Marcus Thames 2010 Projection
Thames is the other half of the platoon squad patrolling left field for the Yankees (most likely). He provides a decent amount of pop and was signed at an absolute bargain, so even if he doesn’t hit the way he is expected to, at the very least it wouldn’t have been a waste of money. For you fans out there who may have a long term memory problem, you would have trouble remembering that Thames actually debuted as a Yankee, and hit a home run in his first at bat! After his 12 other plate appearances that year for the Yanks, he spent a year as a Ranger, and then found a home for a while in Detroit. He showed his power most notably in 2006 when he hit 26 home runs in just 348 at bats, slugging .549. He was also used as part of a platoon/rotation type strategy that year too. I’m not saying he’s going to hit 26 home runs (and if you read right below this, you’d know that), but I am saying in the right role he can be very productive.
Plate Appearances: 310
At Bats: 286
Hits: 74
Walks + HBP: 24
Doubles: 19
Triples: 2
Home Runs: 12
Runs Batted In: 47
Runs Scored: 40
Stolen Bases: 1
Batting Average: .259
On Base Percentage: .316
Slugging Percentage: .465
On Base + Slugging: .781
At first glance you might say “If that happens then shouldn’t Thames be playing all the time and not sharing it with Randy Winn?”. But you see, you wouldn’t be thinking it fully through. It will work like this as a platoon. If poor Marcus is thrown out there against righties, then those numbers (more specifically, the averages and percentages) will be significantly lower. These predictions are based upon the assumption that he will be splitting the time in left field with Randy Winn, and that he will be facing primarily left handed pitchers.
Tomorrow we’re going to jump over to another new addition to the Yankees, Nick Johnson.
Any opinions? Let us know in the comments section!
Photo courtesy of Zimbio.com
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