There’s a movement to make the Monday after the Super Bowl a national holiday; I don’t know about that, but today I’d be all for it because it’s also PECOTA Day, when Baseball Prospectus unveils its yearly projections regardless of what that silly groundhog might’ve said last week. Always fun to look at, and today, the site is free to all, subscribers and non-subscribers alike.
I’ll try to check in later with some thoughts once I’ve had a chance to take a good look.
But they already have a day to celebrate massive hangovers... duh, Arbor Day! >;)
On the hitting side, Cano's projected batting line looks very nice; a rebound projected for A-Rod and Tex (no surprises there); and a reasonable batting line for Jeter.
But what really got me salivating was Montero's projection. For a 21-year-old catcher (even if he doesn't do all that much catching) with no prior big league experience? Please oh please, let it come true!
[2] I'm not sure what to make of Montero's comparables, though. None are catchers, and #3 is Jeff Francoeur (shudder).
A comparable that made me smile: Gardner's #2 comparable is Willie Randolph.
A Comparable list that caused me to say, "Yes, exactly" then "WTF?!" Cervelli's #1 comparable is Tim McCarver, which makes a tremendous amount of sense. Somehow his #3 comparable is Thurman Munson. What is PECOTA smoking?
Finally, the 8-year-old in me who first started following baseball ravenously in 1985 is stoked beyond belief that Robbie Cano's #1 comparable is Don Mattingly. Perfect.