…but if he’s going up against the Juggernate, he better be wearing pads, knaaamean?

but both are flawed

I must say, Nate’s ability to make consistent contact intrigues me. Combine that with his age (three years younger than Freddie) and I think Nate has a higher ceiling. Freddie still takes some strange routes in the outfield as well, and I’ve been impressed with Nate in limited time.

However, I know many of you think Freddy’s year was more of an abboration than anything, and that he’d come back down to somewhere in the area of .270/.320/.400.

His .367 BABIP is probably unsustainable, but I’m not convinced that it’s all luck – he’s had high BABIP’s throughout his entire career:

2007, MLB/Fresno: .338.
2006, Fresno: .339.
2005, Norwich: .349.
2004**, San Jose: .385.
2003, Hagerstown: .339.
2002, Salem-Keizer: .422 (only 58 games).

Suddenly .367 doesn’t look that crazy, does it? Now, I know that it’s easier to have a high BABIP in the minors than in the majors, and, again, I don’t expect him to keep his current Ichiro-esque BABIP, but I don’t think that it’s unreasonable to expect him to maintain a high BABIP, maybe around .330-.340, and hit something like .270/.340/.420. Not great, but reasonable, and he’ll make up for some of it with his above average defense and good speed.

I also know many of you aren’t real high on Nate’s potential either, but Gary seemed to think he was good for 20+ HRs.

Gary Radnich? Don’t really care what he thinks. Nate’s best case is better than Lewis, but there’s a pretty good chance that he’s just a AAAA player. Anyway, I don’t really see any reason to play one over the other – I’d rather just trade Winn for a good prospect, or, if we don’t get any good offers, go with Goofus’s 4-man-OF.

Lewis

I do like Freddie, and I think he could have a career as a decent outfielder. However, he’s what, 27? Isn’t that the age generally thought of as the prime year, or is that just for pitchers? Of course, some people say he’s a late developer etc, but I just wonder how his already average stats will hold up as he ages, BABIP comes down slightly, speed decreases, etc.

Freddie vs. Nate is actually irrelevant, because if you listened to the show Sabean made it pretty clear that Freddie is the left fielder. He didn’t seem high on Nate at all. Sabean basically said that Nate won’t hit for power at ATT and basically only uses the middle of the field.

I think Lewis was slightly lucky this year. That’s not to say he has no baseball skills – on the 2008 Giants he was easily one of our best players. Still, faint praise. Given a chance to acclimate himself to AT&T, I think Nate would do just fine, maybe settling in around .285 with 20 HRs, 90 RBI (assuming he bats 3-6), and not nearly enough walks for most of you. Had he done that in SF this year, he, too, would have been one of the best players on the Giants. And, again, that’s only faint praise. He’s not Mickey Mantle, he’s not Dave Parker, he’s not Barry Bonds. However he is a youngish, cheap, under-our-control, productive outfielder. And the last one of those we produced was…….?? Jack Clark?

However, I doubt SF management sees Nate’s value, and I fully expect him to be included in this winter’s Next Horrible Trade®.

I think Nate can put up similar stats to Lewis.
I think both Nate and Lewis have similar power, but Nate’s a little stronger.
Lewis is faster, but Nate is still fast.
Lewis is a better fielder, but Nate is still competent.
Lewis will walk more, but Nate will make contact more.
Overall, I think Lewis is more of a .270-.280 AVG hitter, whereas Nate is more of a .290-.300 AVG hitter. Lewis’s power numbers are likely going to stick around 10-14 HR, whereas Nate’s will be around 12-16 HR. Nate will probably show more RBI capabilities than Fred ever will.

IN A NO HOLDS BARRED CAGE MATCH TO THE DEATH!