SPECULATOR: Searching for the next Michael Brantley

An annual preseason rite here in the Speculator space is identifying a breakout performance from the previous season, and constructing a profile that might help identify candidates for a similar step up in the current year. 

But talk about big shoes to fill. While normal author Ray Murphy is one of faces leading our First Pitch Forums Midwest stops this weekend, he tapped me to take a swing at this topic. Why the big shoes? Well, because last year, as Ray looked for the next Carlos Gómez, three of his candidates were Corey Dickerson, Christian Yelich, and Kole Calhoun.

Tough act to follow, but we'll give it whirl.

Michael Brantley (OF, CLE) was one of the surprises of 2014, no doubt. A quick scan of his year-by-year BPI:

Year   AB  ...

Almost!

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