Is Yonder Alonso next season's Chase Headley?

Chase Headley was a revelation this season. Will Yonder Alonso open our eyes wide next season?

Both players took four seasons to move from Single-A to everyday major leaguer.

Both players displayed a solid power stroke in Triple-A ball only to watch those homers turn into doubles in the Big Leagues.

It took Headley a while to figure out Petco Park, but he's always been productive on the road. Entering 2012, he was a career .303 hitter away from home. He hit .300 on the road this season -- with a respectable .272 at home -- with five more homers (18-to-13), 13 more RBI (64-to-51) and seven more steals (12-to-5).
In Alonso's first season in San Diego, he actually performed slightly better at the behemoth ballpark. He hit .276 at home, compared to .271 away. He homered more on the road (6-to-3), but actually had the same amount of RBI (31) and doubled more (23-to-16) at Petco.

Even though Headley accrued 55 more at-bats, Alonso led the Padres in doubles with 39. Headley had 31.

Like Headley, Alonso has had success on the road his entire career. He was a career .291 hitter before this season.

Is it a stretch to believe with another season of experience, Alonso will continue to mature as an offensive force? His trajectory is 20-25 home runs, 80-90 RBI and a .290-.300 hitter.

Outside of steals, the main difference between Alonso and Headley next season is where you can draft them. Headley will undoubtedly be a Top 25 pick because of his production and position. Alonso will likely be a late round flier if fantasy owners don't buy him making a jump in power.

As of now, most won't.

I believe he will be a steal.


(utsandiego.com)