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Oh, goodie. In our continuing series of player profiles here at Pinstripe Alley it is my turn today. And today's subject is second baseman Robinson Cano. This is easy. Let's just say we can expect a great year from Robbie, equal to or better than last season's career-best. OK, we're done.
Well, not quite. We could be done, but what fun would that be? Let's break down the superstar second baseman's numbers and dig a little deeper at what we can hope for in 2011.
Contract status: 4 years/$30M (2008-11), plus 2012-13 club options
2010 in Review .319 batting average, .381 OBP, .534 SLG, 6.4 WAR, 142 wRC+.
The Good: Cano is in his prime and with Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter past theirs, the Yankees need Cano to become the main main in their offense. He looks ready to do just that. Until last season the primary question about Cano's offense was if he would ever put the tools together and become a middle of the lineup force. He has done so.
The Bad: Well ... he doesn't steal many bases. He walked a career-best 57 times a year ago, but I would still like to see him walk even more often. That would probably mean pitchers wanted no part of him.
2011 Outlook: I am thinking a 35-homer, 125-RBI season is not out of the realm of possibility. I have seen some projections that have Cano's numbers going down from 2010, but I don't see it. His career arc is still on the way up, and I don't believe we have seen its zenith yet.