Outfield regulars:
Raul Ibanez, LF-
What do we even think of Raul anymore? Do we like him? Dislike him? Do we think he's an oldie? Well our current left fielder is 39 years old, which won't benefit us much this season. I don't expect much offense from him this year, I expect the same amount of power last year, you know, under twenty homers, maybe 60 or so RBI, and a batting average around .270. I don't expect him to start in more than 145 games, Ben Francisco will be doing a little fielding there in 2011, too.
Shane Victorino, CF-
Shane is still the everything man. He can do anything he wants to do in the game of Baseball. If you expect Shane to steal a bag in a game, he'll steal 3 and then hit a 3-run homerun the next inning. He's a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, and we will definitely be able to see that in him this season. There is no reason to put in a right and left fielder because Shane can just cover all of that ground. Just kidding, he's not THAT good. I can see him hitting in the lead off spot and achieving career-high's in homer's, RBI, doubles, and bases stolen this year, as long as he doesn't take his annual trip to the disabled list.
Ben Francisco/Domonic Brown, RF-
This is tough. I wrote earlier that BenFran would be starting in right field everyday, but now it is looking more and more like it is going to be Dom Brown in right. I'll admit, I was one of the few that overreacted to the news of Dom being sent home from winter ball, and I'm also not a fan of his hand position and batting stance. But, I can see him starting in at least one hundred games in right field. A follower of mine on Twitter pointed out that he would rather platoon Ben and Raul, which makes a lot more sense then leaving the 39-year-old Ibanez to start in 162 games. Ben Francisco's offense I am a tad concerned over, Ben is not a power hitter (2010: 48 hits, 14 doubles, 6 homers, 28 RBI) and he tends to srtikeout a lot (35 strikeouts in 179 at-bats in 2010). There's also Ross Gload, who is able to field first base and right field. John Mayberry was another option, but he is now working on backing up Ryan Howard at first. So it is between Francisco, Brown, Gload, and Mayberry for right field. Let's see how these 4 gentleman play in Clearwater.




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