22 Days, 22 Players: Centerfielder Melky Cabrera

Well there is something to be said for a player who has survived (thus far) two trade filled off seasons with the Yankees. Last year, a three way trade with the Braves and Pirates was supposed to land us lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez. In hindsight it was a good thing they did not land Gonzalez seeing as he needed Tommy John by May. This season, Melky was rumored to be going to the Twins as part of the Santana deal, but we all know where that went. What the Yankees have in Melky is a solid outfielder. He is fast, and has a cannon for an arm, but he’s still young and sometimes takes odd routes to balls. He’s a very energetic player and he plays hard. I for one am glad he is still in pinstripes, at least for now.

My Fearless Prediction:

Where Melky is a strong defensive player, his bat has been a bit frail. He hit .273 with 8 homeruns, and 73 RBI’s in 545 at bats last season. For 2008 I expect him to improve in both batting average and power. My best guess for Melky is that he will bat in the .300 range, with roughly 12 homeruns. He is still a very young player, and not near his peak in power hitting. That’s not to say he will make a run at Bond’s record some day, but he will certainly have more than the 7 and 8 he’s hit in the last two seasons. He will continue to flash some glove, and be the energetic player you would expect him to be.

Little Known Melky Fact:

Cabrera once received a cease and desist letter from the Mars Chocolate company after he began producing his now defunct Melky Way bars. They had twice the amount of Nugget as the leading brand.