I dont get the criticism of Gattis in LF. However, IMO he is worth much more as a trade chip in the event McCann resigns with us.
I agree that it's overstated, esp. considering how bad Justin Upton has been out there. Justin cost us two more runs yesterday, if that were Gattis we'd never hear the end of it. I didn't expect Justin to do so poorly defensively this year. He's been bad in both right and left field. Plus Justin throws to the wrong base a lot, overthrows the cut off man, etc. He's long been bad that way however (even in Arizona when he showed great range, etc). He's at -10 DRS (defensive runs saved) in the outfield thus far.
That said, Justin should improve in left with more time out there. Bottom line: Gattis and Justin Upton both have given us an OPS over .800 with the bat. So I'll take my chances with their defense given their potential with the bat. I know Gattis lacks in range but he also has a strong arm too. He's thrown out two runners at the plate. Plus he'd have a few more assists at second too if not for some dropped balls by Uggla.
The difference is Justin has been bad, but we have good reason to think he can do much better.
I expect so as far as getting to balls, but Justin is what he is as far as what he does with after that. He's always been one of the worst at throwing to the wrong base, etc. There was an ESPN article not long ago that covered his track record in that regard. Further, I wouldn't rule out Gattis improving in left either. But as long as he's going back and forth from left to catcher and sometimes first. Well, I'd expect that to make it tougher to be consistent. He's done better than I expected at it all things considered.
Credit for what? Am I supposed to say he's a good or average defender when he's not? Over the course of a full season, that's like 30-40 runs.
Offensively, I'm not a fan. (mainly low OBP). But, the power was great early on.
SeasonSplit BB% K% BB/K AVG OBP SLG OPS ISO BABIP wRC wRAA wOBA wRC+
2013 Mar/Apr 7.10% 22.60% 0.32 0.25 0.31 0.566 0.875 0.316 0.25 13.1 3.8 0.372 139
2013 May 4.30% 24.60% 0.18 0.317 0.362 0.683 1.045 0.365 0.341 14.3 6.7 0.437 184
2013 Jun 16.70% 16.70% 1 0.083 0.233 0.333 0.567 0.25 0 1.6 -1.8 0.239 47
2013 Jul 1.70% 20.70% 0.08 0.263 0.276 0.333 0.609 0.07 0.318 4.4 -2.1 0.269 67
2013 Aug 9.10% 4.50% 2 0.25 0.318 0.35 0.668 0.1 0.263 1.9 -0.6 0.28 76
Table not showing up good. OPS by month:
.875
1.015
.567
.609
.668
Braves1976 (08-12-2013)
Gattis doubters have been DYING to be able to pump their chests all season. The book is not closed on El Oso Blanco.
Natural Immunity Croc
Now and future:
Freeman>Simmons>Heyward
Even though J-Hey is the most talented of the bunch by far, I don't see him accepting a hometown discount, and that is part of the reason I am "ok" with letting him go. He is too inconsistent of a hitter for us to throw close to, if not over 100 million dollars at. Spend the money you would on Heyward and spend it on Justin Upton. He's likely the much better player offensive player over the next 5-10 yrs anyways. I would say it's next to impossible to keep both of them long term.
Freeman, I think, is going to one of those players who will get consistently underrated by most people around baseball due to his lack of power. I think we'll keep him around for awhile due to this.
Simmons is a player you don't try to extend for awhile. Lite hitting defensive specialists typically do not require much to attain. I think Simmons develops into a decent hitter, but not enough to make him a marquee player. We can wait on him for a 3-4 yrs before we have to worry about resigning him. Hopefully keep him around for something similar to what Bourn got this past off-season
I think we should be more worried about extending Minor or Teheran than anyone else honestly.
Last edited by Carp; 08-12-2013 at 07:48 PM.