Who Would You Rather Have: Miguel Cabrera or Joey Votto?

by Ray Guilfoyle on Oct 14, 2009 9:00 AM EDT in Baseball Comment 13 comments

Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto singles in the seventh inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates during a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009. The Reds won 12-2. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

4 months ago: Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto singles in the seventh inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates during a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009. The Reds won 12-2. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Browse more photos »

I am not a mixed league player, but I have a feeling that the Tigers Miguel Cabrera would probably be drafted higher than the Reds Joey Votto. But after analyzing their stats for 2009, I am not so sure Miggy should be drafted that much higher than Votto.

Let's take a look at their 2009 stats courtesy of www.fangraphs.com:

Name	AB	H	2B	HR	R	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Miguel Cabrera	611	198	34	34	96	103	68	107	6	0.324	0.396	0.547	0.942
Joey Votto	469	151	38	25	82	84	70	106	4	0.322	0.414	0.567	0.981

As you can see, in 150 less ABs, Votto drove in only 14 less runs, and hit 9 less HRs. Votto's BA, OBP, SLG and OPS are either better or very competitive to Cabrera's. Keep in mind that Votto was out for about a month with depression, so we don't know how long his performance was impacted by his condition. What we do know is Votto hits in a hitters park and is still maturing as a hitter.

Going into 2010 drafts, you may want to pass on drafting Miggy, maybe get that stud third baseman instead, and draft your first baseman a few rounds later. Should you land Votto, you won't be disappointed.

Poll

Who would you rather draft in 2010-Miguel Cabrera or Joey Votto?

Cabrera-he's Pujols lite

61 votes

Votto-2010 will be his monster year.

51 votes

112 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 13 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Votto should go higher

but that K-rate is going to suppress his BA if his BABIP (.373 this past year) starts to fall. He has averaged .350 BABIP in the majors and .343 in the minors, but that should be enough combined with the Ks to drop his average in the .290-.300 range. He’s a good player to have, but he’s not in the M-cab range yet.

"That's not a weird stat. Rickie is a run-scorer," Yost said. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter," Yost told reporters. "See, you guys have no concept. He's a run-scorer. So there's nothing weird about it. That's what he does."

by Hyatt on Oct 14, 2009 9:12 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

MIggy

Miguel is def the better choice. First of all Cabrera had better power numbers and he has more protection. The Reds arent the best team and opposing pitchers can single Votto out. When pitching to the Tigers they have more threats than just Cabrera. Cabrera also has proven himself year after year. Votto has had a few good years but im not sold on him yet. Cabrera in a second.

by cnubsbl16 on Oct 14, 2009 9:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

but.....

the stats are fairly close considering Miggy has 150+ more ABs than Votto, no? Votto was a rookie last year, so this was his first full season with the Reds. We have yet to see what he can do in a full season due to his depression issues. I think they are closer than most think.

raygu

by Ray Guilfoyle on Oct 14, 2009 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Votto’s first full year was 2008 and 2009 was his 2nd full year, though he did miss more time in ’09. however, he only had 50 fewer plate appearances in 2009 than he did in 2008, most likely due to his batting 3rd rather than further down in the order as he did (thanks Dusty!) in 2008. His counting stats were nearly identical in 2009 to what he did in 2008 (w/ a few more runs scored), but his rate stats were significantly better. He would have had 30+ homers fairly easily if not for the missed time.

But you’re right that Votto and Cabrera are closer than one might think. in that yard, Votto is a good 35 homer candidate in 2010.

Bonds stands alone.

Neal before Zod!
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on Oct 14, 2009 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wouldn’t call Carlos Guillen better protection than Brandon Phillips.

Bonds stands alone.

Neal before Zod!
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on Oct 14, 2009 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Still saying Cabrera.

Alright, so in a vacuum, I’m taking Cabrera hands down. He’s been there, if the lineup gets better at all (although it may not) his RBIs rise, etc.

In the end, it would depend on their ADP going into next year. Votto would have to be severely undervalued for me to take him first. I think he probably knocks out more HRs than Cabrera, and maybe steals a few more bases, but as Hyatt mentioned above, the BA probably regresses enough (.300?) to give Cabrera the edge.

Still, I’m not surprised if Votto hits 40 bombs next year. His swing is smoother than a light beer goes down.

FakeTeams.com - SBNation's Fantasy Source
The Royalty of Roto Blog

by Bryan Everson (The Royalty of Roto) on Oct 14, 2009 10:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

HRs

I dont see votto hitting more homeruns than Cabrera. Cabrera is a pure hitter and has much better power numbers than Votto every year.

by cnubsbl16 on Oct 14, 2009 10:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'd draft Cabrera

For 2010, I’d pick Cabrera ahead of Votto, but after that…..things could change, Votto is a great hitter and if he gets the anxiety issues together he will break out sooner rather than later.

by Ha_v_oc on Oct 14, 2009 12:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

too bad Cabrera loses that 3b eligibility in 2010.

Bonds stands alone.

Neal before Zod!
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on Oct 14, 2009 2:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Surprised only one person

mentioned Votto’s psyche issue. I wouldn’t draft him high for that reason alone, whereas Miggy is a number one pick. Only in a stat vacuum are these two close.

Also, with Detroit losing so much money each year there is a strong possibility that Miggy gets traded to a better club. Per Forbes, Detroit and Flint are two of the ten poorest cities in America.

by Surrogates on Oct 15, 2009 9:06 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

the dude's

father died this year. I assume he will put that behind him, not an easy thing, going forward.
Only in a stat vacuum? isn;‘t that what fantasy baseball is all about?
One thing that hasn’t been brought up is how Scott Rolen hitting behind Votto will impact Votto’s stats in 2010.

The point of this post was to say that they are pretty close in stats, and being the Miggy is a perennial 1st round pick, you could look elsewhere in the first round, and pick up Votto a few rounds later and get equal value.

raygu

by Ray Guilfoyle on Oct 15, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They are close in stat's,

hence my reference to a vacuum – as in if that’s all one might consider, but Votto took over a month off this year because of psyche issues. How would I know that will not occur again? Shouldn’t I just skip him for a year to see how he does?

by Surrogates on Oct 15, 2009 3:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs