somewhere last year that lind is better suited to playing in the AL as he was not that great of an outfielder and that he would eventually become a nice dh or first baseman. Sounds a lot like laporta. I didn't get a chance to see Lind play last year , so I'm not sure if they were talking about his ar m strength, his jump on the ball, his speed/range or what exactly was his fielding deficiency. And by they, I' m refering to a national baseball analyst who should know what he's talking about.

 

I like Lind's bat and think he could be very productive- even more so than Gross.

[TooLiveBrew]

That's interesting, BR. I'd noticed that thebaseballcube.com lists Lind's position as 1B. Perhaps a successor to Lyle in Toronto?