It’s unusual for a 24-year-old player to fall off the defensive cliff, but Mauro Saucedo appears to have done it. Saucedo played 158 games in center this year, accumulating a spectacularly poor -7.04 zone rating and a .963 DEFF. His numbers last season were at least milquetoast (1.42, .994), so the fact is that something is clearly distracting the young man.
You can see it in the detailed numbers, too.
In 2037, of course, the team played Saucedo in center for only 109 games (Carlos Camacho played 39, and AAA gloveman Anibal Moran played 14). When we break out the 2037 and 2038 performances for center fielders, even though we have to squint at 2037 due to the partial playing time, we see exactly what the difference has been.
Bottom line: in the “green zones” where any normal defender should be able to handle the role, Saucedo managed fly balls just fine, but was three and a half plays worse on line drives. In the tougher yellow zones, Saucedo lost another 1.5 line drives, but dropped a metric ton of 7 fly ball outs. And, finally, in the red zones where only the elite can be expected to do a lot, Saucedo’s performance on line drives was mediocre, but he lost a whopping 4.6 plays that an average defender made. It all totals up to say the Yellow Springs centerfielders in 2038 (mostly Saucedo) were a total of 16 plays worse than center fielders in 2037 (often Saucedo).
So, yes, the kid has lost a step and it shows.
The problem, of course, is that right now the club has limited options. It could go back to Moran, who struggles a bit with the bat, or it could promote prospect Michel Noel, who looks promising, but has been losing a bit of his shine. He may also not really be ready. Some are asking the team to make a deal to bring in a real center fielder, but that may take more prospect value than the club is willing to move. Of course, there’s the free agent market, which can be both flakey and hugely expensive.
“It would be better if Mauro Saucedo just grew a pair of legs,” said one fan. “The guy can hit a little, but he can’t do the job out there right now.”
Which is true enough, Saucedo was a valuable asset at the top of the order against righthanded pitching, hitting .298/.350.,496 against them. And he was “good enough” against left handers to play every day (.277/.329/.396)—which is something that makes a difference in Yellow Springs’ platoon-heavy concept. Moving him isn’t as easy as just plugging in a new player and brushing off your hands.
Still, its seems clear that the Yellow Springs front office needs to find an answer to this issue soon.
9-News: 38.131 – Saucedo Needs to Move
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Re: 9-News: 38.131 – Saucedo Needs to Move
I love these stat breakdowns. I hate awful defensive centerfielders.
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Re: 9-News: 38.131 – Saucedo Needs to Move
I know a CF with "Sweet" range who may pair up nicely in a bad contract swap with Chavez.
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