Norris boosting batting average: Oakland catching prospect Derek Norris certainly knows how to make a good first impression. Norris, who was obtained from Washington in the offseason deal for pitcher Gio Gonzalez, is hitting .312 with five homers and 27 RBI during his first season at the Triple-A level. He is also slugging a career-high .529. "I'm just trying to get into a good position to hit and put the barrel on the baseball," he told MLB.com. (Updated 05/21/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/24/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Norris, ranked as Oakland's seventh-best prospect by MLB.com, was already considered a strong power hitter after belting 69 homers in his first five pro seasons. But this year, he has improved his overall batting average and is producing 70 points higher than his career mark (.242) entering 2012. "I was taking way too many pitches last year, getting behind in counts and obviously your percentages go way down when you take strikes," he said. Norris is still blocked by Kurt Suzuki at catcher, but Fantasy owners in long-term keeper leagues should track his progression. (Updated 05/21/2012).
01/31/2012 12:58 2012 Fantasy outlooks: Oakland Athletics
The Athletics became mainstream in recent months thanks to Hollywood, but the roster taking shape for 2012 is nothing to write home about. Our Scott White puts Oakland under the microscope.
The good news is Derek Norris once again demonstrated an exceptional batting eye and plus power in 2011. The bad news is his shortcomings only became more apparent with his promotion to Double-A Harrisburg. As Norris advances up the minor-league ladder, he looks less and less like a player capable of hitting for a high batting average against higher-level pitching, which is of course a hindrance to his eventual Fantasy value. A broken hand prior to the 2010 season could explain his low batting average then, but not now. He still has time to improve that aspect of his game, of course, but at this point, you have to consider the low batting average a part of his profile. As long as he continues to walk at a high rate, he could still thrive as a .230-ish hitter, as Carlos Santana did in 2011, so Norris remains an excellent long-term keeper option. But even with his move to Oakland in the Gio Gonzalez trade this offseason he's unlikely to make a Fantasy impact in 2012. The Athletics still have Kurt Suzuki blocking him, and Norris could use the extra time to develop anyway. (Updated 2/1/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
