jmei wrote:

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I'm shocked how high many scouts are on Middlebrooks. I honestly think the Sox should sell high before the ugly BB/K numbers really start impacting his triple slash and some of the prospect luster wears off. I have a sinking feeling his best projection is Brandon Inge with a bit more power. That's still certainly a very useful player, but a far cry from the Evan Longoria comparisons you hear once in a while.

1. Isn't it likely that the scouts see something in Middlebrooks that indicates that he'll probably see some improvement with respect to the K/BB rate? We're talking about a guy who was very pedestrian his first couple years in the organization and yet he was always seen as an interesting prospect. He's also a guy who's been steadily improving as he's moved up the ladder (apart from the K/BB ratio).
2. Inge was incredibly valuable for a while, posting an fWAR of 7.3 from 2005-2006. He remained useful until 2010,  despite some very low OBPs.
3. Most people don't think Middlebrooks is going to be a star. It seems like the general consensus is that he's a guy who will likely be an above average regular who might make a couple All-Star games during his peak. 

1. Lars Anderson is not an object lesson here. Anderson was much more well regarded than Middlebrooks is now at his peak. He cracked the BP top 20. Beyond that, Anderson's peak was fueled by his numbers prior to AA (though he was aggressively placed). Furthermore, Anderson's margin of error was significantly smaller than Middlebrooks'. Anderson would have to be an excellent major league hitter in order to start in the majors (due his position); this is not true for an above average fielding 3b. Finally, most people saw Anderson's weaknesses (or more accurately what we now know to be weaknesses), platoon splits and in game power, we projected to greatly improve. Middlebrooks may improve his contract skills a bit, but no one is arguing he'll ever be league average in that respect. 
   
2. Lars Anderson might still have a future as a useful starter (especially during his cost controlled years) for a second division club. He still has a decent approach. His future is not with the Sox, and he'll probably never have that big of an impact on the game, but it's not as if he's a complete and total bust (yet).
   
3. It's not likely that the scouts who rave about Middlebrooks aren't aware of his present weaknesses. They either think he'll improve upon those areas or that his all around game is good enough that he shouldn't be defined by his faults or some combination of both.
4. I think many of us are making the classic mistake of defining a player through his weaknesses. Yes, Will Middlebrooks will probably never post an OBP over .340 without a ton of help from BABIP, but that doesn't mean he can't be a successful major league starter.
   
5. Will Middlebrooks is probably viewed as the best prospect in the system by a great deal of folks due to the fact that while he doesn't have the ceiling of Xander or Cecchini, he still could possibly be a damn valuable player and he's relatively close to being major league ready. Ceiling is great and all, but sometimes we tend to overlook floor.