Quiz Time

1) The following consecutive slash lines demonstrate which statistical or mathematical concept?

.274/.340/.436
.274/.348/.454
.285/.346/.451
.354/.415/.677

A: Benford's Law
B: Unusual number
C: Collatz conjecture
D: Statistical outlier

2)  Which player demonstrated significant offensive growth after arriving at Las Vegas and playing in the PCL?

A: Eric Hosmer
B: Domonic Brown
C: Dustin Ackley
D: Brett Lawrie

3)  Which of the following players are, in all seriousness, out-performing Brett Lawrie in the PCL in terms of OPS?

A: Ian Stewart
B: Chris Davis
C: Wily Mo Pena
D: All of the above

4) Precisely how high are Chris's hopes about winning the call-up lottery and getting the equivalent of Evan Longoria?

A: High
B: Very High
C: Unrealistically High
D: _______________________

So today's supposedly imminent promotion of Brett Lawrie to the Blue Jays roster has me irrationally exuberant, thanks largely to my desire to replace Aramis Ramirez in my lineup.  Aramis is currently slugging somewhere in the vicinity of his OBP and has produced enough runs and RBI in an anemic Cubs offense to equal the fantasy output of the #13-15 catchers baseball.  Crossing my fingers that he experiences another second-half renaissance is less fun than speculating on the latest minor league lottery ticket.

I picked up Lawrie the second I saw Owen pick up Dustin Ackley.  Normally I'd attempt to wait until the very last second to make this sort of add (see: Hosmer, and Posey/Santana last year) but I didn't want to risk it here with evidence that at least one other owner was both aware of minor league activity and willing to gamble early on a player.  I think the Yahoo fantasy article on Lawrie had just come up that day or the one prior, also, so the cover was blown.

As you may have gleaned from the slash lines above, Lawrie's having something of a career year in AAA.  After startlingly similar serviceable stretches in multiple leagues from 2009-2010, he's become a sudden 4-tool stud in the PCL, with 15 homeruns and 11 steals in 12 attempts.  It's easy to dismiss this as the inflated stats of a PCL batter in dry desert air.  It's far more fun and self-serving to dig around for scouting reports that justify your inner desires.

Based on his track record, and what I saw Sunday afternoon, I am convinced that Brett Lawrie has everything needed to be a superstar.

They say the same thing on American Idol, I'm told.

Lawrie has always shown me good bat speed when I've seen him, but he's taken that up a notch this year. He's closed his stance slightly compared to previous observations, and his bat looks even quicker now. He is working counts MUCH more effectively than when I've see him in the past.

Could it be that he's taken The Leap?  I hope so.  One of the author's responses in the comment thread was to label Lawrie as (potentially) the next Ryan Braun.  This is absurd praise for someone who's never even seen a major league pitch, but I have a chip on my shoulder after missing out on Hosmer by an hour because of a dinner date, and because Carl Crawford, and dropping Bedard, and my litany of blown saves and pitching meltdowns, and I'd really just like to win one of these free agency decisions this year, so I'll take whatever outlandish projections I can get.