Jim's desire to have play Rowdy over an EE had less to do with his belief in Rowdy and more to do with the fact that he doesn't like anyone over 30.
In the off season, I was still hopeful Rowdy could progress but I wouldn't have been adverse to bringing in a guy like Edwin on a one year contract. In the off season we still thought Vlad would play 3rd. I still believe EE can turn it around.
This year I felt Rowdy looked fitter come summer camp and he just wasn't pulling off near as many pitches. I've always loved his swing. He has great flexibility for a big guy and creates very good angles. The fact that he wasn't striking out near as much and was still hitting lots of fly balls combined with what he did in summer camp was why I said I felt he was going to be good this year despite crappy numbers. He still swung at way too many pitches out of the zone his first month of the season. He just made more contact as he was staying on the ball more. The last couple weeks he's had a much more discipline approach and his swings at pitches outside the zone have decrease a lot. This could just be a stretch where he's locked in and confident, but if he can continue laying off pitches outside the zone he will be an elite power hitter.
Regardless BTS' Jabari Blash comp seems comical now.