What Say You? Jason Heyward or Giancarlo Stanton?

When you score a young, prototypical corner outfielder who you project to be the cornerstone of your lineup for years to come, you have done something worth bragging about.  Knowing that you have just drafted a guy that will make it to majors quickly and not spend time trying to figure it out at the lower levels and knowing that you can pencil him in at the 3 or 4 hole everyday for 10-12 years or longer after he arrives is surely a comforting and satisfying feeling.  But, I am also sure that feeling is felt few and far between by big league executives because not all sure things pan out.

One such talent that did pan out at the major league level was Dave Winfield.  Winfield holds the distinction of being drafted professionally in football (Minnesota Vikings), basketball (Atlanta Hawks and Utah Stars), and baseball (San Diego Padres) when he came out of the University of Minnesota in 1973.  (What makes that even more impressive is that he never played football while at UM.)  As a matter of fact, the Padres were so enamored with him that he played in 56 ballgames for them the year they drafted him.  In his first full season with the club in 1974, Winfield hit 20 homers and drove in 75 runs, all at the age of 22.  Winfield played for several years with the Padres before moving on to the Big Apple and spending the 1980s with the Yankees, all the while proving to be one of the most consistent players in the game.  In 1992, while with the Toronto Blue Jays, Winfield was finally able to obtain the long awaited World Series ring that he was so sure would come to him while with the Yankees.  He finished his career with 3,110 hits, 1669 runs scored, 465 HRs, 1833 RBI, and a .283 AVG.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001.

Before Dave Winfield, when the only draft available was to the military, not the major leagues, there was a young corner outfielder who was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals named Stan Musial.  In his first full season with the club in 1942, Musial hit .315 and drove in 72 runs.  Although hit took him a few years to find his power stroke (he never hit more than 19 homers in his first five full seasons) it eventually came to him and over the next ten years of his career, he only hit less than 27 homeruns one time (21 in 1952).  He never hit below .310 until his 18^th season in the big leagues at the age of 38.  Musial played for St. Louis for 22 seasons, missing only the 1945 season to serve in the military, and amassed one of the greatest careers in the history of the game.  He finished his Hall of Fame career with 3,630 career hits, over 1,300 extra-base hits, 475 homers, 1,951 RBI, and a .331 AVG.  And perhaps the most amazing statistic to the 21^st century fan, Musial walked 1,599 times in his career and struck out only 696.  (To put that in perspective, Mark Reynolds accumulated 638 Ks in three seasons from 2008-10.)  As a 22 year-old in 1943, Musial had more triples (20) than strikeouts (18).  Simply amazing!

In 2010, two 20 year-old outfielders with lofty expectations emerged in the National League East.  Both were stationed in right field for their respective teams and both showed they were not ordinary youngsters.  One made the opening day roster out of spring training and the other was up by early June.  One is a lefty, one a righty.  But both have proven in three seasons that they will be forces to contend with for years to come.  The lefty is Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves and the righty is Giancarlo (formerly Mike) Stanton of the Miami Marlins.

Jason Heyward

Once Jason Heyward was drafted by Atlanta in the first round of the draft in 2007, they knew they had something special.  Like many other Braves who had come before him, Jason was a local Georgia product.   He rocketed through the Braves system and was named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America and USA Today in 2009.  After making the roster out of spring training the following year, Heyward hit a monstrous three-run homerun in his first major league at bat off of Carlos Zambrano.  He went on to hit 18 homers and drove in 72 in his rookie campaign.  In his second season, Heyward battled several nagging injuries and a little stubbornness and watched his numbers decrease; hitting only 14 homers, driving in 42, and hitting 50 points lower.  He has bounced back and proven to a reliable cog in the Braves offense this season.  Here is a look at his 2012 numbers so far:

 GP    AB  R     HR  RBI   AVG  OBP  SLG   OPS  SB/ATT 

147   546   87   27     75     .273    .340  .491    .831   19/27

Giancarlo Stanton

Mike Stanton was also drafted in 2007, and like Heyward, he was just 17 years old at the time.  But unlike Heyward, he managed to fall to the second round of the draft where he was scooped up by the Marlins.  He, too, soared through the Marlins system.  He began the 2010 season in AA ball in Jacksonville where in 52 games he hit 21 HR, had 52 RBI, and a mind boggling 1.167 OPS.  He leapfrogged AAA and made his MLB debut on June 8 of that year, going 3-5 and scoring two runs.  He finished the big league season with 22 HR and 59 RBI.  In his second year, he did not suffer from any slumps, blasting 34 bombs and knocking in 87 runs.  Before is third season, Stanton decided to return to being called by his given first name, Giancarlo.  Giancarlo has been limited this season due to some injuries but his production is still evident.  Here is a look at his season thus far:
 
GP    AB  R   HR RBI   AVG   OBP    SLG   OPS   SB/ATT 
117   471  71  34   81     .283    .354   .595   .949   6/8

Verdict

Of all of the comparisons I have done, this one is by far the most difficult in my mind.  Both of these guys appear poised to be a factor in the NL for many years to come.  Both have the prototypical power that you want from a corner outfielder who hits in the middle of the lineup.  Both are mature on the field and have a pretty even keel demeanor.  Both play good defense and have cannon arms.  This season, Heyward has shown that he can steal bases and has added that facet to his game.  Stanton, however, has over 200 fewer plate appearances in his career than Heyward but has over 30 more homers and nearly 40 more RBI.  The margin between the two is really razor thin.  But, if I have to make a decision (which I do, otherwise I would be copping out), I would have to take Stanton.  While Heyward has shown that he can bounce back from a down year and he has improved his running game, the power and run production of Stanton are too impressive to ignore.  Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with either, but since I have to choose one, I did.  So, what say you, folks.  Jason Heyward or Giancarlo Stanton?

 *This brings an end to my young player comparisons but What Say You? will be back in a few weeks with an awards edition as I will be taking a look at all of the major MLB awards.