Brett Lawrie vs Manny Machado

[Kapono]

What do you guys think? Who is the better player to have today and in the future.

I used to think Lawrie but Machado is just as good with the glove and seems to be a better hitter. Lawrie has been striking out way too much ever since last year.

This will be a fun battle to watch in the AL East.

[Randle McMurphy]

I'll take Machado, maybe just slightly. I think they'll both end up as elite players, but Machado has major power potential.

[Hoopstarr]

I told someone last year that Lawrie will have a better career than Buster Posey so that pretty much commits me to Lawrie over Machado too. No pressure, Brett.

Hopefully it doesn't go the way of those Rios vs Markakis comps where neither amounted to their potential.

[kwamebargnani]

Machado

[Randle McMurphy]

Hopefully it doesn't go the way of those Rios vs Markakis comps where neither amounted to their potential.

Rios has been a 24 win player in his career. That may not have been his full potential, but still pretty damn good.

[Avenger]

What do you guys think? Who is the better player to have today and in the future.

I used to think Lawrie but Machado is just as good with the glove and seems to be a better hitter. Lawrie has been striking out way too much ever since last year.

This will be a fun battle to watch in the AL East.

Lawrie is about league average in strike out rate, there are serious problems with his hitting but the K's have nothing to do with it. He's hitting way too many groundballs, i don't know anything about swing mechanics but there's something so obviously broken. The guy is built like a tank with a strong lower body but his swing isn't generating enough batspeed.

[Schad]

What do you guys think? Who is the better player to have today and in the future.

I used to think Lawrie but Machado is just as good with the glove and seems to be a better hitter. Lawrie has been striking out way too much ever since last year.

This will be a fun battle to watch in the AL East.

Lawrie is about league average in strike out rate, there are serious problems with his hitting but the K's have nothing to do with it. He's hitting way too many groundballs, i don't know anything about swing mechanics but there's something so obviously broken. The guy is built like a tank with a strong lower body but his swing isn't generating enough batspeed.

He's a dead-pull hitter who stays close to the plate and steps into his swing, which leads him to jam himself on anything middle-in. It's why he has hit a couple oppo homers of late; to get extension and to get the meat of the bat on the ball, it basically needs to be on the outer portion of the plate.

[J-Roc]

I see Lawrie hitting with too much of his arms, not enough legs. It stems from his aggressive whack the ball approach. He'll be much better when he grows up and calms down.

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[LBJSeizedMyID]

Both have superstar potential, the issue is whether Lawrie can stay healthy.

[joseph235]

I'll take Machado because his bat has more upside and he can play SS. It really isn't even close.

[NI4NI]

http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/ ... gh-caliber

Lawrie over Machado- it seems like Lawrie hasn't found his hitting groove yet but defensively is the best at his position.

[Randle McMurphy]

http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/65185/machados-defense-has-been-high-caliber

Lawrie over Machado- it seems like Lawrie hasn't found his hitting groove yet but defensively is the best at his position.

Where's Harry Palmer? Needs to read that blog post.

[RapsFanInVA]

Machado>>>>>Lawrie

[Schad]

Machado>>>>>Lawrie

Machado >>>>> most everyone, for that matter.

[Randle McMurphy]

Machado>>>>>Lawrie

Yeah...I'd say so.

Machado >>>>> most everyone, for that matter.

Also that.

[whysoserious]

I still think Lawrie has the chance to be an All-Star and good to great player but listening to Zaun break down his swing issues makes me think he may never get it right. It's all or nothing right now. He's too jacked up and he's got too much movement in his hands that no two swings are the same with him and where the bat comes through.

[Duffman100]

Yeah, right now it's Machado and it's not even close.

[shmito17]

Give me a silky smooth player like Machado every time. Lawrie seems too anxious, lacks patience at the plate, and his swing is all over the place. Some maturation in Lawrie may help, but IMO, Machado will be the better overall player in the end. It's scary how good he is at such a young age.

[evilRyu]

I still think Lawrie has the chance to be an All-Star and good to great player but listening to Zaun break down his swing issues makes me think he may never get it right. It's all or nothing right now. He's too jacked up and he's got too much movement in his hands that no two swings are the same with him and where the bat comes through.

Yeah I saw that part where zaun was talking about the movements of the swing. Very interesting and didn't notice that. However he seems like the type who doesn't really like change with the whole "this is how I got here" attitude

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[Raps_Swingman]

I really dislike Lawrie's approach and swing mechancis at the plate. He's seeing the ball and his timing is right but his swing plane changes everytime because he can't get into a set motion. He fouls more balls off straight back then anyone on the team it seems. I think he needs to really quiet his mechanics down because he has the hands to get it done.

I also feel like Dwayne Murphy had a more positive effect on our hitters then Mottola, but thats obviously hard to say for sure. Just my sense of our approach at the plate.