Bill Hall vs. Tug Hulett: An Early Comparison
It seems like folks are already penciling utilityman Bill Hall’s name into the opening day Red Sox roster. On the surface, that doesn’t seem too crazy; Hall is a versatile guy with lots of MLB experience. A 30-year-old who was an All-Star not too long ago. Seems like an ideal guy to have on the end of your bench.
Are we jumping the gun, though? A name that I haven’t been hearing much of from the scribes as of yet is Tug Hulett, a utilityman with an impressive minor league track record, acquired from the Royals in November. The reason I tend to favor Tug (at least, preliminarily) is because he has shown some recent promise at the plate, whereas Bill Hall is languishing in the absolute abyss of his career, performance wise.
Let’s compare both players:
Bill Hall
Bats: R Age: 30
| CHONE Projection: | 0.218 | 0.281 | 0.364 |
| Marcel Projection: | 0.229 | 0.293 | 0.387 |
| PECOTA Projection: | 0.249 | 0.310 | 0.424 |
| Composite Projection: | 0.232 | 0.295 | 0.392 |
Defense:
Ideally, whoever manages to grab this roster spot will have the ability to play SS at least somewhat competently, since Jed Lowrie is a massive injury risk (and may even start the year in Pawtucket). Hall has not played SS since 2006. That could be a problem, although there are reports that he’s been working on his SS game this spring. At this point, Hall’s true position is 3B. He can also play 2B and all three outfield positions in a pinch.
Tug Hulett
Bats: L Age: 27
| CHONE Projection: | 0.261 | 0.344 | 0.387 |
| Marcel Projection: | 0.250 | 0.322 | 0.385 |
| PECOTA Projection: | 0.250 | 0.329 | 0.393 |
| Composite Projection: | 0.254 | 0.332 | 0.388 |
Defense:
Hulett’s true position is 2B, which is a better fit for the Sox than a backup 3B at this point. Hulett has played 73 games as SS over the past three seasons (compared to Hall’s zero). He has also played some 3B and corner OF, and according to minorleaguesplits.com, he is an average defender at all positions.
Conclusion: I don’t see how one can favor Hall over Hulett, at least without seeing them both in some sort of action this spring. Hulett, on paper, is superior offensively and defensively, and the odds of him improving in 2010 are much greater than Hall’s. I can’t really give any points to Hall for his right-handedness; if Mike Lowell sticks around, you would only have 1 lefty on the bench in Jeremy Hermida (I do not consider Jason Varitek to be a valid LHH option).
Free Tug Hulett!
[...] Bill Hall vs. Tug Hulett: An Early Comparison It seems like folks are already penciling utilityman Bill Hall’s name into the opening day Red Sox roster.A On the surface, that doesn’t seem too crazy; Hall is a versatile guy with lots of MLB experience.A A 30-year-oldA who was an All-Star not too long ago.A Seems like an ideal guy to have on the end of your bench. [...]
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