• Clipboard: How good is David Cooper?

  • By Jason Grey | May 2, 2011 1:05:03 PM PDT
At the beginning of the 2011 season, Toronto Blue Jays first baseman David Cooper was not on our radar screen for a quick call-up, and there was a significant chance he wouldn't get one at all. However, when the team reached into its system last week to grab another bat, Cooper got the call over Brett Lawrie and Eric Thames, both of whom still have things to work on in their development at Triple-A despite their good numbers thus far.Cooper, who is 24, had a good spring training and was putting up good numbers in Triple-A, as well, hitting .395 in 20 games, with almost half of his hits going for extra bases, and walking more times than struck out. Also, the lefty slugger had hit lefty and righty pitchers well since coming to camp. Just as encouraging: It appears Cooper will get the chance to play regularly. "We wouldn't bring him here to sit on the bench," Blue Jays manager John Farrell told the team website.The 6-foot-1 first baseman has the pedigree to succeed. He was a first-round pick in the 2008 draft, selected 17th out of Cal, and was viewed as one of the top college hitters in the draft at a position that was deep with them.After a good pro debut in 2008, Cooper's ascent had stalled in recent seasons; despite handling the strike zone well, he had two rough years in Double-A in 2009 and 2010, hitting .258 and .257, respectively, with OPS numbers under .770. I saw him extensively in the Arizona Fall League at the end of the '09 season, then again in spring training of 2010, and basically saw a non-prospect who was struggling to hit the ball with authority.According to the Toronto Sun, though, after going homerless in the month of April last season, Cooper went back and examined video of his college swing and realized he had gotten away from what had made him successful. He bounced back to hit 20 homers the rest of the way, with a lot of quality contact despite the (aforementioned) low batting average."I was able to shorten my swing a bit, and now my swing has less movement," he told the Sun. "I'm seeing the ball better, which has led to better results."Still, I have concerns. Although raw power was expected to be one of Cooper's calling cards as an amateur, and he did hit some jacks last year, when Cooper is going right, he has a flat stroke geared more to hitting line drives to all fields, limiting his power upside. And despite his solid approach in the box, his potential to hit for average against advanced pitching remains in question. The reason for that is his lack of great bat speed, something that can be exploited in the majors. Although he does have a smooth swing and has managed to shorten it a bit, he still will go through spurts in which he overswings, trying to hit the ball for power and do too much.I saw some pretty hefty FAAB (free-agent acquisition budget) bids this weekend on Cooper in multiple AL-only leagues, but I'm not on board with that. In fact, I'm still skeptical there is much fantasy utility here. Cooper is a below-average first baseman defensively and is going to see a lot of time as the Jays' DH, so his bat is going to have to carry him, and I don't see that happening. My initial impressions weren't favorable, and although I admit he has made some encouraging adjustments, it's not enough for me to project consistent success, not to mention that his window of opportunity might be short-lived. I don't see him sticking as a regular.

Other notes

• Carlos Lee was carted off the field Sunday after colliding with shortstop Angel Sanchez. An X-ray showed no fractures, so it appears he might have avoided something major, even if he did spend the night in the hospital for observation. Lee did at least homer for his fantasy owners before departing the game.The bigger issue is whether he can improve on his slow start to the season or whether it's a continuation of the decline that seemed to begin last season. Right now, my money is on the latter. Over the past two seasons, Lee has seen a dramatic decrease in his bat speed, the one area of hitting that has been the key to his success over the years. His poor conditioning, which quite frankly has been an issue for years, hasn't exactly helped him stave off the aging process. Now, in his mid-30s, his athletic ability is eroding fast. Although Lee continues to make the consistent contact we've come to expect, thanks to his good hand-eye coordination, the rest of the skill set is in obvious decline, and I'm not optimistic about his production for the balance of this season, healthy or not.• As I tweeted Saturday, I followed up my Brandon Webb piece from Tuesday by checking out his second start in extended spring training to see whether there was any velocity improvement.Unfortunately, Webb didn't throw a single pitch harder than 81 mph in his three innings of work, and a lot of them were in the 78-79 mph range. If Webb really is "letting it go," as he indicated he was last Monday, then the thought that he is done completely as a potentially viable major league starter is quite valid. Some have speculated that perhaps Webb really hasn't let it all air out yet, and although that would seem to offer a glimmer of hope, the possibility that he hasn't done so 21 months after his surgery is a different concern that perhaps leads to the same conclusion.

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