Before he was called up in the beginning of June, I expected Brett Lawrie would get a 15/15 season in three-quarters of a season. (I also had one of my favorite titles of the season, “Brett Lawrie on Toronto is One Delicious BLT.” Hehe, that still gives me the giggles. BTW, it’s okay for a mustachioed man to admit to giggling. Anyone else over the age of eight should be embarrassed.) Lawrie then fractured his hand, no relation to Brad, and missed about two months. Then in 43 games last year after he was called up, he hit 9 homers and stole 7 bases. That sounds like he would’ve had the 15/15 in the abbreviated season as originally predicted by me. Or as Lawrie would say on Twitter #yabuddy. “You want to convey your emotional state while giving the most information possible, all in under 140 characters.” That’s Lawrie explaining Twitter to his Grammie. How did I know he was going to hit for power and speed? Am I time traveler? Do I read tea leaves under the pseudonym, Future Man? Am I witch? No, nope and I don’t think so, but without a good burning at the stake one can never be sure. I knew what he was gonna do because I looked at his minor league numbers. The things you can do with eyes! In Triple-A last year in 69 games, he hit 18 homers and stole 13 bags. The year before in Double-A, he hit 8 homers and stole 30 bases in a full season. Oh, and he’s only going to be 22 years old this year and he was born on my day of birth. We are both Capricorns. A land sign that enjoys walks on the beach and discreet nose picking. Usually at different times. So what can we expect of Brett Lawrie for 2012 fantasy baseball?
More of the same. And by “more” I really do mean more. His average of .293 last year looks not only repeatable, but he consistently had a high BABIP in the minors so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him hit .300+. If you just extrapolate his stats out over a full season and if extrapolate means what I think it does, he’s easily a 20/20 guy. If he decides he wants to really impress and get crazy with himself, he could steal 30 bases. A 20/30 guy? Well, hello there! It’s nice to see you, especially at 3rd base, which has done nothing but give us the stink eye for the last year-plus. I’d say this is a sleeper post, but it’s not, it’s a keeper post. They do rhyme though. For keepers, The Hitman can give your team a solid foundation. I’m not saying it’s a sleeper because I imagine in redraft leagues he’s going to be drafted pretty early. Fantasy baseballers (<–my mom’s term!) are like piranhas circling a girl in a bikini in a cheesy movie when it comes to young talent. I know in March I’m gonna tell everyone to get onto the Toronto 3B, pronto. For next year, I’ll give him the line of 90/20/70/.290/24, and that’s actually a bit conservative. #yabuddy, indeed.
