Fw: [情報] The 10 best outfields
※ [本文轉錄自 MLB 看板 #1F0g8bzi ]
作者: Westmoreland (Westy) 看板: MLB
標題: [情報] The 10 best outfields
時間: Tue Jan 3 14:37:20 2012
1. Arizona Diamondbacks
Justin Upton hovered on the edges of the National League MVP race last
season, eventually finishing fourth in the voting, yet there is a sense
among the Arizona talent evaluators that Upton, now 24, has barely
scratched the surface of what he could be. And this is a slugger who
racked up 75 extra-base hits last season and had an OPS-plus of 141, while
playing in 159 games; the D-backs believe that as he reduces the emotional
peaks and valleys of his at-bats, as he gains more consistency, he'll win
an MVP award.
But Upton is just part of why the Arizona outfield is so good. Chris Young
ranked second among center fielders in UZR/150, and had 20 homers and 22
stolen bases. Jason Kubel was signed to play left field and to balance a
D-backs' lineup that has generally been right-handed-heavy, and while the
addition of Kubel would seem to nudge Gerardo Parra out of a regular spot
in left field, where he won a Gold Glove last season, Parra figures to get
a lot of playing time as a strong No. 4 outfielder for Arizona. He'll
finish some games for Kubel in left and get a decent amount of starts,
sometimes filling in for Young against right-handers with good breaking
balls. It's a great group, with offensive production, speed, defense,
balance and depth.
2. New York Yankees
The Yankees' outfielders scored 322 runs last year, with Curtis Granderson
leading the way; he compiled 136 runs, 41 homers, 119 RBI, 25 stolen
bases. But the other parts of the Yankees' outfield excelled in other
ways, too -- Brett Gardner didn't win the Gold Glove Award for left
fielders in the AL, despite having easily the best UZR/150 rating among
all position players. Gardner had a crisis of confidence early in the
year, but worked through that and wound up swiping 49 bases.
Nick Swisher hit 23 homers, drew 95 walks and ran up pitch counts, skills
that prompted the Yankees to bring him back for another year -- although
they have quietly checked around on possible alternatives, as they prepare
for his possible departure after next season. Swisher has played in 150 or
more games in six consecutive seasons.
3. Texas Rangers
Ron Washington has depth and talent to work with, from Josh Hamilton to
Nelson Cruz to David Murphy to Leonys Martin. The Rangers do fret over
Hamilton's impatience at the plate, his tendency to give away at-bats
early in the count, and his nagging injuries -- in spite of his
picturesque swing and power, Hamilton finished last season with a .346 on-
base percentage.
Cruz's hamstring issues are as inherent on his resume as his power; he's
played a total of 360 games over the last three seasons. Murphy is the
tortoise of the group -- over the last four seasons, he's had anywhere
from 111 to 122 hits annually. At some point, the Rangers would love for
Martin to establish himself in center field, to enable Hamilton to make
more starts in left field.
4. Milwaukee Brewers
Ryan Braun may miss the first 50 games of the upcoming season, depending
on how he fares in his appeal of a positive drug test. But whenever he
becomes part of the Brewers' lineup, the Milwaukee outfield will be the
backbone of the team's production. Braun won the NL MVP, posting a league-
high OPS of .994 -- although he may have difficulty mustering that kind of
production given the likely departure of Prince Fielder, who hit behind
Braun in the Brewers' lineup. Corey Hart hit .285 last year, often hitting
at the top of the Milwaukee lineup; he's scored 171 runs over the last two
seasons. Nyjer Morgan hit .304 last season, with a .357 on-base
percentage.
5. Los Angeles Angels
It's like the Angels have two different outfields -- the veterans who are
on the downsides of their respective careers, and the young players who
are working to establish themselves. Peter Bourjos seemed to take a big
step forward last season, showing some pop, with 36 doubles, 11 triples
and 12 homers, and increasing his OPS by nearly 150 points in his second
season.
Eventually, Mike Trout will become an every-day presence in the Angels'
outfield, but for now, they are paying Torii Hunter and Vernon Wells to
man the corners. Hunter is entering the final season of his five-year, $90
million deal, had a generally solid season last year, hitting 23 homers;
it's possible the responsibility of hitting behind Albert Pujols will be
his, and that he will have a whole lot of RBI opportunities. Wells is
entering Year 5 of his seven-year, $126 million deal, with $63 million
still on the books, and they waited and waited in 2011 for offense that
never came from him; Wells finished the year at .218, with 25 homers, 20
walks and 86 strikeouts. It'll be interesting to see how patient the
Angels are with him if he doesn't hit well in the first half of 2012 --
especially with Trout poised to jump into the big leagues for good.
6. St. Louis Cardinals
There's no denying the Cardinals have tremendous offensive potential with
its outfield in 2012; Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran finished seventh
and eighth, respectively, in OPS among all outfielders. But the Cardinals
do have injury questions, starting with Allen Craig, who will open the
2012 season after having knee surgery. Beltran played 142 games last year,
and Giants manager Bruce Bochy said that despite the concern over
Beltran's knees, they were never a problem as Bochy filled out his lineup
card in the last two months of the season. Holliday, who turns 32 next
month, played in 124 games last season because of a variety of injuries.
Jon Jay, the center fielder, hit .297 last year.
7. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers invested a whole lot of money in Matt Kemp, after his MVP-
caliber season and after he came to camp devoted to playing hard daily;
other players on the team were deeply impressed by how invested Kemp was
in the Dodgers' performance last season, despite all of the big-picture
troubles the team was having. Right fielder Andre Ethier may or may not be
entering his last year with the team -- a pre-deadline trade this summer
is possible -- and L.A. has an unsettled situation in left field, although
they signed Juan Rivera to a one-year, $4 million deal. At some point, the
Dodgers would probably love for 24-year-old Jerry Sands to establish
himself.
8. Boston Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury has developed into one of the American League's best
players, and it's worth considering one more time all the damage that he
did last summer: 83 extra-base hits (among 212 hits), 52 walks, 119 runs
and 39 stolen bases, and he led all center fielders in UZR 150.
Carl Crawford can't possibly play as poorly in 2012 as he did in 2011 --
can he? Crawford seemed to suffocate under the enormous pressure he put on
himself, and it probably would behoove him to glance again at the back of
his baseball card, which has a whole lot of spectacular numbers. The Red
Sox haven't yet settled their right field situation; Ryan Kalish will not
be part of the solution early in the year, because he's suffered a setback
in his injury rehab.
9. Kansas City Royals
Alex Gordon was healthy in 2011 and blossomed, posting a .376 on-base
percentage and an .879 OPS and winning a Gold Glove in left field. Jeff
Francoeur has been part of the baseball landscape for so long that it's
easy to forget he is just 27 years old (he turns 28 in 10 days) and he
appears to have settled in -- Francoeur, a strong complementary hitter in
the K.C. lineup, racked up 71 extra-base hits and drove in 87 runs, and
earned a multi-year deal from the Royals. Melky Cabrera had a good year in
2011 but the Royals moved him, largely to make room in center field for
Lorenzo Cain, who has hit .302 in his first 181 plate appearances in the
big leagues; he thrived in Triple-A last year, pushing Kansas City to make
room for him.
10. Baltimore Orioles
Nick Markakis might be the best player casual baseball fans don't know.
But managers and coaches know him, which is why he won a Gold Glove for
his play last season, and he has missed only 11 games over the last five
seasons. Adam Jones is mercurial in center field, hitting for some power
and playing good defense.
Honorable mention: The Atlanta Braves, who could have a really good group
-- depending on what happens with Martin Prado, who has been dangled in
trade talks this winter and may be better served going someplace else to
play second, and with Jason Heyward, who will try to rebound from a
frustrating 2011 season. The Cleveland Indians could have a good outfield,
with Shin-Soo Choo, Michael Brantley and Grady Sizemore, if Sizemore can
finally rebound all the way back from the ailments that have crushed his
production in recent seasons.
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 118.160.196.80
推
01/03 14:39, , 1F
01/03 14:39, 1F
→
01/03 14:53, , 2F
01/03 14:53, 2F
推
01/03 19:39, , 3F
01/03 19:39, 3F
推
01/03 20:22, , 4F
01/03 20:22, 4F
推
01/03 20:45, , 5F
01/03 20:45, 5F
推
01/03 21:08, , 6F
01/03 21:08, 6F
推
01/03 21:26, , 7F
01/03 21:26, 7F
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
※ 轉錄者: uglyduck92 (220.135.37.195), 時間: 01/03/2012 21:55:49
Royals 近期熱門文章
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章