Tag Archives: defense

Jackie Bradley Jr. Is What the Red Sox Need

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“He cannot hit!”  “Send him down.”  Blah, blah, blah.  When discussing Jackie Bradley Jr. and what he means to the Red Sox, these are the responses I get.  However, I disagree.  Jackie Bradley Jr. is doing exactly what the Red Sox need him to do.  Jackie Bradley Jr. is currently hitting .225 with two homeruns and six runs batted in.  If his average climbs to the .240-.250 range for the season, that is all we need.

Defensive Wizard

In case you are living under a rock, Jackie Bradley Jr. is already making jaw-dropping plays.  His spectacular catch against the Marlins is pretty much forgotten because of the catch he made against the Orioles.

Watch the catch here:

I mean, this ball is about a millionth of a centimeter from touching the ground, and JBJ swoops in and catches it.  The fact that Jackie Bradley Jr. was not a finalist for a Golden Glove last season is a joke.  If you search “Jackie Bradley Jr. Catch”, about thirty different shocking plays will pop up.  JBJ takes so many runs away from opposing teams.  In addition to Craig Kimbrel, David Price and Chris Sale, all owe him a debt of gratitude.  The hits he takes away from teams more than makes up for his (sometimes) disappointing bat.  However, by no means is Jackie Bradley Jr. a slouch at the plate.

Hitting

Is Jackie Bradley Jr. the best hitter on the Red Sox? No.  Is he an instant out?  Absolutely not.  JBJ can drive the ball.  When he gets a hold of one, it flies off his bat.  His numbers from the 2016 campaign are outstanding.  A .267 average, 26 homeruns, and 87 RBIs.  Many players only dream of achieving these stats.  Not to mention an All-Star selection and a 29-game hitting streak mixed in? Wow.  As a matter of fact, JBJ is one of only five Red Sox players to hit a homerun onto Eutaw Street at Camden Yards.  Only 89 dingers have reached Eutaw Street.  Jackie joins David Ortiz, who hit two, Mo Vaughn, Carl Everett, and Troy O’Leary. Not bad company to be in.

If Jackie Bradley Jr. keeps playing the way he is, there is no reason not to keep him in Boston long term.  With Scott Boras as his agent, he might look to get his client overpaid.  However, JBJ is a smart guy.  Despite this, I hope to see him manning center field for years to come.

#AllthewaywithJBJ

 

Follow Matt McGurn on twitter: @MickGurn

The Best Catchers in Baseball Long-Term

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Lists have been circulating for the top 10 players at each position “right now”. Personally, I like to look at things with more of a long-term view. My lists factor in age and don’t just focus on the 2018 season. I take a look at it in more of a, “who would I draft if I were starting a team from scratch”, sort of way. So someone like Yadier Molina, who is a borderline future Hall of Famer, would have a very difficult time making the list at the age of 35. I also do not factor Minor Leaguers into the equation, so Francisco Mejia will have to wait his turn.

1. Buster Posey

Buster Posey remains in the top spot for me, although barely. I had a long debate with myself over this top spot. At 30 years old, Posey isn’t a young chicken anymore, but he is far from old. There are a couple young bucks knocking on his door, ultimately defense led me to keep him atop his throne. The two young catchers making a case for the top spot have troubles behind the dish currently, whereas Posey is a strong defender.

Posey has batted .300 five times in his career, and in three of the past four seasons. His home run power has been declining, but he still knows how to spray the ball all over the yard. I also expect to see a slight rebound in his power as he is too good to finish with just 12-14 home runs again. For his career, Posey has batted .308 while averaging 20 homers per 162 games played. He has an .850 career OPS and is coming off a season in which he produced the second highest batting average and on-base percentage of his career.

The Giants like to play Posey at first base some to save his knees and keep him fresher, and I think it would be smart of them to continue to do that more now that he is in his thirties. Ultimately, I think Posey will move off catcher in a couple of years and continue to be a good hitter for years to come.

2. Willson Contreras

Contreras is the youngster I most debated with moving into the top spot. Looking into his defense though, I found he has plenty of work to do to become the all-around catcher Buster Posey is. Contreras has made 19 errors and allowed 13 passed balls in 165 games at catcher. His 13 errors last season tied for the most at the position. Contreras does have a strong arm though and still plenty young to improve on defense.

At the plate, Contreras is already showing a lot. After debuting on top prospects list before the 2016 season, Contreras raked at AAA Iowa to the tune of a .353 average and 1.035 OPS. Since getting the call-up midseason, Contreras has batted .278 with 33 home runs and an .851 OPS in 629 Major League at-bats. Not too shabby for a guy just starting out. His 21 home runs last season came in just 377 at-bats. With regular playing time, Contreras looks like a catcher who can hit above .280 with 25-30 home runs. With some improvement on the defensive side of things and I might just change my mind about that top spot.

3. Gary Sanchez

Sanchez is, admittedly, a lot better than I ever thought he’d be. He has put up much better numbers at the Major League level than he ever did in the minors. Strange how all the Yankees players seem to go from mediocre minor leaguers to stars in the Majors. Sanchez did make the top 100 of prospects lists many times however, and here he is following up on that promise. After destroying the baseball following his call-up two seasons ago, Sanchez batted .278 while homering 33 times last year. His .876 OPS was tops at the position, edging out Posey and Contreras. Sanchez appears to be a perennial 30 home run threat.

The reason Sanchez comes in at third on my list is his defense. Quite frankly, Sanchez has no business even being a catcher. It seemed like every time I watched him play last year he was dropping at least one pitch every game. His 13 errors last season tied him for the Major League lead, as did his 16 passed balls. Leading just one category is bad enough, but both? Just give the man a bat and sit him on the bench at all other times.

4. Salvador Perez

It seems like Perez has been around a while, yet he is still only 27. Perez comes in 4th on this list due to his great defense and his power bat. He never walks, leading him to an on-base percentage under .300 four years running. However, he has homered over 20 times in each of the last three, topping out at 27 last season. This power still led him to the 5th highest OPS at the position last year among guys with 400 plate appearances. I’ve also always gotten the feeling his bat would perform a little better if Ned Yost would give him a few more days off. Perez seems to play catcher more than anyone else year in and year out, and his bat typically fades in the second half.

Perez is thought very highly for his ability to handle a pitching staff. He also is very good at blocking balls in the dirt and at throwing out runners. As such, he had won four straight Gold Gloves before last season. He also has made the same amount of errors over the last three years combined as the two catchers above him on this list made last season alone. It took him four years to compile the amount of passed balls Sanchez did last year.

5. J.T. Realmuto

Realmuto, despite being in the league for half as long as Perez, turns 27 before the season starts. He is perhaps the fastest catcher in baseball, using that speed to steal 28 bases over the last three seasons. He also is a pretty decent hitter, hitting .303 in 2016. His average dropped to a still respectable .278 last season, but he added more power, hitting 17 home runs. His .783 OPS was just a little behind Perez.

His defense needs a little work, as he has made 22 errors and allowed 28 passed balls over his three seasons in the bigs. His defense isn’t so bad that he might get moved to a different position, but he has some work to put in before moving up the list.

6. Welington Castillo

Castillo has been perennially underrated the past few seasons. He has a power bat, for the position, and a strong throwing arm. Castillo broke out in 2015 after joining the Diamondbacks, hitting 17 home runs over just 274 at-bats. He was decent again in 2016 before setting some personal bests last season. Castillo hit a career high 20 home runs in only 341 at-bats. He batted .282 with a .490 slugging percentage and .813 OPS. Behind the plate, Castillo led the league by throwing out 49% of would be base stealers. At 30 years old and not a lot of innings on his legs, Castillo should remain a solid contributor for a few more years.

Welington Castillo watches a home run sail.

7. Mike Zunino

Zunino was drafted third overall by the Seattle Mariners in 2012. He tore up minor league pitching the rest of that season and was ranked by Baseball America as the 13th best prospect in baseball. The Mariners rushed him to the Majors the next season and Zunino wasn’t ready. Not given the proper time to develop, Zunino hasn’t been the player he was supposed to be. Before last season he was a .195 career hitter at the Major League level.

Early last season was much the same for Zunino, as he was batting .167 when he got sent to the minors in early May. Something clicked for Zunino after a second call-up though. Starting in June, Zunino batted .272 the rest of the way with 24 home runs. He had a stellar .582 slugging percentage and .936 OPS during that time, numbers that would even surpass Gary Sanchez. So the question is, which Zunino will we see moving forward? Will he revert back to the hitter he was before last season, or will the improvements take permanent hold?

Mariners catcher Mike Zunino hits a home run during the fifth inning against the Astros.

8. Austin Barnes

Barnes is a name not many people knew until the postseason last year. Barnes entered last year with a total of 61 career at-bats. He earned more and more playing time as last season progressed before ultimately usurping Yasmani Grandal for the starting catcher role. Barnes had batted .289 with 8 home runs and a stellar .408/.486/.895 slash line on the season. He then played in 15 games in the playoffs as opposed to just four for Grandal. There is precedence for Barnes’ hitting, as he was a career .299 hitter with a .388 on-base percentage during his minor league career.

9. Christian Vazquez

Red Sox fans have heard about Vazquez’ defense and amazing arm for years now. We finally got a chance to see it on a regular basis last year. Vazquez was the Red Sox main catcher and threw out 42% of attempted base stealers. This was right in line with his 43% in his career. He does have some work to do with blocking pitches, but I have little doubt the rest of his game behind the plate will improve.

Vazquez has always been good at getting his bat on the ball, so I thought he could develop into a solid contact hitter with decent averages. I was surprised to see him bat as high as .290 last year though in his first full season. Even if he can’t maintain an average that high moving forward, a contact hitter at catcher who can bat .270 while controlling the running game is a definite asset.

Christian Vazquez hits a walk-off three run homer of Indians closer Cody Allen.

10. Yasmani Grandal

This spot was up for grabs, and I ultimately went with Grandal, who might not even have a starting job this year. A low average hitter, Grandal has historically drawn a lot of walks while hitting for power. Last season though, his walks dropped off quite a bit while he struck out more than ever. This is a concerning development for Grandal fans and made me want to go in another direction. There aren’t a whole lot of options though, and with his power and just 29 years old Grandal still seemed like the choice. He has homered 49 times over the last two seasons.

Grandal is also considered to be an excellent pitch framer. That’s really all he has working for him behind the plate though, as he has led the league in passed balls in three of the past four seasons. His defense tends to be overrated by analytics.

Honorable Mentions:

Wilson Ramos, Yadier Molina, Jonathan Lucroy, Robinson Chirinos, Brian McCann

 

Featured picture from minorleagueball.com

The Bruins Strength This Year Will Surprise You

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The trendy opinion regarding the Bruins is that they will struggle on defense this year, just like the past few years.  But I’m here to tell you….that is “fake news”.

Sure, Zdeno Chara is 40 years old and certainly far from his prime, but you mean to tell me he still isn’t a difference maker?  With his training regimen and the shape he’s in, would it shock you if he released a book called ZC33 this year?  Most importantly, the infusion of youth on the back-end will allow Cassidy and the team to really manage his minutes this year as opposed to just saying they’ll manage his minutes.  If he is well rested in April, look out for the big man come playoff time.

Tory Krug had his best offensive season of his career last year with 51 points.   Six of his 8 goals coming on the PP while also improving his game in the defensive zone.  The Bruins went 3/14 on the PP against Ottawa in last year’s playoffs, and if Krug was healthy, I believe that series has a different outcome.

Did you like what you saw from Brandon Carlo prior to his injury last year? That’s rhetorical, so don’t answer that, of course you did. How about what you saw from Charlie “Norris TBD” McAvoy? At 18 years old, his first NHL action was in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and not only did he look like he belonged, he stood out in a series featuring the best defenseman in the world in Erik Karlsson. He will be a serious Calder trophy candidate, if not, the outright winner.

Kevan Miller was noticeably improved late last season on both ends of the ice, and looks to be a legitimate top 4 guy and his stay at home nature will allow Charlie to wheel and deal. Adam McQuaid is Adam McQuaid, love him or hate him his toughness and grit gives the backend some snarl, sorely lacking in today’s NHL.

Feel good about the Defense yet? Good, because you should, it’s the Bruins strength entering the 2017-18 season.

@jeffdyerbruins

Andy’s Candor: Matchup of the Game!

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“If a defensive lineman sacks a quarterback in the forest does he make a sound?”

The Patriots

That’s how I feel about the state of the defensive line of the New England Patriots. In the opener against KC they had some positives. Flowers had a good stat line of two sacks, six hits and eight pressures, but that was it. We knew coming into this season that the between the new faces and lack of star power manufacturing pass rush was the order of the day. The youthful energy and solid secondary would produce the finished product. So far, the returns are unimpressive. Other members of the front seven barely cracked the stat sheet, and with the loss of Hightower, the game against the Saints has taken an ominous tone.

The Saints

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 11: Everson Griffen #97 of the Minnesota Vikings sacks quarterback Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints in the third quarter of the game on September 11, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

But fear not Patriots Nation! If the state of our pass rushing sucks, then the offensive line of the Saints is downright deplorable! Heading out of training camp without LT Terron Armstead, they lost RT Zach Streif before two quarters of the 2017 season was over. This caused a normally explosive offense led by the prolific Drew Brees to fizzle and produce just 19 points. Including netting four field goals in the red zone.

Why it’s Important

This matchup is important for a multitude of reasons. Let the young guys get experience and confidence. Allow the Patriots defensive coaches to further gather information on their own personnel. Making sure that Drew Brees doesn’t get too comfortable and be able to pick apart the secondary. But, the biggest reason is that they need to prevent this game from becoming too big of a shootout. The offense still has kinks to work out and Brady has to be forced to trust other receivers on third down. And his Edelman and Amendola security blankets have been put in the wash and you have to get Tom used to the Hogan, and Cooks stuffy now, so it can pay off dividends in January.

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What to Watch in Pats 2017 Season

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By: Mark Saber Jr.

The 2017 season is days away.  We can almost picture that fifth banner being revealed. As New Englanders expect another damn-near perfect season, we need to be on the lookout for quite a few players, plays and coaches.

Focal points of the Patriots offense

There was so much hype in the off-season about the Brady-Cooks connection. While that sounds great, I do look forward to watching the Brady-Gronkowski connection after a year without it. Gronk has suffered quite a few injuries to his back, so the question lingers.  Will Gronk actually be Gronk? Will he get the same snap count Coach Bill used in the 2014 season? Or will he turn him loose?

New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman (11) scores a touchdown Denver Broncos strong safety Mike Adams (20) and defensive end Shaun Phillips (90) in the third quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

I would be willing to bet anything that the behemoth tight end will be put on a snap count, but off his leash. Just like Belichick says “The first quarter of the season means nothing.”   Meaning it all rides on how you finish (example: Five rings).

Life without Crown Jules

Another situation that bears watching: how the Patriots can bounce back from the Edelman ACL season-ending injury. Yes, I understand the Patriots have not looked this stacked on the offensive side of the ball since 2007. But I do expect some sort of lag, just not for too long.  A short-term lag. Brady without his security blanket might look a little strange. Remember when the Pats let Welker go and everyone thought the world ended?   Edelman and Amendola stepped up to help keep it going.

Of course Edelman wound up locking down Wes’ old job.  It will be a tad heart wrenching not seeing Minitron out there on the field. Tommy will end up creating another strong relationship with another receiver.  A deep bench with Gronk, Cooks, Amendola, Mitchell, Hogan, etc.  Bottom line — I feel the Patriots should be just fine.

Focal Points of the Patriots defense

Something I do look forward to see: the duo between Butler-Gilmore. The Patriots haven’t had two true shut-down corners like this since the 2014 season. I am stoked to see this come to fruition.  I feel now that Gilmore had the whole off season to get fully acclimated with the Patriots scheme.   I expect him to shine.

I understand that the Kony Ealy trade did not work out for NE, but I still predict the defense to make at least top 10. I’d say they rank #6 overall. But I do expect an overall strong season from the Pats D. My bold prediction for the defensive side of the ball for the Pats season?  The secondary holds the torch. They won’t allow opposing offenses to get their stud receivers in the game. I think we will see a ball-hawking defense. Scratch that, I expect that gritty ball-hawking defense. We all know how much Coach Bill takes pride in his front seven, so I do expect another overall solid season from them as well.

Bottom Line

Clearly the Patriots suffered a significant blow to the team when Julian Edelman went down with injury. But I expect the Patriots to remain on top as the juggernaut of the NFL (as always) and the offense will still torch opposing defenses. The same goes for the defense — it will crush opposing offenses. Things might be a little strange at first, but there is no one who is better at filling roster gaps than Bill Belichick.

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