Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Chipping in until 2012

As the aging Gary Sheffield is on the outs in Detroid, the aging Chipper Jones is in Atlanta at least until 2012.
A six-time All-Star, Jones was the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1999. His .310 lifetime batting average ranks second among switch hitters, trailing only Frankie Frisch's .316. He has 408 home runs, trailing only Mickey Mantle (536) and Eddie Murray (504) in homers by a switch hitter.

He is the only switch hitter with at least 300 homers and a .300 career batting average.
It's all about production, and Jones still offers a dangerous stick in the middle of any batting order. The fact he's only played 137, 109, 110, 134 and 128 games the past five seasons is a concern, but enough of one to pass on one of the top bats in baseball. Jones is a sure-fire Hall of Famer who is coming up on 1500 R, 1500 RBI and has the ability to hit 500 homers for his career. His record is clean, and he's one of the great third basemen all-time.

Fantasy Impact: Jones is a fringe fifth-round pick who is guaranteed to deliver while he's healthy. He suffered an oblique injury this spring playing in the World Baseball Classic, but that seems to be minor in nature. Draft him early on, but find him a capable backup if you can.

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