Prospect Smackdown: Albert Almora vs. David Dahl
When I first pitched this series, I made it pretty clear that I wanted some collaboration between me (or another TDG writer) and our readers in terms of selecting players you want to read about. That’s why it was pretty encouraging yesterday when I took to Twitter to ask for Prospect Smackdown ideas and got a handful of very strong suggestions.
The match up you’re going to read about today game from fellow TDG writer and scholar/gentleman Mike Buttil, who posed that I cover two of everyone’s favorite center field prospects from the 2012 draft: Albert Almora and David Dahl.
And so one week after we saw Yordano Ventura defeat Carlos Martinez in the battle of diminutive flamethrowers, we now take on oft-injured, five-category outfielders who are still a ways away. Enjoy!
Prospect Smackdown No.4 – Who is the better fantasy prospect: Albert Almora or David Dahl?
The case for Almora
Widely regarded as one of the best overall players available in the 2012 draft, Almora has done nothing to hurt his lofty prospect status to this point. Despite missing a good chunk of 2013 with various injuries, Almora was able to hit .329/.376/.466 in 272 PA in Single-A, striking out just 11 percent of the time and hitting 17 doubles. As a player renowned for his maturity, it wouldn’t at all be surprising to see Almora succeed at High-A in some point in 2014, which would put him on pace for a late 2015-to-mid 2016 MLB debut.
What makes Almora an attractive fantasy asset is his well roundedness. Almora doesn’t project to have light-tower power or blistering speed, but he should contribute meaningfully in every standard 5×5 category, with added value in OBP and doubles leagues. Forecasting stats for a player this far out is a fool’s errand, but no one has ever not said that I’m a fool or that sentence structure is my strong point. If you want to dream on him, a .320 average with 15 homers, 20 steals, 80-plus RBI and 90-plus runs batting near the top of the order would look mighty nice.
The case against Almora
Almora has no weaknesses, but it might be fair to say that his hit tool is his only real fantasy strength, too. If his power doesn’t fully develop or he loses a step as he ages, how different is he as a fantasy prospect from, say, Jackie Bradley Jr.? There’s a risk that Almora turns into a .280 guy who only challenges for double-digit homers and steals, which basically makes him 2013 Michael Brantley. Essentially the floor here is very high, but the ceiling is well within view, and Almora is a slightly better MLB prospect than a fantasy one.
The case for Dahl
Quite simply, all of Dahl’s tools aside from his hit tool are better than Almora’s. When healthy, Dahl has a plus (potentially plus-plus) hit tool, plus speed and the potential for plus power, although that is his most questionable fantasy tool. Dahl’s stock was so high heading into 2013 in part because he hit .379/.423/.625 with 12 steals in 306 PA in rookie ball in 2012, blowing away the competition. He received just 42 PA in 2013 though, thanks in part to a suspension for missing a team flight and mostly to a torn hamstring suffered in May.
That being said, Dahl is largely the same player headed into 2014 we thought he was heading into 2013, and we loved what we saw back then. If you want to dream on Dahl he can be another .300-plus hitter, but potentially with 30-plus stolen bases (if his base running acumen improves) and with double-digit homerun power that will play up in Coors. From a statistical standpoint, the end game here could look something like the good version of Alex Rios. That’s a hell of a fantasy asset, especially near the top of the order and in Colorado.
The case against Dahl
Is it easy to forgive Dahl for missing all of 2013 thanks to his hamstring tear? Yes. That doesn’t mean he gets that time back, though, and it’s tough to put an ETA on Dahl before 2017. He has basically his entire professional development ahead of him, meaning there’s plenty of time for more obstacles to derail what could be a superb fantasy career. We’ve also seen reports that Dahl’s speed plays down in games, and while there’s time for him to become a more refined base stealer, there’s no doubt that the profile loses some luster if Dahl can’t swipe 30-plus bags a year like his pure speed would suggest. Couple the speed question with power that is mostly projection at this point, and Dahl is more dream than reality at this moment in time.
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12 Comments
Thanks for doing this, Ben…good stuff! I voted for Dahl today.
I voted for Dahl because of where the dream is. He has the potential to be a star in the MLB, while Almora I feel will be a step below star, but still a really good player. When it comes to prospects for me, I will lean towards the one with the dream ceiling over the prospect with the higher floor. I see Dahl potential lying in .300 25HR/30SB stats while Almora is .300 20HR/20SB. Also having Coors field certainly doesn’t hurt Dahl’s stock any.
An idea for a future article in this series could be between two prospects who have disappointed so far in Bubba Starling and Courtney Hawkins. Just one possible Idea that I thought about.
This is an awesome matchup that I can almost assure you will be used. Thanks!
Sweet! Glad I could help you out.
Dahl may have a higher ceiling, but he has a much lower floor than Almora. Dahl has a greater chance of never making it to the majors than Almora has of just being average.
I think this is fair, yeah.
I realize that one of these guys is not a prospect anymore, but I saw a trade go through one of my leagues of Tyson Ross for James Paxton. Both sides asked me who “won”, but I had no real answer. How do these two compare?
I know there are some Ross fanatics out there, but give me Paxton, even with the likelihood that he ends up in the bullpen at some point. Either way, it’s a fair deal.
That is a tricky trade to call. I like Tyson a bit more, but both have question marks. I would have taken Tyson just because he is still fairly young and has done a bit more than Paxton in demonstrating ability at the MLB level.
Ben, I’m loving this series you have created. It has only increased your stock as an overall Top 10 prospect amongst writers. You clearly posses 5 tools, with your creativeness showing plus-plus potential. I love Dahl’s makeup, which completely contradicts his 2013 season. I believe he will make great strides this year, but is still a long ways off. Almora will appear to be average in comparison to what the Cubs will feature, but he is the type of future fantasy player that helps you win as a 3rd/4th OF type. I think you could use Melky Cabrera as an example of his production.
Thanks for doing this. I look forward to seeing more future Matchup’s!
Thanks for the kind words, Andy. Glad you’re enjoying the series!
[…] last week’s Prospect Smackdown, we saw our closest battle yet as Albert Almora eked out a 54-46 victory over David Dahl in the battle of 2012 center field draftees. This week, we’re returning to the rubber to […]