Gingerphobia is the fear, dislike, or hatred of people with red hair. If every red head looked like Carrot Top, I’d probably have gingerphobia myself. Fortunately, my ex-girlfriend looked like this.
It is said that 1-2% of the world’s population has red hair, so it makes sense that many would have some apprehension toward people with MC1R, the gene for red hair. For some, the experience of first contact was probably how the Native Americans reacted when they saw the first Europeans. If that doesn’t jive with you, then imagine how your first extraterrestrial contact will be. Personally, I didn’t even notice the color of my ex-girlfriend’s hair. In fact, I just now noticed that she had any hair on her head at all.
So why am I rambling about MC1R and Carrot Top for this week’s Bear or Bull? Because…..as much as we live in our fantasy baseball bubble…or mom’s basement….the outside world…aka…society…aka….people…still play a huge part in perceptions of players, ADP, etc. And where there are people…there are biases and values start popping up like magic mushrooms in the “?” box.
Justin Turner
Justin Turner’s nickname is Red and he has red hair. I know, you’re shocked right? I’m not saying that people hate on Turner because he has red hair. Or am I? Ok, enough fun. Let’s get down to the nitty gritty.
As of 1/24/2017, Turner is the 125th overall player off the board and the 15th third baseman. He’s being picked at an average of 132.37. Kelvin Herrera and Lorenzo Cain are the two ranked right above with Stephen Piscotty and Danny Salazar the two below. That seems kind of disrespectful, if you ask me. Oh, you’re not asking me? Then I’ll tell you that it’s all about the presence of MC1R. Seriously, though, I get it. Turner has been playing professional baseball since 2006. From 2006-2013, he never played more than 117 games in a season and had a high of 11 home runs when he played for the Mets AAA team in 2010. The Mets, a team that invested heavily with Bernie Madoff, let him go in 2013. When the Dodgers signed him in 2014, it was more for his versatility in the field. Not for his bat.
Now, Turner is the starting third baseman for the Dodgers and just inked a four-year deal for $64 million in December of 2016. The games played have increased every year and the home run total has gone from 7 to 16 to 27 last year. Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times did a great job delving into the evolution of Justin Turner’s game here. I highly recommend reading it, but if you didn’t, an important part in the elevation of Turner’s game can be attributed to Marlon Byrd, who introduced him to his hitting guru Doug Latta. “Turner had always tried to keep his weight back and slap grounders. Latta encouraged him to lower his hands and transfer his body forward to launch the baseball.” The proof is in the numbers.
| Year | Groundballs | Flyballs | HR/FB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 48.7% | 28.0% | 10.8% |
| 2015 | 36.2% | 36.2% | 13.9% |
| 2016 | 36.1% | 40.0% | 14.8% |
What really gets my D hard thinking about Turner is….wait a minute….that doesn’t sound right. I could hit backspace and edit that but I’m too lazy. I’d rather type another 50 letters to explain why I’m not going to do something. Ok, back to Turner. The 27 home runs hit last year may not be his ceiling. If you recall, the first two months of the season were basically lost, as he was still recovering from offseason microfracture surgery in his knee. You know what also gets me hard? He strikes out less than 20% of the time, has a swinging strike rate of 7%, and will probably bat third in what should be a very good offense. You know what relieves my blue balls? The possibility of drafting him with the 132nd pick overall.
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Maikel Franco
Maikel Franco does not have red hair. In fact, his hair is black, but the Phillies cap that he dons on his head is red, which covers up his black hair and….if an alien were to visit Earth for the first time and see Franco in his baseball uniform, it would be logical to conclude that said alien would determine that Franco did indeed have red hair. Therefore, Franco can technically be considered a ginger. Now that we got that out of the way, why people gotta be hating on Franco cuz he has red hair? That ain’t right.
Franco is the 120th overall player and 14th third baseman being selected in NFBC drafts. His average pick is 122.11. Carlos Santana and Salvador Perez are the two above him with Odubel Herrera and Albert Pujols the two below.
Besides having red hair, I get why people shy away from Franco. The Phillies were dead last in runs scored last year by a wide margin, Odubel Herrera is projected to bat third in the lineup, he hit .255 last year, pulls the ball 45% of the time, pounds the ball into the ground 45% of the time, and has a 12% swinging strike percentage. That’s a lot to be down on.
Here’s the thing, though. Franco is 24 years old. He strikes out less than 20% of the time, has good contact rates, and the HR/FB was top 70 in all of baseball. After a pretty successful 2015 campaign, he did struggle last year. With that said, he still managed to belt 25 home runs. Now, we have word that he’s dropped five to seven pounds this offseason. He’s in the best shape of his life!!!! Gotta love this time of year. I’m not going to completely dismiss the news though. The thing I’m going to look for is the patience or lack thereof at the plate. I used to trade stocks for a living and the one thing I had to learn very early on was patience. I couldn’t just go into the market and fire bullets randomly without a plan. No caveman trading…see stock move…buy or sell stock. That seemed to be what Franco was doing last year. His at-bats were caveman-esque. Franco see ball, hit ball. Pitchers caught on and started throwing him balls that looked like strikes and would break out of the zone. With my trading, once I made a conscious effort to change and be patient with a plan, the lightbulb went on. It was very much akin to batters waiting for that one pitch then crushing it. Losing weight requires discipline and a plan, so I’m not going to totally dismiss the news of Franco’s new physique. Now, if that translates into going to the plate with a plan and exhibiting patience, the sky really is the limit for the kid. As I said up above, he hit 25 home runs, had a top 70 HR/FB rate, and struck out less than 20% of the time with a crappy approach at the plate. Imagine if the lightbulb does turn on.
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