Boston Globe article about Dustin Pedroia

Here's an article in the Boston Globe about Dustin Pedroia. Chris Snow is suggesting that Pedroia is on the fast track to the majors, and there's really nothing that I've seen thus far to contradict that statement. He's very selective at the plate, sees a lot of pitches, makes great contact when he swings, and has a fair amount of pop (which is surprising, given his size). This is all summed up by the following:

He's been using a wooden bat for less than 10 months, and in
that time, playing in Single A and Double A, he has more extra-base hits than
strikeouts. At low A Augusta, high A Sarasota, and now Double A Portland, he's
cranked out 30 extra-base hits and fanned just 18 times.

That's a phenominal stat. Actually, his entire batting line is impressive. So far, Pedroia has done the following in professional baseball:

400/474/560-1-5, 6 BB, 3K in 12 games (50 AB) at Augusta (low A)
336/417/523-2-14, 13 BB, 4K in 30 games (107 AB) at Sarasota (high A)
342/432/477-2-20, 17 BB, 11K in 28 games (111 AB) at Portland (AA)

Pedroia is showing just a little less power and striking out a little more often at AA than he did in the lower levels, but his on base skills have been extraordinary. I'll be disappointed if he moves up to Pawtucket before the season ends, but the job in the minors is to get the guys ready for the majors, and unless there is a setback of some sort, I think Pedroia should be kept on the fast track. When a guy is hitting .342 (and he's faced a lot of top pitchers this year), he's got the league figured out!

Pedroia has also been solid on defense. He seems to have a ton of range, he has good hands and certainly a strong enough arm for second base. In my scoring gig, I am supposed to note when a player makes a "great play", and I've marked Pedroia down more than any other Sea Dog (Hanley Ramirez and Brandon Moss have been noted a few times, too). I really don't see any holes in his game, other than the fact that he's not going to be a big home run hitter in the majors. I see Pedroia as turning into a Bill Mueller kind of batter: good average and a lot of doubles. I actually believe that Pedroia will probably be a better hitter than Mueller, because he is so good at working the strike zone.

I'm glad to see the Globe is keeping tabs on the kids on the farm.