Spring Training Countdown - Number 4

During the course of this week, I will be counting down the reasons to get excited about Spring Training 2009. Pitchers and catchers report on Saturday, so let's count 'em down.

Number 4: Pablo Sandoval
Going into Spring Training last year, there was no Buster Posey. The Giants drafted him a few months later. Angel Villalona was stilll a young pup making a name for himself in the minors, and he still is. Madison Bumgardner and Tim Alderson were just arriving on the scene having been drafted only a few months prior. The Giants list of top prospects included very few names that were truly capable of making an impact in the near future. Half the season went by, and things began to change, in part due to one man:

Little Money. Kung Fu Panda. Pablito.

Pablo Sandoval tore up the Minors and hacked his way to the big leagues. He came up as a catcher, but his bat soon made the Giants reassess the fruits of the Minor League system. Sandoval came seemingly out of nowhere to hit .345 and an OPS of .847 in 145 at bats. He ended up playing third, first, as well as catcher.

So why is he number 4? What do we need to watch for?

I don't know about you, but 145 at bats isn't enough for me to say Sandoval is going to be a career .300 hitter. And, more importantly, he's being asked to play third, a position in which he has little experience. His glove seems okay, but what kind of range can a man of his size truly have? Put Renteria at short and there's going to be a lot of slow grounders that find their way into left field. Prove me wrong, Pablo. And knock in 100 runs while you're at it.