If you're going by these five tools:

 

1) hitting for average, 2) hitting for power, 3) running speed, 4) arm strength and 5) fielding ability

 

He's got the last 3 down. He's not ungodly fast, but he's fast enough. There's absoultely no questioning the fielding ability, and he hasn't had much of an opportunity to showcase his arm.

 

 

Ive seen 4 & 5, and only glimpses of 2. What I saw friday nite, was #3, which I wasnt expecting, as well as #1, which is whats making me excited about this guy. He has a chance to be the SOX' first 5 tool player (I hate predictions) in a long long time. Shoot, in fact, I cant remember the last legitimate SOX player who could be considered 5 Tools. Dick Allen maybe? but he wasnt even drafted by the SOX

so he doesnt count either

I think the "5-tool" thing is over-rated.

Give me a ballplayer with good skills and above-average baseball instincts.

Obviously, tools are important to a degree, but most players don't have "5 tools" and you see a lot of hyped 5-tool guys who never pan out.

If anything, the 5-tool tag is extra pressure for a kid to try to live up to.

As bad offensively as BA has been, and I think its pretty much a lock he will improve, his OBP is only 50 points lower than Rowand's.

I think the "5-tool" thing is over-rated.

Give me a ballplayer with good skills and above-average baseball instincts.

Obviously, tools are important to a degree, but most players don't have "5 tools" and you see a lot of hyped 5-tool guys who never pan out.

If anything, the 5-tool tag is extra pressure for a kid to try to live up to.

 

 

 

That might be, it does seem to be a very "hip" word to use, however, I do think 5 tool can also be interchanged with "game-changing" ability .............

To be honest, I think the turning point for his season will be the 3 run homer he hit against Cleveland when the Sox were down 10-2 on Sunday nite baseball. It might have seemed meaningless when he hit it, but that AB seemed to have awoken his bat.

 

I think that 9th inning rally may have been the turning point of the season for the ENTIRE team. We had been finding ways to win due to talent alone before that, but since then we seem to be playing as a team and (for the most part) executing and playing like it's 2005 again. We could be the first team to ever have our turning point be a loss in June .

That might be, it does seem to be a very "hip" word to use, however, I do think 5 tool can also be interchanged with "game-changing" ability .............

Yeah, it seems to be the easy tag to stick on a "can't-miss" prospect. Much easier to say 5-tools than to describe what the kid does well.

That might be, it does seem to be a very "hip" word to use, however, I do think 5 tool can also be interchanged with "game-changing" ability .............

 

i like your thought process.