Garrett Atkins
Full Name: Garrett Bernard Atkins
Born: December 12,1979
Place: Irvine, California
Position: 3B
Height: 6'3" Weight: 210
Bats: R Throws: R
High School: -
College: University of California-Irvine
Drafted: Selected by the New York Mets in the 10th round (300th overall) of the 1997 amateur entry draft. (June-Reg phase)....Selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 5th round (137th overall) of the 2000 amateur entry draft. (June-Reg phase)
Born: December 12,1979
Place: Irvine, California
Position: 3B
Height: 6'3" Weight: 210
Bats: R Throws: R
High School: -
College: University of California-Irvine
Drafted: Selected by the New York Mets in the 10th round (300th overall) of the 1997 amateur entry draft. (June-Reg phase)....Selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 5th round (137th overall) of the 2000 amateur entry draft. (June-Reg phase)
Garrett Atkins exploded onto the baseball scene in 2006. If he were playing just about anywhere but Denver, then he would be a bonafide star. His hitting improved so dramatically that Clint Hurdle had to move him up in the lineup into Todd Helton's coveted 3rd spot. Teams bests hitters hit 3rd and Atkins fits that bill to a tee.
Nobody thought he develop the kind of power he displayed in 2006, not even us here at RoxHead.. and we have been praising his hitting stroke for three years. His defense has also improved to the point that he might be a Gold Glove candidate sometime in his career.
Look for management to target Atkins as a possible long-term contract candidate thereby locking him up into some of his free agent years.
Garrett Atkins Major League Stats
---------------------------------------------------------------------
YEAR G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
2003 25 69 6 11 2 0 0 4 13 3 14 0 0 .205 .188 .159
2004 15 28 3 10 2 0 1 8 15 4 3 0 0 .424 .536 .357
2005 138 519 62 149 31 1 13 89 221 45 72 0 2 .347 .426 .287
2006 157 602 117 198 48 1 29 120 337 79 76 4 0 .409 .556 .329
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Career 335 1218 188 368 83 2 43 221 584 131 165 4 2 .373 .479 .302
2006 Salary $335,000. One-year contract. Incentives: None.
---------------------------
2006
RoxHead likes this player and believes the lack of power and average that is under .300 will improve in time with more at bats and become more acceptable. He is already a very good defensive player and is improving every month. He also seems to be underrated by most fans out there.
The problem is that even if he continues to develop, he probably won't be with the Rockies for the entirety of that career because we all know that Ian Stewart is currently earning his wings in the minors and will most likely be ready for Coors in less than two years time. Besides that, first round draft picks like Stewart get preferential treatment because it helps make the front office look good.
Defensively he has a strong arm and decent range for a big man at third. Atkins has a beautiful swing from the right side. He keeps his head down and drives the ball to all parts of the park, especially the power alley gaps. He slots in as a number 2 or 3 hole hitter.
There has been no talk from he Rockies concerning position changes by either Stewart or Atkins. This writer believes that if both are to be here together, then it's Atkins that will be the one to move. However, the only other position Atkins may be suited for would be first base and we all know who mans that spot.
Two years is an enternity in sports so perhaps things will play out and the situation will settle itself on its own through future events unknown to us mortals. The bet now is that Atkins will be moved through a trade of some sort which would be a shame considering that he is a solid big-league thirdbaseman. However, if his power numbers show improvement, then there's a real possibility that Stewart will have a hard time knocking him out of there.
"I try not to think about the guys that are below me or trying to take my job," Atkins said to the media. "I'm just working on getting myself better each day, so one day, if they decide to go in another direction, I'm in a good position to go to another team if that's the way I want to go.
"Right now, my goal obviously is to stay up here as long as I can, and keep [other third-base prospects] down there as long as I can."
Class A comparisons:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Garrett Atkins
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB OBP SLG AVG
2001 Salem 135 465 70 151 43 5 5 67 74 98 6 .420 .471 .325
Ian Stewart
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB OBP SLG AVG
2005 Modesto 112 435 83 119 32 7 17 86 52 113 2 .353 .497 .274
Nobody thought he develop the kind of power he displayed in 2006, not even us here at RoxHead.. and we have been praising his hitting stroke for three years. His defense has also improved to the point that he might be a Gold Glove candidate sometime in his career.
Look for management to target Atkins as a possible long-term contract candidate thereby locking him up into some of his free agent years.
Garrett Atkins Major League Stats
---------------------------------------------------------------------
YEAR G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
2003 25 69 6 11 2 0 0 4 13 3 14 0 0 .205 .188 .159
2004 15 28 3 10 2 0 1 8 15 4 3 0 0 .424 .536 .357
2005 138 519 62 149 31 1 13 89 221 45 72 0 2 .347 .426 .287
2006 157 602 117 198 48 1 29 120 337 79 76 4 0 .409 .556 .329
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Career 335 1218 188 368 83 2 43 221 584 131 165 4 2 .373 .479 .302
2006 Salary $335,000. One-year contract. Incentives: None.
---------------------------
2006
RoxHead likes this player and believes the lack of power and average that is under .300 will improve in time with more at bats and become more acceptable. He is already a very good defensive player and is improving every month. He also seems to be underrated by most fans out there.
The problem is that even if he continues to develop, he probably won't be with the Rockies for the entirety of that career because we all know that Ian Stewart is currently earning his wings in the minors and will most likely be ready for Coors in less than two years time. Besides that, first round draft picks like Stewart get preferential treatment because it helps make the front office look good.
Defensively he has a strong arm and decent range for a big man at third. Atkins has a beautiful swing from the right side. He keeps his head down and drives the ball to all parts of the park, especially the power alley gaps. He slots in as a number 2 or 3 hole hitter.
There has been no talk from he Rockies concerning position changes by either Stewart or Atkins. This writer believes that if both are to be here together, then it's Atkins that will be the one to move. However, the only other position Atkins may be suited for would be first base and we all know who mans that spot.
Two years is an enternity in sports so perhaps things will play out and the situation will settle itself on its own through future events unknown to us mortals. The bet now is that Atkins will be moved through a trade of some sort which would be a shame considering that he is a solid big-league thirdbaseman. However, if his power numbers show improvement, then there's a real possibility that Stewart will have a hard time knocking him out of there.
"I try not to think about the guys that are below me or trying to take my job," Atkins said to the media. "I'm just working on getting myself better each day, so one day, if they decide to go in another direction, I'm in a good position to go to another team if that's the way I want to go.
"Right now, my goal obviously is to stay up here as long as I can, and keep [other third-base prospects] down there as long as I can."
Class A comparisons:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Garrett Atkins
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB OBP SLG AVG
2001 Salem 135 465 70 151 43 5 5 67 74 98 6 .420 .471 .325
Ian Stewart
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB OBP SLG AVG
2005 Modesto 112 435 83 119 32 7 17 86 52 113 2 .353 .497 .274
Garrett Atkins Bio:
More Bio's:
In the News
12/2/06.. addition.. Post
The Rockies have continued preliminary discussions with Atkins on a long-term contract, but are not close to an agreement.
11/23/06.. addition.. Post
The Rockies are turning their attention to working out a long-term deal with third baseman Garrett Atkins. "We will listen and see where it goes now that Francis is done," Atkins' agent, Jeff Blank, said Wednesday.
Locking up Atkins could prove more difficult. Atkins led the Rockies with a .329 average (fourth in the National League) and hit 29 homers while driving in 120 runs. Those numbers were comparable to Mets third baseman David Wright, who signed a five-year, $55 million extension last season that will take him out of his first two free-agent seasons. Atkins made a base salary of $335,000 in 2006.
8/22/06.. addition.. MLB.com
Atkins now hears cheers on the road, although there is a reason for that. "I get the fantasy league comment a couple of times a series, whereas before I never really got it," said Atkins, who has hit nine homers since the All-Star break. "That's pretty cool. They might be rooting for the other team, but if I do well it helps them out. It's kind of cool."
At a time when players are often prematurely devalued, by those who do the ratings and sometimes by clubs, because they don't put up monster numbers immediately in the Minors, Atkins stands as a reason to not take the Minor League stats as fail-safe predictors of the future.
"I would not put a ceiling on what kind of hitter this kid is going to be," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "Just let him keep getting his at-bats, keep swinging the bat. He put together a very solid campaign last year and he's stretching it out this year."
8/4/06.. addition.. MLB.com
Hurdle flipped third baseman Garrett Atkins out of the No. 5 spot in the batting order, and flopped him up to the three-hole -- the same three-hole that Rockies fans have come to expect veteran Todd Helton to occupy.
"As much respect as I have for Todd, we made this move based on what was best for the ballclub at the time and he was on board with it," Hurdle said of the July 22 move. "If you check the numbers, Atkins is the hottest hitter on the ballclub -- that's my reasoning behind it."
Another reason the skipper said he decided to complete the switch is because he felt Atkins needed to be shown that his work this season has been appreciated.
"I'm not a big fan of taking people for granted, and the job Garrett has done up and down our lineup needs to be recognized," Hurdle said. "I asked him to do a very difficult task to move him into that three-hole, and he got very hot while doing it, and we're going to leave him right there."
5/16/06.. addition.. MLB.com
"The skills I have as a hitter are more suitable to the two-hole," Atkins said. "Whatever gets our offense going. Obviously, Holliday is the more prototypical four-hole hitter. I don't think I would hit in the four-hole for too many teams..."
1/26/06... addition.. MLB.com
"He's our third baseman," Hurdle said. "We'll give him the freedom to play. We're not going to give him any power goals. We feel he's a good enough hitter and a smart enough hitter to be a good run producer."
---------------------------
12/01/05.. addition...From Baseball Weekly
USA Today ranks Atkins number 13 in its rating of third baseman in all of baseball, ahead of Scotty Rolen.
This kid surprised the Rockies by playing decent defense. He also wound up with 89 rbi, the
fifth-most by a NL rookie since 1980. He could actually force minor league sensation Ian Stewart
to the outfield in two years.
11/07/05.. Addition..
Colorado third baseman Garrett Atkins finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting announced Monday, Nov 7th, receiving one first-place vote.
The Rockies have continued preliminary discussions with Atkins on a long-term contract, but are not close to an agreement.
11/23/06.. addition.. Post
The Rockies are turning their attention to working out a long-term deal with third baseman Garrett Atkins. "We will listen and see where it goes now that Francis is done," Atkins' agent, Jeff Blank, said Wednesday.
Locking up Atkins could prove more difficult. Atkins led the Rockies with a .329 average (fourth in the National League) and hit 29 homers while driving in 120 runs. Those numbers were comparable to Mets third baseman David Wright, who signed a five-year, $55 million extension last season that will take him out of his first two free-agent seasons. Atkins made a base salary of $335,000 in 2006.
8/22/06.. addition.. MLB.com
Atkins now hears cheers on the road, although there is a reason for that. "I get the fantasy league comment a couple of times a series, whereas before I never really got it," said Atkins, who has hit nine homers since the All-Star break. "That's pretty cool. They might be rooting for the other team, but if I do well it helps them out. It's kind of cool."
At a time when players are often prematurely devalued, by those who do the ratings and sometimes by clubs, because they don't put up monster numbers immediately in the Minors, Atkins stands as a reason to not take the Minor League stats as fail-safe predictors of the future.
"I would not put a ceiling on what kind of hitter this kid is going to be," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "Just let him keep getting his at-bats, keep swinging the bat. He put together a very solid campaign last year and he's stretching it out this year."
8/4/06.. addition.. MLB.com
Hurdle flipped third baseman Garrett Atkins out of the No. 5 spot in the batting order, and flopped him up to the three-hole -- the same three-hole that Rockies fans have come to expect veteran Todd Helton to occupy.
"As much respect as I have for Todd, we made this move based on what was best for the ballclub at the time and he was on board with it," Hurdle said of the July 22 move. "If you check the numbers, Atkins is the hottest hitter on the ballclub -- that's my reasoning behind it."
Another reason the skipper said he decided to complete the switch is because he felt Atkins needed to be shown that his work this season has been appreciated.
"I'm not a big fan of taking people for granted, and the job Garrett has done up and down our lineup needs to be recognized," Hurdle said. "I asked him to do a very difficult task to move him into that three-hole, and he got very hot while doing it, and we're going to leave him right there."
5/16/06.. addition.. MLB.com
"The skills I have as a hitter are more suitable to the two-hole," Atkins said. "Whatever gets our offense going. Obviously, Holliday is the more prototypical four-hole hitter. I don't think I would hit in the four-hole for too many teams..."
1/26/06... addition.. MLB.com
"He's our third baseman," Hurdle said. "We'll give him the freedom to play. We're not going to give him any power goals. We feel he's a good enough hitter and a smart enough hitter to be a good run producer."
---------------------------
12/01/05.. addition...From Baseball Weekly
USA Today ranks Atkins number 13 in its rating of third baseman in all of baseball, ahead of Scotty Rolen.
This kid surprised the Rockies by playing decent defense. He also wound up with 89 rbi, the
fifth-most by a NL rookie since 1980. He could actually force minor league sensation Ian Stewart
to the outfield in two years.
11/07/05.. Addition..
Colorado third baseman Garrett Atkins finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting announced Monday, Nov 7th, receiving one first-place vote.
