FG: Is there any hope for Gordon Beckham?

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  • NAHSTE
    Probably owns the site
    • Feb 2009
    • 22233

    FG: Is there any hope for Gordon Beckham?

    (Full disclosure ... I played with Gordon growing up. We weren't necessarily friends, but I still hold out hope that he gets it together. Haven't seen many of his ABs this season, curious what ChiSox fans have to say.)

    Gordon Beckham has not lived up to expectations. After being selected eighth overall by the Chicago White Sox in 2008, Beckham was expected to be one of the team’s future stars. And after a strong…

    Gordon Beckham has not lived up to expectations. After being selected eighth overall by the Chicago White Sox in 2008, Beckham was expected to be one of the team’s future stars. And after a strong rookie season, it looked like Beckham might achieve that goal. Since then, however, Beckham was struggled mightily. For the 25-year-old, 2012 is a make-or-break year. The early signs do not look encouraging.

    While it’s still early, Beckham has been terrible this season. Through 55 plate appearances, Beckham is hitting just .188/.255/.240. He’s also struck out at a 23.6% clip, the worst rate of his career. Since his promising debut, Beckham has turned into one of the worst regulars in the game. On any other team, Beckham’s job security would be in jeopardy.

    Problem is, the White Sox don’t have a strong in-house replacement. Brent Lillibridge posted a higher WAR than Beckham last season despite receiving 300 fewer plate appearances, but his breakout isn’t sustainable. Considering Lillibridge struck out 28.7% of the time last year, it was a miracle he hit .258. And while he slugged .505, he had never approached that level of power in his professional career. Marc Hulet may have ranked Eduardo Escobar eighth on the White Sox top prospect list, but his bat won’t play in the majors. He would likely be a non-prospect on any other team. Since the White Sox have no immediate replacements, Beckham should continue to get opportunities to prove himself.

    Considering his track record, Beckham may struggle to produce much value. Very few second basemen go on to have strong careers after struggling as much as Beckham has early in his career. Using our age filters, I looked at second basemen over the past forty years who produced similar value to Beckham between their age-22 and age-24 seasons.


    Name PA BB% K% AVG OBP SLG wOBA WAR
    Asdrubal Cabrera 1424 8.10% 15.90% 0.284 0.346 0.390 0.327 5.5
    Glenn Hubbard 1505 9.40% 12.60% 0.245 0.318 0.357 0.306 4.7
    Rickie Weeks 1333 11.10% 22.80% 0.250 0.357 0.411 0.347 4.6
    Gordon Beckham 1485 7.60% 18.00% 0.249 0.318 0.386 0.311 4.6
    Aaron Hill 1013 7.50% 10.60% 0.284 0.346 0.386 0.322 4.1
    Jose Lopez 1903 3.80% 11.10% 0.278 0.310 0.404 0.309 3.4

    That’s not a very encouraging list. Aside from Weeks, the other players on the list don’t inspire a ton of confidence. When healthy, Weeks has proven that he’s one of the better second basemen in the game. Hubbard and Lopez had lengthy careers, but neither can be considered great full-time options at the position. And the juries are still out on Hill and Cabrera. Both players have experienced success in the past, but have failed to sustain it. After a strong 2009 — in which he posted a 4.1 WAR — Hill has been an awful everyday player. After a strong 2009, Cabrera collapsed in 2010. While he rebounded back to a 3.6 WAR last year, he’ll have to prove that it wasn’t a fluke.

    But Beckham may even be able to reach that level of success in the majors. By their age-25 seasons, Weeks and Cabrera had each posted one season with a 3+ WAR. While Hill wasn’t that good early on, he didn’t reach the majors until he was 23-years-old. Even though he played one fewer season, Hill still managed to post as much WAR as Beckham.

    Beckham just hasn’t shown those same flashes of potential throughout his career. There aren’t many players who go on to have successful major league careers after scuffling as like Beckham. Unless Beckham can defy recent history, his time as a full-time player will be coming to an end very soon.
  • FirstTimer
    Freeman Error

    • Feb 2009
    • 18729

    #2
    Beckham is one of those guys that I am shocked has been so bad. All scouting aside he really seemed to have the makeup character etc of a big leaguer and obviously had the talent. No idea what is going on with him at all.

    I expected him to have a bounce back '11 but it didn't happen.

    Comment

    • spiker
      Beast mode
      • Apr 2011
      • 1625

      #3
      Beckham sucks. He needs to go. Maybe a change of scenery will do him good because he's not going to be good in Chicago.

      Comment

      • Warner2BruceTD
        2011 Poster Of The Year
        • Mar 2009
        • 26142

        #4
        YES! That article features a GLENN HUBBARD reference.

        "The Hobbit" was one of many shitty Atlanta Braves that Dale Murphy & Bob Horner were forced to play with in the pre-Bobby Cox era (think: Rafael Ramirez, Andres Thomas, Dion James), when Zane Smith started seemingly every game.

        Hubbard was also featured on one of the greatest baseball cards of all time:

        1984fleerglennhubbard.jpg

        Anyway, you don't want to be compared to Hubbard. He's one of those guys who did nothing particularly well, and you wondered how the Braves never found anybody better all of those years.

        Comment

        • spiker
          Beast mode
          • Apr 2011
          • 1625

          #5
          Originally posted by Warner2BruceTD
          Anyway, you don't want to be compared to Hubbard. He's one of those guys who did nothing particularly well
          That's not even true. Did you see his beard?

          Comment

          • FedEx227
            Delivers
            • Mar 2009
            • 10454

            #6
            The biggest issue is Beckham's swing is just a mess. It has a giant hitch, he has too much going on, he can't get nearly the same amount of bat speed he once could. Even when he makes contact it's not consistent.

            Thankfully his fielding is top notch but how much longer can the White Sox put up with it and hope his hitting comes around?
            VoicesofWrestling.com

            Comment

            • Mogriffjr
              aka Reece
              • Apr 2009
              • 2759

              #7
              2B is such a shit fest around the league, I think Beckham's just gotta figure his swing out...with the Sox lack of a replacement coming up and 2B just not being a great position to field new talent, he will have opportunities.
              Originally posted by Nick Mangold
              Wes Welker is a great player. He's really taken advantage of watching film. If we don't keep a Spy on him, he could really open the Gate.

              Comment

              • BiggaAdams
                Junior Member
                • Jul 2009
                • 719

                #8
                Originally posted by Mogriffjr
                2B is such a shit fest around the league, I think Beckham's just gotta figure his swing out...with the Sox lack of a replacement coming up and 2B just not being a great position to field new talent, he will have opportunities.
                No kidding man. Glad we have a great one in the making in Dustin Ackley.

                Comment

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