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Right Field
Age: 26 (November 20, 1975)
Height: 6-1
Weight: 195
Throws: Right
Bats: Left
G
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
SB
CS
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
1998
14
36
9
15
3
1
5
13
4
10
0
0
0.417
0.463
0.972
1.435
1999
104
368
72
89
16
6
13
39
50
77
19
3
0.242
0.340
0.424
0.764
2000
135
407
73
120
17
2
18
57
67
99
17
9
0.295
0.401
0.479
0.880
2001
109
375
80
121
18
5
27
73
57
75
13
3
0.323
0.414
0.613
1.027
2002
81
279
45
74
16
1
13
38
39
67
8
1
0.265
0.357
0.470
0.827
Total
443
1465
279
419
70
15
76
220
217
328
57
16
0.286
0.382
0.510
0.892
History
J.D. Drew attended Florida State University, and was considered by many the best college baseball player in the country. The Phillies originally drafted him number two overall in the 1997 draft, but the two couldn’t agree on a contract. The Cardinals drafted him fifth overall the following year. He made his big league debut on September 8th, 1998. In 1999, his rookie season, he showed signs of his five-tool potential. In 104 games, he hit .242 with 13 homers, drove in 39, and scored 72 times.
His Game
Drew has continued to lift weights and become stronger. He has thus reduced his strikeouts and hit the ball to all fields. He has potential to go .300-40-125 with 30 steals year in and year out. He can ring out the extra base hits, but needs to work on going the other way. He still tries to pull most pitches.
Drew is a tremendous athlete with exceptional speed. His base-stealing ability will improve as he learns to get better jumps, and he could steal 30 bases every year. In the outfield he’s best suited for right field, and has good range and a great arm. He is a five-tool player who should be one of the great players in the league for years to come.
Last Season
Last season the injury bug attacked Drew repeatedly. After a horrendous start, he heated up in May, batting .366 with eighteen homers in that month alone. He then broke his hand when a pitch by David Wells struck him. That eliminated 1/3 of his season. He was then bugged by back problems. Even with all the health problems, he still set career highs in most categories.
2002 Outlook
The hopes were high for Drew coming into this season. If he could stay healthy, he had a chance to be a huge force in the middle of the Cardinals potent lineup. He went through heavy conditioning and strength training in the off-season. His patience was running thin after being hit by the injury bug the past three seasons. This was the season he was finally going to show people how good he could be.
This season
After a blazing start, where he hit .330 with four homers and 13 RBI’s in April, he suffered a slump in May, dropping his average to .275. His average steadily dropped all through June, until he was once again placed on the DL. Returning July 13th he didn’t fare much better, and his average has been consistently in the .260’s.
Fantasy Perspective
If Drew can ever stay healthy, he could be the best hitter in the National League. The key word there is if. In his three-plus year career, he’s played over 110 games just once. He can hit for power, hit for average, and steal bases; bottom line: he is a complete player. If he can swat the injury bug he should be one of the top fantasy players for years to come.
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