The Rangers have traded outfielder and former first-round pick John Mayberry Jr. to the Phillies for another outfielder and former first round-pick, Greg Golson.
I like Golson a lot better. Mayberry will be 25 next month; he's shown good power in the minors, but little else. I can't believe he'll ever make enough contact to be a major league regular. Golson turned 23 in September and is still more tools than anything else, but he isn't completely hopeless. He showed a fairly broad base of skills as a 22-year-old at AA. hitting for average and a bit of power. His plate discipline, like Mayberry's, was dreadful, but nowhere near as bad as in 2007, when he managed a remarkable two walks against 49 strikeouts in 153 at bats at AAA. Golson's overall 2008 numbers (.282/.333/.434) suffered because of his horrible play in June and (to a lesser extent) July, after an HBP triggered some wrist trouble. Golson is less impressive than Ranger CF prospect Julio Borbon, who I'm not a big fan of, but I still like this trade for Texas because they're giving up very little.