RealGM

I know this has gone unnoticed in the past few games with the Arod controversies, the Red Sox, various injuries and even Roger missing his start. However, Melky is hitting really well, I think he had like 7-8 hits against Boston this series. He made a few plays in the OF that no one else on this squad could have made. Perhaps the Giambi thing is a blessing in disguise because with Damon DH-ing it opens the door for Melky. Fantastic stuff. -Jitpal

Melky is a better player when he is playing full-time. We saw it last year and we have seen it this year. Remember all those people who were convinced he was no more than a part-time player....he's proving us wrong again.

Note...I said during the TExas series that I was beginning to become one of those people.

We need to let him play everyday in center this year, he has a great approach at the plate aside from being our best defensive OF. Then we can let Abreu walk and get a 1st round pick as compensation, stick Melky in RF on an everyday basis in 2008 as a stop gap until Tabata arrives in 2009.

nykgeneralmanager wrote:We need to let him play everyday in center this year, he has a great approach at the plate aside from being our best defensive OF. Then we can let Abreu walk and get a 1st round pick as compensation, stick Melky in RF on an everyday basis in 2008 as a stop gap until Tabata arrives in 2009.

You could probably shift Melky to left then as well because if Matsui is still playing he would be the DH. -Jitpal

Jitpal wrote:-= original quote snipped =-


You could probably shift Melky to left then as well because if Matsui is still playing he would be the DH. -Jitpal

Giambi will be the DH next year. I hope Damon is at first, then we could sign Ichiro and shift Matsui to DH in 2009, call up Tabata and stick him in left

Or we can hope that he continues to play well so we can trade him in a package for a real starting caliber OF for the Yankees. Come on guys, let's be serious...the reason that Melky has looked good recently has everybit to do with how bad the other OF's they have has looked than anything he's doing himself. He's not an ideal CF and he doesn't have the offensive clout to be a corner OF (for the Yankees anyway). He might be fine as a starting OF for a team like the Pirates or the Royals or the Nationals but let's be a bit honest here.

moocow007 wrote:Or we can hope that he continues to play well so we can trade him in a package for a real starting caliber OF for the Yankees. Come on guys, let's be serious...the reason that Melky has looked good recently has everybit to do with how bad the other OF's they have has looked than anything he's doing himself. He's not an ideal CF and he doesn't have the offensive clout to be a corner OF (for the Yankees anyway). He might be fine as a starting OF for a team like the Pirates or the Royals or the Nationals but let's be a bit honest here.

Dude he proved himself last year and he is doing it again this year. When he gets a chance to play he is legit. HE IS ONLY 22 YEARS OLD, there is a little thing called a players prime, and they hardly hit it when they are 22.

moocow007 wrote:Or we can hope that he continues to play well so we can trade him in a package for a real starting caliber OF for the Yankees. Come on guys, let's be serious...the reason that Melky has looked good recently has everybit to do with how bad the other OF's they have has looked than anything he's doing himself. He's not an ideal CF and he doesn't have the offensive clout to be a corner OF (for the Yankees anyway). He might be fine as a starting OF for a team like the Pirates or the Royals or the Nationals but let's be a bit honest here.

I agree to an extent. Melky would be a fine center fielder since he'd be able to cover a fair amount of ground and keep base runners honest with that cannon of his, but at the corners he lacks the power to be a starter here. Now if Damon moves to 1B, full-time DH (i.e. Giambi is voided), or is traded, then Melk has a spot in the middle and this whole conversation is moot.

34Celtic wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



Dude he proved himself last year and he is doing it again this year. When he gets a chance to play he is legit. HE IS ONLY 22 YEARS OLD, there is a little thing called a players prime, and they hardly hit it when they are 22.

Legit? I don't know about that. I don't see when he proved he was legit as far as being a permanent solution as a starting OF for the Yankees are concerned.

I'm not saying that he's not a good young player and sure he MAY grow and produce more but it doesn't fit NY and it's lofty expectations/demands (especially if the goal is still to try to win it all).

I personally don't see him being a high ceiling player. The fact he is the Yankees best defensive OF is more a reflection of how poor the rest of those guys are than his own prowess in the OF. His fielding skills is more along the lines of a corner OF but that's not where his power says he should be playing (again for a team with the type of goals and expectationis that the Yankees have).

And please, before anyone brings up Paul Oneil and his relatively modest power numbers, he's most definitely not Paul Oneil.

Melky's line last year: .280/.360/.351/.751 with an OPS+ of 100. 100 is exactly average. Now, being a 21 year old producing at a ML average level says something about him but I would yet to say he has "proved" himself. He's walking more in the majors and hitting for less power so I would expect him to settle in around .280/.350/.450/.800 range judging from his minor league numbers and his age and development. That's slightly above average. If he sticks in CF and plays well there, he could be a very valuable player, even for the Yankees. He certainly has some potential but unless he is going to be in CF full-time, I can't see him being extremely valuable fort he Yankees and would be best served to be packaged. mahalo
~Chach~

Chach wrote:Melky's line last year: .280/.360/.351/.751 with an OPS+ of 100. 100 is exactly average. Now, being a 21 year old producing at a ML average level says something about him but I would yet to say he has "proved" himself. He's walking more in the majors and hitting for less power so I would expect him to settle in around .280/.350/.450/.800 range judging from his minor league numbers and his age and development. That's slightly above average. If he sticks in CF and plays well there, he could be a very valuable player, even for the Yankees. He certainly has some potential but unless he is going to be in CF full-time, I can't see him being extremely valuable fort he Yankees and would be best served to be packaged. mahalo
~Chach~

Any idea on some packages that would include Melky? I really don't want to trade any of our top end prospects in any deal.

I have absolutely no problem seeing Melky as a permanent fixture in our OF down the road. He is an excellent defender with an even better arm, and I can see him having an OBP around .380 should he ever become a .300 hitter. How people could say that wouldn't be valuable is beyond me. Why, because he won't hit 30 home runs? That's fine, it's not what we need.

nykgeneralmanager wrote:I have absolutely no problem seeing Melky as a permanent fixture in our OF down the road. He is an excellent defender with an even better arm, and I can see him having an OBP around .380 should he ever become a .300 hitter. How people could say that wouldn't be valuable is beyond me. Why, because he won't hit 30 home runs? That's fine, it's not what we need.

Thank you GM. The dudes got a cannon arm, excellent range, is quick on the bases. If he hits 30 doubles and has 15-20 home runs in his prime so what. You dont need to be a freeking home run hitter to be a great player.

BERNIE WILLIAMS
AGE 22: .238/.336/.350 3 HR 34 RBI
23: .280/.354/.406 5 HR 26 RBI
24: .268/.333/.400 12 HR 68 RBI

So Bernie must have been a trade candidate in your eyes huh? Open your eyes for once and realize Melky can play the game the right way.

I'm still lukewarm on Melky right now. I know I've said many times in the past that I don't think Melky full time in CF is a good idea. I would love to be proven wrong but I just don't see him becoming a much better hitter than he already is. Also, he has been good in CF but let's not get ahead of ourselves -- the only reason we are really digging his D is because we've been used to watching Damon butcher the OF.

Still, if he proves me wrong I'll be elated because that's one less position we'd have to worry about because of his youth. Don't get me wrong I like the dude. I think his youth alone adds some fun and fire to this team. We'll see how he turns out because now is his chance.

ReggieFULLeffect wrote:I'm still lukewarm on Melky right now. I know I've said many times in the past that I don't think Melky full time in CF is a good idea. I would love to be proven wrong but I just don't see him becoming a much better hitter than he already is. Also, he has been good in CF but let's not get ahead of ourselves -- the only reason we are really digging his D is because we've been used to watching Damon butcher the OF.

Still, if he proves me wrong I'll be elated because that's one less position we'd have to worry about because of his youth. Don't get me wrong I like the dude. I think his youth alone adds some fun and fire to this team. We'll see how he turns out because now is his chance.

He adds tons of fire, and come on man...hes an above average defender, he gets to full speed so fast.

Tons of fire, he's gritty, he's got a bellyful of guts... blah blah blah. Whatever.

I want to see him hit like an average or above average centerfielder or he isn't worth having on this roster.

cmaff051 wrote:Tons of fire, he's gritty, he's got a bellyful of guts... blah blah blah. Whatever.

I want to see him hit like an average or above average centerfielder or he isn't worth having on this roster.

Did you see Bernie's numbers from above number cruncher? Did you say the same thing about him when he was younger? I don't remember Bernie when he first came up, I was only like 6....Melky didn't show you enough last year to prove to you he has the potential to be a stud? I don't get it....were you bashers the same guys who said send him down after that stint he had 2 years ago in center...the same stint he had when he was 20. He is still a freeking kid.

ReggieFULLeffect wrote:I'm still lukewarm on Melky right now. I know I've said many times in the past that I don't think Melky full time in CF is a good idea. I would love to be proven wrong but I just don't see him becoming a much better hitter than he already is. Also, he has been good in CF but let's not get ahead of ourselves -- the only reason we are really digging his D is because we've been used to watching Damon butcher the OF.

Still, if he proves me wrong I'll be elated because that's one less position we'd have to worry about because of his youth. Don't get me wrong I like the dude. I think his youth alone adds some fun and fire to this team. We'll see how he turns out because now is his chance.

Based on...

34Celtic wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



Did you see Bernie's numbers from above number cruncher? Did you say the same thing about him when he was younger? I don't remember Bernie when he first came up, I was only like 6....Melky didn't show you enough last year to prove to you he has the potential to be a stud? I don't get it....were you bashers the same guys who said send him down after that stint he had 2 years ago in center...the same stint he had when he was 20. He is still a freeking kid.

Bernie had better tools than Melky, and it isn't even close...

cmaff051 wrote:Tons of fire, he's gritty, he's got a bellyful of guts... blah blah blah. Whatever.

I want to see him hit like an average or above average centerfielder or he isn't worth having on this roster.

It's not ''blah blah blah whatever." If we had 5 guys like that we would be much better off.

He will hit. He is 22 years old and essentially skipped AAA. He hit over .280 last season and he is hitting now because he is finally playing everyday so he will finish with a similar average. He can certainly become a .300 hitter with a .380+ OBP. I don't care if he hits 10 home runs a season. His average, ability to get on base, good defense, and great arm will be invaluable.