Colleagues Lenny Melnick and Paul Greco are feuding over Chris Young. I am the judge and render my verdict.

Over at Melnick and Greco Fantasy Sports Lenny and Paul have a vehement disagreement on the virtues of Chris Young. I am simplifying their respective positions below.

Plaintiff’s Case: Lenny Melnick says Young is a stud. He points out his low BABIP, opining that it will be much better this year, and that he will bat number three in the Arizona lineup.

Defendant’s Case: Paul Greco responds that Young strikes out way too much, and hit a mere .242 in the second half last year. Young also had a .309 OBP, and since Young has never had a .300 BABIP there is no reason to think it will increase this year. he just swings at too many bad pitches.

My Verdict: Young had an 83% contact rate in 2006, which is not the mark of a guy that strikes out too often. Last year he was at 75%, which is not great but still serviceable. He also had a solid 7% walk rate.

Any increase in these two marks will result in marked improvement in his BA. Moreover, his expected batting average last year was .255, which, while not superlative, shows that his skills should result in a bit higher average even if he doesn’t improve those skills.

When you compare what he can do to the likes of Alfonso Soriano or Derek Jeter, Young is a terrific bargain even if he hits only .250. If he can hit .275 then he is the superior value by a large margin given their ADPs. In any event he should reach the 30/20 plateau in 2008 no matter what.

BaseballHQ has Young at 28 HR 22 SB and .258 BA for 2008. They have Soriano at 34 HR 25 SB and .278. Young could easily exceed this projection, however Soriano will likely hit it closely. Any improvement in Young could easily make up the 6 HR, 3 SB and .20 BA difference.

Verdict for the Plaintiff.