There has been talk in the past few weeks about what the Cincinnati Reds will do with Orlando Cabrera, who they hold a $4 million mutual option on for 2011. Will they exercise that option or will they let him walk, turning the keys over to Paul Janish?
A recent comment from General Manager Walt Jocketty has certainly added fuel to the fire. He was quoted by WKRC’s Brad Johansen (who posted the quote on Twitter) as saying, “It’s probably more than we want to exercise, we’ll try to find a happy medium..if not Janish would be our SS.”
Now, the question for fantasy owners is if that happens, can Janish hold value?
He certainly hasn’t shown much at the plate thus far in his Major League career, hitting .226 with 7 HR, 47 RBI, 64 R and 3 SB in 536 AB. Last season he did show some improvement, however, posting the following line:
200 At Bats
.260 Batting Average (52 Hits)
5 Home Runs
25 RBI
23 Runs
1 Stolen Bases
.338 On Base Percentage
.385 Slugging Percentage
.283 Batting Average on Balls in Play
Yes, that is the best season of the 28-year-old’s Major League career. It’s a relatively small sample size, however, so you have to ask if he has shown any type of potential in the minor leagues that should get us excited.
The 2004 fifth round draft pick had a career minor league average of .261 in 1,702 AB. He had a grand total of 32 HR, with a high of 14 in 2006 when he saw time at two levels of Single-A as well as a cup of coffee at Double-A.
So, we have little average and no power, but he has speed, right? He’s got to…The answer would be no, with 34 stolen bases in 44 attempts. His career high is just 12 stolen bases, coming in 2007 as he split time between Double and Triple-A.
He has a good eye at the plate, with 293 strikeouts vs. 210 walks in his minor league career. Clearly, that doesn’t mean much however.
If he’s not going to hit for a good average…
If he’s not going to hit for power…
If he’s not going to show any speed…
The Reds will turn to him for a few reasons, with his glove being the most notable. His offensive potential, however, doesn’t appear to be one of them. For fantasy owners, that’s all you really need to know. If he ends up the starter he’ll only be worth considering in NL-only or the absolute deepest of mixed leagues.
For most owners, he’s not worth a second thought.
What are your thoughts of Janish? Am I being overly skeptical? Do you think he could hold value in 2011?
Make sure to check out our 2011 projections:
Freese, David
Jaso, John
Morrow, Brandon
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