Centerfield Grass Not Always Greener

During the past off-season there was a great debate whether the Braves had missed out on getting The Next Great Centerfielder. Division rivals Washington and Philadelphia quickly traded for youngsters Span and Revere , leaving noted hacker BJ Upton to the Braves. Other wished for the over-the-hill Shane Victorino or the high-priced Coors Field-enhanced stats of Dexter Fowler. Instead the Braves signed Astros-castoff Jordan Schafer almost as an afterthought. No one dreamed that by signing BJ, the Braves would be able to then trade for brother Justin. And with the advent of rookie slugger Evan Gattis, incumbent Jason Heyward, and pinch-hitter extraordinaire Reed Johnson, suddenly the Braves were suddenly overflowing with outfield talent.

Is the grass greener on the other side? Based on his price, Fowler was deemed out of reach. As the late May/early June statistics below suggest, Fowler has had a good month. But other potential Braves actually fared worse during this stretch. Boston ’s Victorino and media-darling Bryce Harper suffered injuries.

player…avg…OBP..SLG..OPS…R….H…HR..BI…BB…K

Gattis….289…389…778..1167…10…13…7..17….6.…9

Fowler…375…464…531…996…25…36...2…10..14…16

Schafer..324…410…471…881.….7…11…1…6.....5…10

BJUpton.206…308…441…749.….8…14…5…9…10…25

Harper…231…355…385…729.…4…..6…1….1….5.…6

Revere…313…340…364…703…11…31…0…3….4…10

D.Span…231…265…361…627...10…25…0…7….5…13

Victorino.265…324…294…618.…4….9….0….0….3.…4

JUpton…200…292…280…527…13…20…2…9…13…37

The full season statistics (through mid-June) tell a similar story below. Fans forget that much more important than statistics is where the teams rank in the standings. Individual players can slump or miss time due to injuries, but as long as their team is in first place they can work through the slump or take time to heal.

player…avg…OBP..SLG..OPS…R….H…HR..RBI…BB…K

Gattis….256…322…588…910…24…41…14…37…14…40

Fowler…301…397…494…891…47…72…10…26…33…57

JUpton…250…359…483…842…44…60…15…32…41…80

Schafer..302…402…438…839…17…29.…2.….9…16…28

Victorino.277…335…348…684…24…43.…2…10…13…20

Span……256…312…349…661…26…66.…0…18…20…37

Revere…271…309…308…617…25…60.…0.….8…12…27

BJUpton.166…264…312…576…17…33.…8…15…25…74

Unlike the Nats and Phils, the Braves gave up little to acquire all four outfielders, factoring in Martin Prado’s looming free-agency and Randall Delgado’s far from stellar rookie year. Perhaps Frank Wren was right after all.