What is that loud Schafer buzz I'm hearing?

…but, as much as I’m worried about a continued McFail situation in CF, Schafer has a lot of proving ground to make up to me. Best case scenario is still McLouth finding his groove (to some degree, anyway) and living up to some of his fat contract on his walk year and Scafer spending more time at AAA making up for lost time and being ready to be a serious CF option for 2012 to spare us free agency money.

Saw him today at spring training and he was one of the only regulars to avoid signing for the fans. It was surprising, especially after his crappy year you would think he would be more open to fans. While he ignored the fans calls Heyward and Uggla signed for a good twenty minutes.

BTW, Matt Young is really small especially next to Schafer.

Schafer is not a very common word. But if we get some good production out of CF, no matter who it is, our lineup is going to be dangerous

but yeah, it’s interesting to say the least.

All he has to do is post a solid on base and play great center field and he can be an incredibly valuable player. Cautious optimism is still the way to go at this point though.

I’m pulling for him more than any other player this spring.

If he can continue to hit, he would bring lead off hitting skills, speed, and great defense, to the position that we spent 90% of our time rosterbating about this past offseason.

I would love to see Jordan continue to do very well this spring, and hopefully have a chance to start the year. I am more of a realist, and think that he is going to begin the season in AAA, until McLouth once again proves that he is really as bad as we all think.

it’s probably better.

…and McLouth is hitting, do we play Prado as super-utility, giving Chipper a day or two off per week to keep him healthy, filling in for Freeman or Uggla on a day off, and playing the occasional bit of LF? That would be super for my fantasy team! LOL

This scenario would be predicated on the ability of Gonzalez to play short nearly full time until the trade deadline and Prado being able to handle short maybe a few times a month and/or a stretch of a few days while they discide to DL a hurt Gonzo or not. He has played 10 games and 40 innings at short in the last four years and with his newer slimmed down body he may be able to handle it over short stretches without being too exposed.

If Schafer forces his way onto the team we could play Prado roughly half the time in LF and then the rest of the time have him play 3B plenty to keep Chipper fresh, then RF or 1B against tough lefties to shield the 21 year olds and then less frequently giving Uggla and Gonzo a breather at 2B/SS. Then McLouth and Schafer could split time in CF and then take a 25% share of the half time in left, totalling in roughly 75% playing time for both. This sort of thing where you have nine guys fighting for eight spots usually sorts itself out by injury or by someone (McLouth) getting traded before the deadline. This would give you:

Schafer – CF 75%
McLouth – CF 25% LF 50%
Prado – LF 50%, 3B/1B/RF/2B/SS 50%

and then

Hinske PH/1B/LF
Conrad PH/3B/2B
Mather CIF/CF
Ross C

as our bench and then as soon as someone is hurt/traded/struggles you can call up a legit reserve MI.

I hope I am wrong, but I don’t think Jordan will ever amount to anything at the Major League level. Whether you believe he was guilty or not, he has sucked since his suspension a couple years ago. I think Matt Young might be our only hope in center.

Good to hear he’s healthy.

But before we get all excited, he needs regular playing time more than anyone else in the organization. He should not be on a major league bench to start the year. He’s missed out on 700 PA’s in the past two seasons and nearly a 1000 in the last 3 years. That is crucial for a player who has struggled to hit LH pitching. If he’s going to be a regular and not just a platoon/4th outfielder type in the future, he has to get a full seasons worth of plate appearances this year.

I’d say send him to AAA until we are convinced he’s going to outperform McLouth. Don’t call him up to sit and watch, he needs to play.

I can see Schafer pulling through and becoming a really good leadoff guy. This team has one missing piece and that’s a good #1 or 2 hitter (prado playing the other spot)

Not Grady Sizemore lite, Grady Sizemore lager

Hey, we can dream right?

People are excited about Schafer because he’s a very talented baseball player. Whether he turns out to be a serviceable hitter with above average defense or a dynamic all around player, he’s still got the talent to help this team.

Of course we didn’t get a chance to see him adjust to major league pitching after they got their first initial look at him. Who cares? Every prospect has to start the same way. Every prospect is an unknown until they produce in the majors. That doesn’t mean that fans should ignore the potential of a talented player like Jordan Schafer. He’s got to prove it in the majors at some point, and with his obvious skill level and his all around game, many people believe he’s going to do that and help this team win games once he finally makes his way to Atlanta.

Enough with the warnings already. There is reason to think Schafer will eventually be the player we thought we were getting in 2009.

Is it just me or does he seem like the Rickie Weeks type of leadoff guy…a guy who won’t have a high avg, but will post a 350 ish OBP and have real good power numbers (not sure if Schafer can hit the 29 dingers that Weeks hit, but still)

whether its Schafer or McClouth. As long as one of them can do something like .280 15 60 25sb and play solid defense.