Johnson catches the and is about to tag Gardner out. (Photo by Abelimages/Getty Images)
Kelly Johnson is a guy that we had long talked about how nice it would be if the Jays could pick him up. He has a down year and we were able to make a trade of our disappointing 2B (plus Johnny Mac) for him.
The trouble with buying low is that sometimes low is the new level of ability of a player. In this case, after hitting .209/.287/.412 in 114 games with the Diamondbacks he hit .270/.364/.417 in 33 games with us. Shouldn't read much into such a small sample though. Aaron Hill hit great in his 33 games with Arizona too.
The last 2 seasons Kelly has had UZRs of 7.7 and 3.1, which matches up nicely with what my eyes saw, I thought the was a pretty good defensive player, maybe not Gold Glove level but pretty good. I thought he turned the DP well too.
Here are Kelly's career numbers.
| Year | Age | Tm | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 23 | ATL | 87 | 334 | 290 | 46 | 70 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 40 | 75 | .241 | .334 | .397 | .731 |
| 2007 | 25 | ATL | 147 | 608 | 521 | 91 | 144 | 26 | 10 | 16 | 68 | 9 | 5 | 79 | 117 | .276 | .375 | .457 | .831 |
| 2008 | 26 | ATL | 150 | 614 | 547 | 86 | 157 | 39 | 6 | 12 | 69 | 11 | 6 | 52 | 113 | .287 | .349 | .446 | .795 |
| 2009 | 27 | ATL | 106 | 346 | 303 | 47 | 68 | 20 | 3 | 8 | 29 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 54 | .224 | .303 | .389 | .692 |
| 2010 | 28 | ARI | 154 | 671 | 585 | 93 | 166 | 36 | 5 | 26 | 71 | 13 | 7 | 79 | 148 | .284 | .370 | .496 | .865 |
| 2011 | 29 | TOT | 147 | 613 | 545 | 75 | 121 | 27 | 7 | 21 | 58 | 16 | 6 | 60 | 163 | .222 | .304 | .413 | .717 |
| 2011 | 29 | ARI | 114 | 481 | 430 | 59 | 90 | 23 | 5 | 18 | 49 | 13 | 3 | 44 | 132 | .209 | .287 | .412 | .699 |
| 2011 | 29 | TOR | 33 | 132 | 115 | 16 | 31 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 31 | .270 | .364 | .417 | .781 |
| 6 Seasons | 791 | 3186 | 2791 | 438 | 726 | 160 | 34 | 92 | 335 | 58 | 27 | 342 | 670 | .260 | .343 | .441 | .784 | ||
| 162 Game Avg. | 162 | 653 | 572 | 90 | 149 | 33 | 7 | 19 | 69 | 12 | 6 | 70 | 137 | .260 | .343 | .441 | .784 | ||
The question here is what will he do in 2012. Bill James figures him to hit .251/.334/.496, with 19 home runs and 62 RBI (I think Bill figures the Jays will be smart enough to bat Kelly in the 2 spot) in 148 games. Those numbers look pretty good to me.
I'll guess .265/.355/.520, with 22 homers and 70 RBI in 145 games. Tell us what you think.
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