Under The Greydar: Gerardo Parra

If you know the name of the man in the above picture, you are a member of the “Golden” generation. Congratulations! You are now old, and will go down in history as the last known people to have experienced life without a smartphone. Oh, you also know what “#” really means. In all seriousness, the early-90s was a glorious time. It was an age when MTV actually showed music videos and Animal Planet used to show… you know… animals. Side rant. Why is it when I turn to Animal Planet, there are no cheetahs chasing gazelles and performing their animal duties? Instead, I am subjected to some dude building tree houses! Anyways, I know you are dying to know the name of that oh-so-handsome man and it’s killing you. So, without further adieu…

Is that the jam or what? Gerardo Mejia, aka Rico Suave, is the mastermind behind that musical work of genius. An underrated performer in my humble opinion. The above song only reached #7 on Billboard’s list?! And I thought the GOP race was crazy. The one woman that reads Razzball can attest to the fact that Gerardo got panties flowing like Niagra Falls. But I’m not here to talk about that Gerardo. This is a fantasy baseball site after all. It is, right?

There’s a Gerardo in our world that is hiding deep in the rankings and could make your panties flow. Maybe not like Niagra Falls. How about the yearly rainfall in California?

Gerardo Parra is his name. E-I-E-I-Oh. Starting left fielder for the Colorado Rockies. On FantasyPros, he is the 58th outfielder and 210th overall player being selected now. Grey Albright, the Supreme Leader of Razzball, has him ranked as the 57th outfielder. Before I continue, I just want to let you all know that I’m going to disagree with our Supreme Leader. Hold on. Went out to buy a Kevlar helmet and vest. Okay, back. One can never be too careful ya know? The people to the north of my parent’s Motherland would attest to that…if they too had Kevlar gear. By the way, my parents are Korean and there is another Supreme Leader in the North. So I hear.

So why Parra, he of the career .277/.326/.404 slash line and 56 home runs and 69 stolen bases in 988 games? For starters, he went 14/14 last year in 155 games. Whoop-de-doo you say? What if I were to tell you that only 19 players in all of MLB were able to accomplish that feat last season? Intriguing right? The haters will point out that he only reached the 10 homer mark once before in his career. Screw you haters! I am a logical man, so I can understand the viewpoint that 2015 may have been an outlier year for Parra.

Coors Field will squash any and all logical viewpoints, though. Do I hear 15 home runs? 20? 30? Ok, just thinking about the altitude has made me lightheaded and delusional. Hmmm, that could just be the remnants of THC finally detaching from the few brain cells I have left from the time I used to watch Rico Suave on MTV. Mind blown. But seriously, 15 sounds reasonable. Let me look at his history playing in Coors. 48 games, zero home runs, eight stolen bases, .283/.344/.382 line. Hmmmm. 17 doubles though! Ok, the history doesn’t look good but Parra has been good for 5-10 home runs every season. It’s only logical to think Coors Field would add a few home runs, even though playing in Coors Field is illogical. Got it? Me neither. Bottom line, he’s going to a great place to hit, which should boost his numbers.

As for the steals, I think 15+ is definitely attainable. He’s stolen over 14 bases three times in his seven-year career. He’s joining a Rockies team that ranked 8th in all of MLB in steals last year (97).

The one issue that has plagued Parra has been his inability to hit lefties. He sports a career .232 mark against lefties. Against righties he hits a respectable .289. Now, this has caused him to be platooned in the past. To address that, I have two words for you: Brandon Barnes. Who? Exactly. He’s the Rockies fourth outfielder and only righty. Unfortunately, he hits .263 against lefties. You want another reason why Parra will probably play all the time? He’s a Gold Glove winning defender. Now, I will give you $27.5 million reasons why he will play all the time. The Rockies signed him to a three-year, $27.5 million contract in January. C.R.E.A.M.

Fantasy baseball is all about value and perception. Below are the projections for Brett Gardner and Gerardo Parra:

Gardner is the sexier pick because he’s a Yankee and has gone at least 15/20 the past two years. Prior to 2014, though, he never hit double digits home runs. Granted, he was drafted for his 40+ steal potential in his younger days. He’s 32 years old now and probably won’t hit the 20 mark for the first time he has played a full season.

Gardner has an ADP of the 39th outfielder and 131st overall player.

Parra has an ADP of the 58th outfielder and 210th overall player.

I think the projections for Parra are too low and he will post similar, if not, better numbers than Gardner. Good average, possible 15/15 season, playing in Coors, projected to bat fifth and going 6-7 rounds later than Gardner. Cha-ching.

Thank you for reading. If you never hear from me again, then you know what our Supreme Leader thinks of my insolence.