Yoenis Cespedes blew up thanks to some YouTube footage that allowed him to show off his broad array of skills and strengths. Based on that footage, a number of people have tried to predict the kind of player he could turn out to be.
Davenport: Figuring Out Yoenis Cespedes
Clay Davenport also tries to predict the kind of player he could turn out to be. But Davenport doesn’t rely on the Cespedes video; Davenport relies on Cespedes’ stats.
A selection from kind of a dense article:
So yes, the overall projection is for good power, low BA and OBA, and a good CF, with an overall EQA in the .260-.270 range. Per the EqA report, the average EqA for major league center fielders last year was .269.
Davenport also arrives at what he thinks is a pretty solid player comp for Cespedes: Adam Jones. Pointing at one player comp based on numbers posted in Cuba has extraordinarily limited value, but maybe that’ll help to keep peoples’ imaginations in check. Sure, Cespedes could turn out to be anything. He could be a superstar! Or he could be a disappointment. Or he could be Adam Jones, who is kind of in between.
Cuban stats are Cuban stats. The level of play in Cuba is nowhere close to the level of play in the major leagues, so we can only do so much with the numbers. But Davenport’s investigation is one to read. It offers something new, on what’s become an old topic.
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