Had a few at a friends lake house.  Came home and made a comment about this guys topside.  http://www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=4631811

Have a question and a request.

Question.  Without seeing projected ratings would you guess his actuals to reach:

75 glove?
65 contact?
50 power?
60 vL
50 vR
30 eye

Creepiest question Ive ever seen.

Not a lot of power, average hitting splits, no batting eye, slow as s**t.   If his glove and arm accuracy dont improve, he's a fringe ML'er.  A defenisive replacement at best.  But if his D improves to near SS material ( which probably wont happen with the 28 make up )  he'd be an alright SS.

He's got 28 Makeup and he's 24 years old.  I would say he's got one more year of improvement like this last year and then a pt or two the next year.

So let's say his defensive numbers end up ; 87-75-90-76

His offensive numbers make it to:  66-53-64-53-31  (BTW, his Power is already at 50, so to answer your question, I think he will at least get to 50)

I like guys like this in limited roles.  For 5 years he will be a cheap guy who can help you as a defensive replacement.  He'll hit something like .245-.275-.335, maybe a bit better.  Well probably better in your ballpark.

He wouln't kill you at SS, but he'll field something like .940.  He might make 40+ errors.  He doesn't really hit well enough to cover that.

So, unless I was giving up a pretty scraggly player, I wouldn't trade for him.

Since you lose your MLB SS, Burke, after this year, I imagine you're looking for a replacement.

Hey, J.J.Corbett  , your guy at AAA is a very nice guy to play at SS next year.  He'll be fine. Better than Withers. 

You also have RicardoBenitez at AA.  He'll be serviceable, in a couple of years, too.

So, If you're just looking to add a bench, late-inning defensive glove (and if you don't give up too much) then Withers is OK.  A decent piece for that role.

If you're looking for next year's SS, you already have a better option in the hopper.  Corbett will be just fine.  In fact, Corbett is probably a better option than Burke right now.  Burke had 25 errors and 10 minus plays last year.  The minus plays will increase this year because his range dropped to 79. 

He should also experience a real drop in his offensive numbers this year, considering that he had his career offensive year last year, even more than your ballpark might allow for.

But you don't really have any other place to play Burke, as the other spots are filled.  Heck, you might offer him up in trade,then.

I like defensive SS's, so I know I like Corbett's range and arm a ton more than I like Withers. I think I like him more than Burke. His glove will bump up a point or two this year and be just fine.

There.   All your problems solved.  Hope the brews were cold.

moe