Key Stats: The days where you can look to Ethier as a power bat for your lineup are over... granted there was really only 1 season we could do that but still. Ethier can give us a solid average (.292 the last two seasons). He was top 30 in baseball for OBP last year.Skeptics Say: If an outfielder might not be able to hit 20 homers he better be able to steal bases, and Ethier won’t be doing that either. Couple that with his strike out percentage going in the wrong direction 4 years in a row and a swinging strike rate that has gone up the last 3. He isn’t getting any younger with 2012 being his age 33 season.
Peer Comparison: 33 year old outfielders didn’t fare too well in baseball last year. There were 4 according to the stats filter on espn.com, and they aren’t really an inspiring bunch: Juan Rivera, Jason Bay, Ryan Ludwick and Vernon Wells. Ethier’s power is similar to all of them (exception being Wells) but he will give you a better average and OBP than anyone in that group. ...
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