I really am convinced that 2008 is going to be the year of Rickie. I agree, thebrewer - I think his power numbers that everyone's been waiting to see are going to be there like they were this past season after he got his wrist cleaned up. I'd expect JJ to take a bit of a dip, but not quite as extreme as the ZiPS project. For Hall to bounce back even slightly more than shown wouldn't surprise me one bit. Player Spotlight - Ryan Braun Name AVG OBP SLG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS Optimistic (15%) .317 .377 .632 152 574 105 182 40 6 43 124 54 107 21 6 Mean .294 .332 .554 143 538 85 158 33 4 33 93 30 113 15 7 Pessimistic (15%) .274 .318 .505 114 430 59 118 23 2 24 62 28 97 9 6 I found this an interesting read, and a way to help understand the ZiPS a bit better. My guess, it seems, is that for Braun he'll be somewhere above the mean & below their "Optimistic." They don't show the "Optimistic" for Weeks, but whatever that is would probably be my guess on him. Encouraging to see their projections on YoGa & some of our other pitchers, but frustrating (yet understandable) to see only 23 starts projected for Benny (27 in their optimistic projection). This team needs pitching, and badly, for 2008. Player Spotlight - Ben Sheets ERA W L G GS INN H ER HR BB K Optimistic (15%) 2.93 15 6 27 27 175 155 57 16 26 166 Mean 3.72 11 7 23 23 145 143 60 17 27 125 Pessimistic (15%) 4.62 7 8 19 19 117 126 60 17 28 95 Top Near-Age Comps: Bret Saberhagen, Scott Sanderson That "Optimistic" line makes me drool. Please, Ben! EDIT: Sorry I don't know how to make the charts pretty. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif