Bobby Hill

Once a hot-shot prospect with the Cubs, the Pirates view Hill, who can play second, third and might try to add an outfielder’s glove to his arsenal, as a valuable player on their bench. That’s a polite way of saying “utility player.” Hill did some of his best work as a pinch-hitter last season and we don’t expect his role to change much in 2005 unless injuries hit the Bucs infield hard.

Not long ago the switch-hitting Hill was a can't miss prospect for the Cubs, now he'll try to win a job as a middle infielder with the Pirates, where he could end up starting at second and being a decent sleeper pick in NL-only leagues. Hill only appeared in one game for the Bucs before shutting down for the year with back issues, but before that, he did put up fair numbers at the Triple-A level. At the major league level, Hill has hit four homers with a .254 batting average in 197 big-league at-bats. Obviously he isn't Rogers Hornsby with the stick, but he is capable of stealing 15-20 bases in the show if he wins a regular job.

Last year was a tale of two seasons for Hill. After getting called up in May, he hit .182 and slugged just .294 in 88 at-bats and was wisely demoted back to Triple-A Iowa to straighten out his stroke. Hill hit pretty well at Iowa, was eventually called back up again in August and went .314/.358/.451 in 102 at-bats down the stretch. Based on his minor league numbers over the last couple seasons, we think Hill's late season stint is more indicative of what he might do if given a full season of major at-bats, minus 20 points of batting average. Hill, who will head into spring training as the Cubs' starting second baseman, is also a good base stealer. As long as an extended slump doesn't persuade veteran-loving manager Dusty Baker to start playing Mark Grudzielanek, Hill should have no trouble stealing 15-20 bags at a minimum in 2003.