In what is apparently supposed to be a glowing article on Joaquin Arias, T.R. Sullivan provides us with this rather unintentionally amusing snippet:
"You know I've said this for a long time, going back a year ago," (Rangers scout Mel) Didier said. "For me, the guy who has a chance to be a very good player is Arias. I think he's special.
"The guy I compare him to is Alfredo Griffin, he's a better player than Alfredo Griffin was at that age. And when I say Alfredo Griffin, I'm talking about one of the better infielders in the game, an unsung player on a lot of championship clubs."
So there you go...the next Alfredo Griffin, he of the career .249/.285/.319 line and .228 EQA, a guy who ran a lot because he had good speed, but went through a four-year period where he was 44 out of 98 in stolen bases, and was a career 59% basestealer. Yeah, Griffin was a very good defensive shortstop, but he wasn't a good player.
As I've made clear before, Arias is right up there with Napoleon Dynamite, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and the PT Cruiser on my "I Don't See What The Big Deal Is" list. When he develops 20 homer power or learns to draw a walk, I'll get interested...until then, he's the next Cristian Guzman, and the fact that BA has him ahead of Ian Kinsler is about as ludicrous as their ranking Justin Upton the #2 prospect in baseball.
Personally, I'm hoping he's a major part of a trade-deadline deal that the Rangers make to get a rightfielder in here to help them in the stretch run for the playoffs...