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2008 You have to feel for Jenkins. The longtime fan favorite and former first-round pick played out the final year of his contract with the Brewers as a pricey platoon player on a team headed for better times than he'd endured over the last decade. That isn't to say Jenkins had a great year. Though his power rebounded from his 2006 dip, he posted his lowest on-base percentage since his rookie year, and even that was inflated by ten intentional walks. Furthermore, the simultaneous spike in his strikeout rate (the second-highest of his career) and drop in BABIP (.301, lowest of any full season) strongly suggest slowing bat speed. He'll catch on as the strong side of a platoon in someone's outfield, but the Brewers have moved on. 2007 While it`s not on the order of Arizona`s decision to let Luis Gonzalez slip away, the decision to bench Jenkins in favor of the kids did represent something of an end of an era in Milwaukee, considering that Jenkins has spent nine years here. He`s had some solid seasons, but when Troy O`Leary starts showing up on your aging outfielder`s list of PECOTA comps, the canary in this coal mine just fell of its perch. That being said, Jenkins is not without value as a platoon player--despite being eased out of the lineup, he hit .306/.381/.490 against righties last year, and his 2005 split was even better. 2006 While settling into the elder statesman role quite nicely, like Paul Molitor before him, Jenkins has dispensed with his former reputation for fragility. Melvin spent the offseason fending off rumors that he was shopping Jenkins or Lee, but both are nearing that part of their careers where they`ll get a lot less valuable in a hurry, and the Brewers have worthwhile alternatives in Cruz and Hart. But where Lee`s in his walk year, Jenkins has at least $15 million coming to him in this season and next, and another $8.5 million if they pick up his option for 2008. That, and his uncanny resemblance to Bret Favre--we`re in Wisconsin, Toto, it matters--should keep him in place for the rest of the contract. 2005 The notoriously injury-prone outfielder set a career high with 157 games played, but in this case, quantity did not equal quality. His 2003 resurgence brought hope that he was returning to his previous levels of success, but 2004 was a disappointment. He still possesses the serious power that got him to the majors, but as a player who struggles to make contact and doesn't walk, he reaches first base about as often as Bill Gates did in high school. Thanks to the generous contract extension he received last March, Jenkins is now a very expensive average player who will consistently be mentioned in trade rumors for the next 18 months. To accommodate Carlos Lee, he'll move to right field. 2003 Jenkins suffered a very nasty injury that ended his season just as he was starting to break out of a long funk. Jenkins swings hard and often, and occasionally makes contact and sends the ball a long way. He’s a left fielder with a pretty good throwing arm. His injury was certainly gruesome to see, and it was surprising and gratifying to hear that it was a dislocation rather than a break, but I’m not certain whether or not that’s necessarily a good thing. Either way, our wishes for a quick and full recovery go out to him—he’s a player you pay to see. Thirty more walks a year, and he’d be an excellent player you’d pay to see. He’s been heading in that direction the last two years, but injuries have derailed him. 2002 Jenkins never really got started, spending most of the year fighting hand and shoulder injuries before going onto the DL with a torn thumb. When he came back in September he struggled, like a lot of the “hey, we’ll be around next year” reactivations. At the plate, he’s got a great coiled stance that conjures visions of the original Cobra, Dave Parker. The decision to bat him third is conventional, but why not plug somebody like Burnitz into that slot, someone who can both drive in runs and set them up by drawing a walk or two, and have the high-average hitter as a finisher for a big inning? Yes, lineup order isn’t supposed to matter, but given the primitive computer programming that advanced that conclusion, it’s hard not to believe that some runs can’t be gained by optimizing a lineup. 2001 All signs are positive. Geoff Jenkins moved into the #3 spot last year and would have had better numbers if he hadn’t broken his finger in May. He should improve his totals simply by staying healthy, and the new park could give him a boost, too. Jenkins has great power to all fields and should be able to take advantage of the short power alleys in Miller Park. He’ll never walk, and he’ll never fly, but he will hit. 2000 Jenkins started off low in the order and platooning, and worked his way up and out of the platoon role as he continued to produce. He’s one of ex-hitting coach Jim Lefebvre's more outspoken disciples. Lefebvre is willing to try almost anything as far as gadgets and techniques, on the theory that whatever works for somebody is worthwhile. While I can't help but think that a guy who slugged .602 against right-handed pitching in 1999 is going to outperform that projection, keep in mind he isn't that young. 1999 Nagging injuries have had a way of holding Jenkins back in the past, but the Brett Favre look-alike ended up getting a shot at the LF job. Although he’s considered the best power prospect in the organization, his awful plate discipline has kept him from being very helpful. He acknowledged his tendency to hack early in the count, and has promised to work on it. Ordinarily I’d scoff at that, but ’98 was a good reminder of what a player can do if he really works on improving his game (Sosa, Galarraga, or Vina, to note three guys we were dead wrong about last year). 1998 Shoulder surgery limited his playing time in ’96 after being drafted in the first round in ’95, so 1997 was his first real season as a regular. Despite that, a good camp got him into Tucson instead of El Paso. He has quick hands, and can get caught up trying to pull everything. 1997 Jenkins is a very strange player. It’s not often that a player can’t find a defensive position at this point in his career. His stroke looks very sharp to me; he waits back exceptionally well, then explodes into the ball nice and smooth. Then again, I’ve always been a fan of Doug Jennings’ swing, too. Not a fast man; can barely outrun continental drift or Robin Ventura.
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