1st Base

#25 Derrek Leon Lee


2004:
.278 AVG, .356 OBP, .504 SLG

The Cubs need Lee to step up and be more than just an average offensive 1st baseman. Derrek had an amazing June 2004(.385/.444/.673) but the rest of his season did not quite meet expectations in his first year with the Cubs. He ended up with an OBP of .356, 20 points lower than the previous 2 years. Lee needs to get his OBP above .350 for more than 2 of the 6 months in 2005 to do his part in turning the Cub offense around.

Fortunately Lee is not grossly overpaid for his abilities, and is an overall positive for this Cubs team. With size and agility at 1st, Derrek's defensive presence seems to have helped cut down on throwing errors from the other infielders. On such a poor defensive team it is nice to have Lee as one of the high points in the field. If he can get his OBP back up Lee would be a good canidate for the #2 spot in the order.

Derrek is under contract through 2006 when he'll be 31, and I'd like to see him stay with Cubs if he can get a consistent OBP. If not, there will always be sluggers to be found for 1st base.