Sleeper Showdown: Bourn vs. Taveras

Everyone has their list of sleepers/undervalued players and fantasy owners make a mad dash to pick up as many of them as possible during their drauction (a term coined by my former colleague John Tuvey to cover those in drafts and those in auctions). So I thought, what if you have a little battle of two sleepers at the same position and thus provide a double-ply approach to providing sleepers. I got a pretty strong response on the first column in this series (posted about a week ago) and the series continues with a look at Astros outfielder Michael Bourn versus Rockies outfielder Willy Taveras.

MICHAEL BOURN (Astros) versus WILLY TAVERAS (Rockies)

Bourn’s 2007 stats

119 at bats, .277 average, 29 runs, one HR, six RBI, and 18 stolen bases

Taveras’ 2007 stats

372 at bats, .320 average, 64 runs, two HR, 24 RBI, and 33 stolen bases

It’s pretty clear that this battle between the fleet of foot isn’t about their home run totals. Both Bourn and Taveras are penciled into the starting centerfielder role and leadoff hitter for their respective teams heading as Spring Training gets rolling. Given the dimension they provide to their teams at the top of the lineup, that isn’t likely to change before Opening Day.

While with the Phillies last season, Bourn’s playing time was limited due to a crowded outfield and an ankle injury that caused him to miss over a month. When the season was complete, he had enjoyed some success in a reserve/pinch runner role, swiping 18 bags in 19 attempts. Interestingly enough, the Astros dealt closer Brad Lidge in a package deal to acquire the hometown boy, Bourn, at least in part to try to make fans finally forget about Taveras, a former Astro who was traded to Colorado in December of 2006 after becoming a fan favorite in his three seasons in Houston. The fact the team was willing to deal a player of Lidge’s caliber speaks volumes about the role they feel Bourn will have with the team this coming season.

Taveras displayed signs of taking his game to another level last season before myriad leg injuries limited him to just 97 games. He missed some time in previous seasons due to injury, but it was nothing remotely close to the severity of the quad injury that kept him sidelined in ‘07. His game clearly responded to the move to Coors as he set a career high in batting average and OPS, albeit in less than a full season of at bats. If he can stay healthy in Colorado for an entire season, there is little doubt he could be one of the best leadoff men in the National League.

Making a decision on which player to favor in this battle will be tough for fantasy owners. There games are so similar and they both are more appealing to me this season than another speedster like Juan Pierre, who could be pressured for his starting job by Andre Ethier this spring. Both lineups are quite strong, which should mean a nearly identical run total for the two outfielders. What it comes down to for me in the end is Taveras may have more potential, but he also seems more injury prone at this stage in his career. At this point I FAVOR TAVERAS IN THIS SHOWDOWN, but his edge over Bourn is thinner than the line to see the new dispensable Rambo movie.

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