Giancarlo Stanton, OF

[Swifty]

They could also be raving about the fact he isn't Melky Cabrera.

[Ramp]

true, but he didn't (originally) take Melky's job

he took Matt Diaz's

[Swifty]

I'm just basically saying that the situations are completely different between the two, at least in terms of what put J-Hey on the big league roster, and I think very little, if any, has to do with the fact that Stanton is "less ready" than Heyward.

[Ramp]

And I'm just saying I think maturity played a role here. That's all.

[THE_REAL_MIBS]

His second homer went "over the road"? Holy shit!

[Swifty]

And I'm just saying I think maturity played a role here. That's all.

Unless Stanton has some baby mama drama or hangers on or something (which I would never discount with any athlete), he seems pretty mature in the interviews. Pretty articulate, no Justin Upton syndrome or anything there.

[Mainge]

I'm just basically saying that the situations are completely different between the two, at least in terms of what put J-Hey on the big league roster, and I think very little, if any, has to do with the fact that Stanton is "less ready" than Heyward.

How do you define ready? Heyward showed a much more advanced approach and made consistent contact. Mike just showed a raw power and slightly improved plate discipline. I certainly feel that Heywards' game is more ready than Stantons.

[Swifty]

I made my thoughts on Heyward pretty well known in the Heyward/Stanton thread so I'm not going to rehash that, but to me, Stanton's biggest tool is not in question, he's not a doubles guy we're hoping to have it translate, we were never counting on him to walk 100 times. He's flat out raking, as he's done at every level he's gone to, and there's nothing left for him to do but face pitchers that aren't afraid of him, it's clear his power is there, his judgment is there, his use of the whole field is there, so now it's about seeing guys who consistently trust their stuff enough to throw a 2-1 change. And he's not going to get that at AA and probably not even AAA.

It'd be one thing if this were a different type of player, then you can absolutely err on the side of caution and say that all he should work on is pitch recognition so he can develop his eye or situational hitting as he'll get fastballs in fastball counts, etc. But that's not Stanton's need. Fleming said as much that guys are afraid of him, so if he's not having pitchers attack him, what good is AA doing him? And that segues into his readiness because what he needs now really can only be achieved at the major league level.

[Mainge]

I think if he keeps up this pace for several more weeks, I agree that a promotion would be needed (though i'd rather it be AAA than the MLB). But I feel that his contact issues are among the worse to have, and it's only going to get worse in the majors if he's not ready.

[Swifty]

Can't disagree on contact being a problem, but if we are coming out and saying guys are afraid of him, is AA doing anything?

For me, it's two things:

(1) He's not getting anything he needs to grow from AA now.
(2) He'd be more likely to find the final piece to his development (consistent quality/confident opposing pitchers) at the major league level than AAA.

Now, I know we can't say it for fear of a grievance, but I'd rather the super-2 be the bigger factor than feeling he needs to work on something at AA.

[Mainge]

Fair enough. I just think I'd be more confident in his ability to success if he did it for a time at AAA.

[Swifty]

I think AAA makes more sense if we're trying to figure out how he translates to the majors. We know the power is transcendent, that he uses all fields and that they're already going over the fence, no need to wait for him to bulk up to get the homer stroke.

We also know minor league averages don't really unequivocally translate to the big league level, and we know Stanton's never been a player that dominates the strike zone.

So unless we're looking for a dimension of the player to suddenly show up, and let's be honest, we've never been obsessed with OBP, we love our hackers, I just don't see what is left, his power is there and harnessed.

[Mainge]

I'd still rather see it against superior competition.

[Swifty]

1-2 with an RBI double and a walk so far tonight.

[wanks1212]

I'm not sure he's ready for the majors, but it's going to get to a point soon where Stanton's pitched around so much at AA that they almost have to advance him to AAA for him to get any work.

Also, as expected:

Though top outfield prospect Mike Stanton is off to a blazing start at Double A (.338, .482 on-base average, nine homers, 20 RBI through Monday), the Marlins don't want to call him up unless he would play every day. And there's another reason the Marlins prefer not to call him up anytime soon: If he joins the Marlins before late May, there's a good chance he would be arbitration-eligible after 2012 instead of 2013, which would be very costly. ``He could play in the big leagues now and hit 25 homers, drive in 85 to 90 but would struggle average-wise,'' Marlins executive Andre Dawson said.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/2...#ixzz0mMNO8rQQ