This week the Roundtable matches up two very different players, courtesy of FantasyPros911.com. The intent behind this question was to highlight the difference between the general opinion of most players versus those of experts, but I never thought it would be unanimous! Here is this week's question:

Whom do you prefer for the remainder of the year, Aaron Hill or Howie Kendrick?

I like both players. I still believe in Howie Kendrick’s ceiling, which is much higher than Aaron Hill’s is. But partly because of injuries and partly because of a failure to show improvement, Hill has been the better major leaguer. Hill has slightly better power. He has better plate discipline. He is also more likely to reach 600 at-bats. Kendrick has shown very good contact skills but little ability to take a walk, or stay on the field. Kendrick is likely to steal more bases but it will not be enough of a difference to equal Hill’s fantasy value. I will take Aaron Hill every time, especially in a re-draft league. In keeper leagues, I might give Kendrick greater consideration because of his still high potential. However, Hill has to be the choice for any team not in re-building mode.

Derek Carty-The Hardball Times Fantasy
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/fantasy/

I'd have to go with Hill.  Honestly, I never understood all the hype around Kendrick.  Until this year, he was a high-batting average player without much power or speed and a poor spot in the lineup.  At least now he's batting second, but considering he's never been able to stay healthy for a full season, cracking 10/10 might be the goal for his fantasy owners.  He could do better, however, with a full-season of at-bats and contribute piecemeal, similar to Kelly Johnson (though Johnson's raw skill set is better).

Still, I'm taking Hill.  He's a better bet to stay healthy (remember, his lost 2008 was due to a concussion, not something chronic), and has good skills.  He should be on at least a 15 HR pace (given 585 ABs) the rest of the way and could hit over 20 if some things break well for him.  He should also hit .275-.280 and score over 90 runs batting second for the Jays.  Throw in 60 or 65 RBIs and 5 SB and you've got a $10-12 player in a 12-team mixed league and someone superior to Kendrick.

Note that things would become more interesting if Kendrick could stay healthy for a full season, but it would be irresponsible to project him for that right now.

Tim Dierkes-RotoAuthority

Coming into the season, I had Kendrick at $7.01 and Hill at $2.54.  Despite his slow start, I still expect Kendrick to hit at a .305-8-60-68-12 pace from here on out.  I wouldn't adjust him downward.  But I would feel comfortable adjusting Hill upward from my .276-12-62-71-5 projection/pace.  Something closer to a 20 HR, 80 RBI type season.  So I think that gives Hill a few bucks on Kendrick.  I prefer Hill for the remainder of the year.

Even granting that he can't keep up his current pace through the rest of the year, I give the edge to Aaron Hill. His peripheral skills are good enough to keep his average above .300, and while he's always had some power (at least more than Kendrick), he apparently has found even more over the past few years. Kendrick, meanwhile, doesn't have much to offer if his many ground balls and few fly balls don't find enough gaps to fall in. He is good enough to recover from his current slump and be a high-average speed threat, but I don't think any power to rival Hill's will magically appear in Kendrick's record this year.

We'd take Aaron Hill.  While his hot start helps, we would have preferred him to Howie Kendrick in March, too.  Hill missed most of 2008 with post-concussion syndrome.  The 26-year-old smacked 17 HR in 2007 and has batted .291 in each of the previous two seasons.  Full recovered now, Hill has a prominent spot in the Jays lineup.  With the second base crop thin as usual, Aaron could have been drafted in round 20 or later.  For a middle infielder who drove in 78 runs and scored 87 times just two years ago, he made for a low risk, high reward pick late in your draft.

Howie Kendrick has 13 major league homers in 1000 AB's.  With a GB/FB ratio of 1.17 last year, expect his power numbers to stay down again in 2009.  While he's young enough to improve, too many people play the waiting game year in and year out... only to be disappointed.

I'm taking Aaron Hill.  If you can guarantee me that both players will get 550 ABs, I'd lean towards Kendrick because of his average and speed advantage.  But I don't trust him to stay healthy.  It's two years in a row that he couldn't even make 100 games.  If I'm in a shallow league (say 10-12 team MLB or a larger mixed league with no 2B/SS slot), you can maybe make an argument that Kendrick + free agent might have a slight advantage over Hill.  But in leagues where a MI free agent equals some schmohawk like Clint Barmes, I'll take Hill as the safer bet to make it through the year and give me the most value for that lineup slot.

Bonus: bold prediction.  Aaron Hill will not keep up his HR pace and set the record for HRs by a 2B.

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