QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 21, 2013 -> 07:29 AM)
Morel put up a .653 OPS in 2011, despite a monster September. He also didn't have any significant back injuries that year. Ignore last season, and this is basically his body of work at the major league level. All he's shown so far is that he can be a good glove, light-hitting 3B.
Let's be honest, no one knows what we have in Brent Morel at this point in time. A rookie season doesn't define a player, but let's not forget Morel was never an elite prospect to begin with. However, given what's he shown in nearly 600 ABs, there is simply no reason to rush him back to the majors, not when we have a capable starting 3B. Let him get consistent at-bats in AAA and prove himself once again. If he shows enough at Charlotte, then he can be considered for a role on the major league team later this season.
I'm with you. I'm not saying Keppinger is a sure thing, but there is absolutely no reason not to assume it's his job to lose. The guy was .329/.367/.439 last year, and Brent Morel was .245/.287/.366 in his NON-injured year. Yeah, Keppinger is probably not good at defense at third, but let's not forget that Morel hasn't exactly lived up to the hype of being the great defender we thought he was -- he has essentially graded out as a scratch defender in his time in the majors so far by UZR and I think the eye test has matched.
I'm not saying he can't be better than has been both offensively and defensively (our samples are small in both cases), but there's really nothing there so far to suggest otherwise. So in a year where you claim to be competing, there is no reason at all to force playing time for Morel to see what you have. Keppinger has got to lose the job first.