Evan Longoria Is Channeling His Inner Eric Chavez

Evan Longoria has drawn comparisons to a lot of players: David Wright, Scott Rolen, Dick Allen (R.J.'s favorite), but after two seasons the player he is most trending toward is Eric Chavez. Before you take a gasp for air or head towards the Skyway bridge, remember that for many years before being perennially injured, Chavez was Evan Longoria.

via www.fangraphs.com

After less than 50 plate appearances as a 20 year old, Chavez's average slash line from 1999-2004 (ages 21-26) was .276/.354/.503, and during those years he racked up four gold gloves. UZR only goes back to 2002, and from 2002-2004, his average UZR was 6.5. Not quite Longoria good, but still above average. I stopped at 2004 for a reason. That was the first year Chavez hit the DL. Since then he has played in just 418 of a possible 810 games and racked up 388 days on the DL with a laundry list of ailments.  

I have little doubt that Longoria can duplicate the numbers Chavez put up in his mid 20s. However, I hope that he is able to avoid the same injury bug that bit Chavez hard in his late 20s. So far, Longoria has had his fair share of injuries including: a fractured ulna chip (forearm), a mild foot strain, a hamstring strain, and a finger infection. Let's hope (pray) that Longoria's career is met with better luck and a better training staff otherwise we could end up like A's fans asking what could've been.