Andruw Jones Arrested In Gwinnett

December 25, 2012 at 10:09 am by Ben Duronio under Atlanta Braves

This isn’t usually a Capitol Avenue Club type story, but I came across this and have not seen it reported yet.

At about 3:50am, Andruw Jones was arrested in Gwinnett for battery.

Update

The details of the story have been released and can be found here at ESPN. It was a domestic dispute that apparently involved Andruw dragging his wife down the stairs while intoxicated. Crazy stuff.

Jason Heyward’s Numbers Look Like Darryl Strawberry’s

December 25, 2012 at 9:00 am by Ben Duronio under Atlanta Braves

Of all the comparisons we heard about Jason Heyward as an up-and-coming prospect, one I seldom heard was Darryl Strawberry. In an article for RotoGraphs, my colleague Chris Cwik compares the numbers of Heyward to Strawberry (and also Justin Upton). Given Strawberry’s 6″6 frame, left-handedness, and dynamic athleticism, the comparison has a lot of steam.

At the close of their age-22 seasons, Strawberry recorded a wOBA of .359 compared to Heyward’s mark of .350. Add in the fact that Heyward is a much better defender, and you get a player of similar value who got it going in the majors at a very young age. Strawberry too was a high walk, high strikeout batter who hit home runs and stole bases in the 20′s annually. While Heyward’s legs really just got going this year, he could certainly elevate his game to 30/30 levels as Strawberry did in his age-25 season.

Everyone knows the issues Strawberry ran into that derailed his career, but seeing how he developed and progressed gives confidence in Heyward continuing to move forward as a hitter. I am sure most are confident that he will be great, but his sophomore year may force some to project him with caution.

Strawberry ended his career with a 137 wRC+ after posting a rookie mark of 131 at age-21. If Heyward ended up with a similar career rate after starting his career off with a 134 mark as a 20-year-old rookie, he will likely be a Hall-of-Fame quality player. It is of course early to project or expect that, but we have seen a very similarly sized and talented player move forward in an impressive way in the past and I will be surprised if Heyward doesn’t develop in a similar manner.