Former Yankees beat writer and current Red Sox beat Peter Abraham posted an interesting comparison between Robinson Cano and Dustin Pedroia on his Extra Bases blog today.
He concludes: “You could not go wrong with either player. But right now, Pedroia is the clear choice given his 1.177 OPS in the last 35 games.”
Both hitters are hot right now, so I don’t mind the comparison for “right now.” Cano is hitting .321 in July, just not as hot as Pedroia (.410).
The key distinguishing factor between these two is the ability to take pitches and walk. Cano has trouble with this while Pedroia thrives. Here’s a fun fact: the two second basemen have both struck out 50 times this season, but Pedroia has walked 47 more times.
Based on the stats Abraham used in his post, it’s tough to disagree with his conclusion. Any takers?
