I know I’m in the minority with my ranking of Robinson Cano (see my 2B rankings here ), but I believe he has the ability to challenge for the batting title. Not to mention he should be among the leaders at second base in runs, HRs, and RBIs.
Cano is a notoriously slow starter, hitting .271 in April and May and .322 the rest of the way. His OPS is also much lower in those two months:
.705 in April, .713 in May, .803 in June, .903 in July, .841 in August, and .925 in September
Last year, though, he hit .366 in April, perhaps because of the World Baseball Classic. If he can learn from his experiences and get off on the right foot, a monster season could be in order.
What impresses me is that his home and away splits last year, despite the move to the new Yankee Stadium, were nearly identical.
Home: 314 ABs, 54 runs, 14 HRs, 47 RBIs, .338 average, .912 OPS
Away: 323 ABs, 49 runs, 11 HRs, 38 RBIs, .303 average, .832 OPS
While he had solid home numbers last year, I think they could be even better in 2010. I know he doesn’t give you the speed that Kinsler, Pedroia, or Phillips bring to the table, but he does give you a nice blend of power, average, and durability that are lacking in those three.
Prediction: .340, 110 runs, 28 HRs, 95 RBIs, 5 SBs
Past profiles :
Arizona Diamondbacks: Brandon Webb
Atlanta Braves: Yunel Escobar
Baltimore Orioles: Adam Jones
Boston Red Sox: Clay Buchholz
Chicago Cubs: Geovany Soto
Chicago White Sox: Jake Peavy
Cincinnati Reds: Joey Votto
Cleveland Indians: Grady Sizemore
Colorado Rockies: Ubaldo Jimenez
Detroit Tigers: Miguel Cabrera
Florida Marlins: Cameron Maybin
Houston Astros: Lance Berkman
Kansas City Royals: Billy Butler
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Howie Kendrick
Los Angeles Dodgers: James Loney
Milwaukee Brewers: Corey Hart
Minnesota Twins: Joe Nathan
New York Mets: Jason Bay
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