Ankiel's Still Working

[love_that_reefer]

Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Nationals have reached a one-year, $1.5 million contract with outfielder Rick Ankiel.
Ankiel can earn another $1.25 million through performance-based bonuses. The 31-year-old former pitcher is an incredibly gifted athlete, but he lacks the kind of plate discipline that you'd want in an everyday player and he's likely to serve in a platoon next year in Washington. Slick Rick batted just .232/.321/.389 with six home runs and 24 RBI over 211 at-bats in 2010.

I was actually shocked to see his OBP was that high after watching him hit last year. He's definitely got the skills in the OF but at the plate, he leaves a lot to be desired. He can't catch up to a high fastball and can't hit a curveball. He's a good guy to have on the bench to come in late for defensive purposes though. If he can find his 2008 power, people in Washington will overlook a lot of his shortcomings.

[missionhockey21]

One-dimensional hitters like Ankiel usually are put in exile by pitchers longer than they kept the pitchers there. Hindsight being what it is, I do believe that had Ankiel completely pursued a position player role throughout his career, he might be a pretty decent MLB player. However, there are certain skills that is too hard to develop in such a relatively rapid learning period as he had in his role transition.