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Player Profile #60: Mike Napoli | C/1B | TEX

Found February 10, 2012 on Baseball Professor: Yardbarker Blogger Network
PLAYERS: Mike Napoli,  Carlos Santana,  Buster Posey,  Mitch Moreland,  Michael Young
TEAMS: Texas Rangers,  Cleveland Indians,  San Francisco Giants

Picimg_mlb_apr_12_9bea
The numbers Mike Napoli put up last season were down right nutty. His batting average (.320) was 70 points higher than his career mark through 2010 (.251) and his BABIP (.344) was 50 points higher than his career mark through 2010 (.293). But wait there’s more! Napoli hit a career high in home runs (30) in just 432 plate appearances, which comes out to 14.4 PA/HR (tops in the league). He even cut down on his strikeouts (19.7 K% down from 26.9 K% with the increased power! You have to imagine Napoli earned himself some more at-bats in 2012 with his performance and his eligibility at first base just adds to his value. I wouldn’t expect a .300+ batting average again, but a .275/.370/.570 line is still great. Best case scenario: Can’t get better than 2011 Similar players: Carlos Santana (CLE), Brian McCann (ATL), Buster Posey (SF) Worst case scenario: Limited at-bats again in 2012 Strengths Power, OBP, eligibility. Napoli’s power (career .266 ISO) and ability to ...
Original Story: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Baseba... Verified_ybn
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