There is an interesting diary over at John Sickel's site concerning the relative value of San Diego 1B Adrian Gonzalez versus Arizona 1B Conor Jackson.
Not surprisingly for a site devoted to minor league prospects, Conor Jackson is getting a lot of support.
To me, the choice is Adrian Gonzalez. Hands down.
I could care more about projections when players have provided actual major league numbers, and, in this case, Gonzalez has broken out all over the place.
In addition the superb defense, he has carried over his AAA success the past two seasons to the major leagues by hitting .306 with 19 HR.
Conor Jackson has hit .275 with 10 HRs - in a better hitter's park.
Granted CJax has walked more (43 times vs 29) in a similar amount of ABs, but do 20+ extra BBs (pro-rated over a full-season) make-up for the better D and better power?
FWIW, Adrian Gonzalez is one day younger than Conor Jackson.
Other than OBP as minor leaguers and greater walks as major leaguers, there is no reason to think Conor Jackson is the better player. (BTW, CJax's minor league OBPs destroy AG's.)