Rickie Weeks is Really Good

Weeks was selected out of Southern University and A&M College with the No. 2 overall selection in 2003.  This obscure college has a rich baseball tradition; notable graduates include Lou Brock and Weeks’ 2001 teammate Fred Lewis. Despite the difficulties of some former top draft picks (Remember Matt Anderson?  Exactly) and our knowledge of baseball’s amateur draft as a bit of a crapshoot, expectations for Weeks have been very high.  Weeks made his major League debut in September of 2003– some 38 days after he signed.  Rickie has never really been that special at the Major League level, so is he just another top draft pick gone bad or someone finally ready to be an all-star after being rushed through the system?

Weeks seemed to answer this question in 2010.  He slugged 29 HR, stole 11 bases, and posted a .830 OPS.  Weeks finally showed his talent over a full season but he still has his doubters and still has yet to catch the eye of the talking heads over at ESPN.  Rickie doesn’t seem to be a superstar in the making anymore but is he more than an above average player?  Ask guys who know baseball and they will tell you Rickie is really good but none of them list him as one of the games top second basemen.  I think Weeks is about ready to make this leap.

Throughout his career, Weeks’s issue has been nagging injuries and a tough wrist injury in early 2009.  He has played in more than 129 games once in his 8 year career and sports a career .253 BA.  But, in his first full season (he played in 160 games in 2010) Weeks scored 112 runs and proved a capable leadoff man for the potent Brewers lineup.   His 162 game average yields impressive results for his potential: 23 HR, 23 SB, 112 runs, .787 OPS. Weeks is about to turn the corner and become one of the games top second basemen.  The talent has always been there.  Add in the experience of an 8 year veteran, the opportunity to hit in front of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, and a few extra pounds to make him more durable, and Weeks is good to go.  Remember that the typical prime of a hitter’s career is from the age 27 season to age 33 season.  Weeks is about to make the Brewers look really smart as he enters the next stage in his career- the awesome part.

Bold Prediction:  Over the next 5 years, Weeks makes 4 All Star games (as long as the fans have something to do with it, Milwaukee players will get left off), hits 137 HR and steals 100 bags.

-Sean Morash