Le Kouz

Kouz,

What a monster 3-run bomb you hit off Brad Lidge last night to put the Padres up 8-5 in the top of the 9th.

You're such a beast.

I have to tell you, too, that over the past few days you have been a topic of conversation among myself and a friend who plays fantasy baseball. I gave up fantasy baseball a few years ago after realizing that knowing a lot about the Padres does not necessarily translate into fantasy success. On occasion, however, I still consult with some of my friends when they have questions regarding the Padres.

With that in mind, I wasn't surprised a few days ago when my friend Geleaux e-mailed me this question: "What is the story with the Kouz? My boy Gordon is going under the knife. Need to pick someone up."

I considered Geleaux's question over night and then responded the next morning with the following e-mail:

I see Kouz doing one of two things this season. A) he "gets it" and starts getting more patient. If that happens he'll increase his OBP and become a very dangerous hitter, only slightly less the hitter than David Wright. I could see him hitting as high as .280 with 28-30 bombs if he puts it all together.

B) He'll continue more of the same from last season. Probably get you 20-25 bombs but with a lot of Ks and very few walks.

Also to consider: he had offseason shoulder surgery and, though he says it is fine, I've seen at least one report that residual pain is keeping him from getting to inside fastballs right now. That could improve as the season warms up, or get worse I guess. Time will tell. Generally speaking Kouz is a slow starter so if you get him now you may be buying low.

Finally, there is an outside chance that if he starts hitting but the Padres are out of it, he'll be traded for pitching so the Padres can move Headley to third and start giving outfield looks to AAA guys like Venable, Huffman and Blanks. I'd say there is a 20% chance of that happening. If he gets traded to a small park the bombs could start to flow like wine.

Now, Kouz, I don't want you to get traded. My hope is that you will follow prediction A and become the pure beast I know you're capable of becoming. Indeed, the pure beast you were last night.

So far, I like what I've seen this young season.

Best,
Bevormo

PS - Needless to say, Geleaux picked up Scott Rolen instead of you. I look forward to watching you continue to prove him wrong.