Do I need to drew you a picture?

So as Spring Training draws ever nearer, I figure I'll start talking about some of the guys I have been giving serious consideration to. The first guy I'll talk about is JD Drew. For a lot of people, he might as well add another letter to his abbreviated "first name." Just call me JDL Drew. People see him as the white, over hyped cousin of RonDL White.

First off, I think if JD hadn't been such a hyped prospect, and hadn't had the nasty holdout with Philly, I don't think he'd have the injury prone reputation. I think the fact that he was a high visibility guy from day 1, magnified everything he did. Look at it this way: two kids go to a tough college (yes, I am drawing parallels from my past here). Both struggle. One was valedictorian (I wasn't) in high school and never really had to work hard, one was in the top quarter of their class, but had to work hard. Most people would find the struggles of the valedictorian more surprising, because they excelled so easily in high school. JD Drew is that valedictorian.

He dominated college fairly easily, coasting on physical talent. Didn't have to work hard at conditioning or really apply himself. I think adjusting to playing 140+ games was tough for him, he couldn't get by on raw talent. He was ill prepared conditioning-wise as well as mentally, because he'd been told he was great for so long.

Short story long, he didn't work hard, and he had a rough go of it to start his career. Happens to a lot of guys, but JD was higher visibility. His struggles were more public, what with batteries being thrown and all, and he got branded with underachiever and overrated labels.

All that said, he's older now. From what I've read, he's applied himself to staying healthy and productive. If you look at his last few seasons he's played 145, 72, and 146 games. The year he played 72 games he got hit on the wrist with a pitch. Could happen to anyone.

The bottom line is that his career line is a /.286/.393/.512. A career 905 OPS is nothing to sneeze at. His 162 game average (yes I know he'll never play 162) is 102 runs, 27 HR, 86 RBI, 12 steals, with gold glove caliber defense. I expect him to stay healthy this year and play 145 games, and I think he'll probably put up numbers close to his 162 game average, due to the fact he's entering his prime, and hitting in a strong lineup. An OF like that is probably a top 12 AL outfielder....