Hitting
One of the nice things about Howard is that he's a real clutch hitter. If it's late in the game, and there are men on base, you want this guy at the plate. The book on Alcina is that you can knock the bat out of his hands with an average major league fastball. Let's face facts: Alcina hits a lot of ground balls... and in my book, if you're slow of foot and put the ball on the ground, you're bound to get tied up in the double play. He hits righthanders and lefthanders with equal consistency.

Baserunning & Defense
He has below-average speed and is stiff on the basepath. He's poor on a straight steal but has some success at reading pitchers and working a delayed steal. Minor league scouts have accused Alcina of being a liability in the field. Howard's arm leaves a little to be a desired.

          -- Moostard Nyman