Friday, January 14, 2005 By John Sickels Special to ESPN.com Frank K. from Houston writes: Now that Carlos Beltran has signed with the Mets, what is your opinion of the outfielders in the Astros' organization, especially Jason Lane, Willy Taveras and Josh Anderson? All three players have put up good numbers in the minors. Anderson is probably 2-3 years away, but what do you think of Lane and Taveras' performance abilities in the majors? Let's take a look. Lane Lane: He saw action in 107 games for the Astros last year. But he received just 136 at-bats, being used mostly as a pinch-hitter and platoon player. Despite his small amount of playing time, his numbers (.272 BA, .348 OBP, .463 SLG) are right on target with what his MLEs (Major League Equivalent averages) indicate. He has 232 career at-bats now, with a .280/.351/.526 line, and I don't think that's a fluke. If someone gave Lane 500 at-bats, he'd hit .275-.290, with a .340-.360 OBP and a SLG in the upper .400s at least, perhaps right at .500. He's a fine player, and while he is not Beltran, the Astros could do a lot worse than give Lane a full-time job. Taveras: He hit .335 with 55 steals last year for Double-A Round Rock. He has much less power than Lane, contributing just 16 extra-base hits and a .386 slugging percentage. Numbers like that in Double-A do not translate well to the Show. But Taveras' speed leaves Lane and most other outfielders in the dust. He is also an excellent defensive outfielder, at least in terms of range. If Taveras has a future as a regular, it would be as a Juan Pierre type, but at this point I'm skeptical about his ability to put up numbers like that. I think Taveras projects as a .260-.270 hitter in the Show, with a mediocre on-base percentage. His speed and defense would make him useful on the bench, however. Anderson: He was a fourth-round pick in 2003, from Eastern Kentucky University. Like Taveras, his best tool is speed. Anderson swiped 78 bases combined at two levels of A-ball last year, being caught just 13 times. But it is unclear if he'll hit enough at higher levels. He hit .324 in 73 games in the Sally League, but just .268 with a .317 OBP after promotion to the Carolina League. He has more power than Taveras, but still has to show he can handle the bat at higher levels. Like Taveras, I think he's destined to be a reserve outfielder. Overall, I think Lane has the best balance of skills and is the most likely to help the Astros in '05, if they don't sign a veteran. Taveras and Anderson offer impressive speed, but may not do enough other things to play regularly.
