Markakis vs other young players

[LAOSfan]

Wow, this thread really went off on a tangent. That being said, SG, among others, I can't believe you would not take Fielder or Braun over Nick.

And Chollie, no one on here is saying we are not glad to have Nick or that Nick is not going to be a heck of a player for the O's long term. However, we are objective enough and fans enough of the game and MLB as a whole to realize that there are other players out there that will probably be just as good or better than Nick.

[Sports Guy]

I can at least see somewhat of a case for why you wouldn't take some of those guys over Nick, but what about Hanley Ramirez? I'd like to hear why Nick over him.

I'd really be interested in your logic in each and every one of those guys, because I actually think this is astounding. I'm probably not right on all of them, but I'm pretty sure I'm right on more than 3 of them. Plus, there's some other players who warrant serious consideration.

I assume you're just totally against taking any young pitcher over Nick?

I already did....A lot of the guys on your list haven't even played a full season yet...I want to see more from them.

No, not taking pitchers here...Not that some of them aren't justified or, at the very least, potentially justified but i worry about some with injury issues, can they pitch in the AL and things like that.

Ramirez is one of the guys i put on a similar level to Markakis but would prefer Markakis because he is an Oriole and came up through our system. My only question with Ramirez is will he be at SS long term...If he will, he needs to be ahead of Nick..If not, his value will go down.

Guys like Howard and Granderson are older....Will they be as good as Nick in 5 years when they are in their 30s?

A guy like Fielder i worry about conditioning.

I think Nick develops into a 30+ homer, 900+ OPS, GG caliber player.

Not a ton of those guys around...Plus, he is only 23 and very cheap.

[mweb]

I already did....A lot of the guys on your list haven't even played a full season yet...I want to see more from them.

No, not taking pitchers here...Not that some of them aren't justified or, at the very least, potentially justified but i worry about some with injury issues, can they pitch in the AL and things like that.

Ramirez is one of the guys i put on a similar level to Markakis but would prefer Markakis because he is an Oriole and came up through our system. My only question with Ramirez is will he be at SS long term...If he will, he needs to be ahead of Nick..If not, his value will go down.

Guys like Howard and Granderson are older....Will they be as good as Nick in 5 years when they are in their 30s?

A guy like Fielder i worry about conditioning.

I think Nick develops into a 30+ homer, 900+ OPS, GG caliber player.

Not a ton of those guys around...Plus, he is only 23 and very cheap.

Even if Ramirez moves to the OF, he's clearly better than Nick. I wasn't considering cost in this, but even with that, there's just no way Nick should be that high. You're passing guys that are already premier players for a guy that you think will be one even though chances are, he doesn't become the player you think he will be, at least not consistently. I saw a movie this past weekend whose star's name suits you quite well in this case.

[PoorMike]

I got into a Zimmerman vs Markakis discussion yesterday and it reminded me of this thread.

I wonder what the lists would be now, if using the same pool of players from back then?

[puppet]

Off the top of my head:

Hunter Pence,

Braun

Fielder

D. Young

Gordon

B. Butler

Sizemore (not sure if he is in third or fourth season)

Kendrick

R. Martin

Verlander

Lincecum

Gallardo

C. Hamels

P. Hughes

Matsuzaka

Loney

Zimmerman, CArmona and Hamilton are close calls.

That's off the top of my head. Don't get me wrong; I think Nick is going to end up being a great Oriole, but I also think the guys I listed will end up being at least just as good, but probably better.

all these guys over kakes? Really?

[puppet]

Delmon Young will be a better player then Markakis. He looks like a future .300 30 HR 100 RBI guy. Plus he has a cannon

And Kakes doesn't look like a .300 30 100 guy? Not to mention, he leads the league in assists this year and didn't he lead the league last year in assists?

[PoorMike]

all these guys over kakes? Really?

Keep in mind that this thread is from July, before Nicks strong finish. I didn't bump it to make anyone look bad, I just wanted to see if opinions have changed with the benefit of hindsight....or maybe some other players have improved too (for instance: Hanley still seems to be a monster).

[BaltimoreGhost]

The Uptons may be the only ones for me. With Markakis I truly see five tools, maybe four since he isn't that fast, but dude really has an arm. I love his bat and his power. I think if he were in a lineup like Pence, he would have many more Run and RBI numbers, and possibly see more pitches since he may get pitched around frequently now hitting in front of Millar.

[ChaosLex]

I'm a little surprised by the length of most people's lists. Call me a homer if you must, but the only player I'd want over Markakis is David Wright.

[Wish]

did someone just say they would take matsuzaka over markakis?

[mason]

Can we agree Delmon Young has been wildly overhyped? I know he's young and has upside and all, but he's yet to do anything special in the majors. His career line: .290/.316/.410. His defense is mediocore (unless you consider having a good arm the only requirement for good D.) How an O's fan could say they would rather have him than Markakis I don't know.