Interesting MLB players not on the Red Sox

[The Tax Man]

I figured we could use a new thread to talk about the on field performance of some of the more interesting players in MLB. Sean O'Neill has been doing some great work at .com looking at players that aren't on the Red Sox.
 
Today he has profiled Todd Frazier to see if his excellent start to the 2015 season is sustainable:
 
http://sonsofsamhorn.com/baseball/teams/nl-central/cincinnati-reds/post-breakout-breakout-by-todd-frazier/
 
Previously, he has looked at the adjustments needed by Devon Travis to reverse his May downturn and return to the success he had in April:
 
http://sonsofsamhorn.com/baseball/teams/al-east/toronto-blue-jays/devon-travis-needs-to-adjust/
 
In his first article, he looked at how Bartolo Colon is managing to thrive in MLB at 42 years old:  
 
http://sonsofsamhorn.com/baseball/teams/nl-east/new-york-mets/bartolo-colon-is-beating-age-with-the-basics/
 
If you have any questions or comments about these articles, please don't hold back. If you'd like to discuss any other players, this is the thread to do it. 
 

 

[cwright]

There are a few players that fascinate me, though I haven't done any research whatsoever about them.
 
Dee Gordon went from excellent prospect to struggling major leaguer to major league superstar (maybe).  I'd love to spend some time looking at what's changed with him, and whether he can sustain it.
 
Josh Donaldson seemed to blossom at a later age than most, and I think many baseball fans are still trying to figure out how good he really is.  Stephen Vogt also seems (to me) to have come out of nowhere.
 
I'm fascinated by Steven Souza because the Nationals didn't seem to think he was much of a player, but the Rays clearly do, trading Wil Myers for him.  I'm also interested (in a train-wreck sort of way) by the Wil Myers in CF experiment.

 

[Scoops Bolling]

There are a few players that fascinate me, though I haven't done any research whatsoever about them.
 
Dee Gordon went from excellent prospect to struggling major leaguer to major league superstar (maybe).  I'd love to spend some time looking at what's changed with him, and whether he can sustain it.
 
Josh Donaldson seemed to blossom at a later age than most, and I think many baseball fans are still trying to figure out how good he really is.  Stephen Vogt also seems (to me) to have come out of nowhere.
 
I'm fascinated by Steven Souza because the Nationals didn't seem to think he was much of a player, but the Rays clearly do, trading Wil Myers for him.  I'm also interested (in a train-wreck sort of way) by the Wil Myers in CF experiment.

Gordon is generating more hard contact and line drives this year, but his numbers are so BA dependent I have a hard time trusting him at all...that .421 BABIP will come down, it's just a matter of how much. There's also the fact UZR loves him so far after finding him below average his entire career, so I wouldn't really trust him to keep anywhere close to this pace for the rest of the season...but who knows, weird shit happens. I'd like to say I bought into Josh Donaldson at the right time (I believe he was my 2nd round pick in the last Real Fantasy Draft), but I'd also say he's the same player he has been since he made it to the MLB. The power numbers this year are mostly a byproduct of moving from Oakland to Toronto, unlike the Toddfather (a nickname I really wish I'd worked into that piece, because it might be the best one in the MLB) whose improvement in that regard is more from a change in approach. Souza was blocked by Harper-Span-Werth. The Nationals were pretty high on him by all accounts (and they got a really nice piece in return in the form of Trea Turner), but they just didn't have a spot for him. That said, he really is an interesting extreme in the three true outcome style player...managing to be productive while K-ing 37% of the time is quite something.

 

[cwright]

Gordon is generating more hard contact and line drives this year, but his numbers are so BA dependent I have a hard time trusting him at all...that .421 BABIP will come down, it's just a matter of how much. There's also the fact UZR loves him so far after finding him below average his entire career, so I wouldn't really trust him to keep anywhere close to this pace for the rest of the season...but who knows, weird shit happens. I'd like to say I bought into Josh Donaldson at the right time (I believe he was my 2nd round pick in the last Real Fantasy Draft), but I'd also say he's the same player he has been since he made it to the MLB. The power numbers this year are mostly a byproduct of moving from Oakland to Toronto, unlike the Toddfather (a nickname I really wish I'd worked into that piece, because it might be the best one in the MLB) whose improvement in that regard is more from a change in approach. Souza was blocked by Harper-Span-Werth. The Nationals were pretty high on him by all accounts (and they got a really nice piece in return in the form of Trea Turner), but they just didn't have a spot for him. That said, he really is an interesting extreme in the three true outcome style player...managing to be productive while K-ing 37% of the time is quite something.

 
Thanks for responding - your observations are really informative.  I admit I wasn't following Souza very closely, so I didn't know the Nats liked him.  As you said, though, he really is a fascinating hitter.  I did know that Donaldson's numbers this year are partly park-aided - I was referring more to his arrival three years ago.  But I probably just wasn't as aware of him as I should've been.
 
Anyway, thanks for the info.

 

[The Tax Man]

Sean has added to his library with an excellent look at Zach Britton and how he has turned himself into one of the game's premier relievers. Give it a read and I'm sure if you have any questions or comments, he'd be happy to have a discussion with you.
 
http://sonsofsamhorn.com/baseball/teams/al-east/baltimore-orioles/the-vastly-underrated-zach-britton/