9-News - 48.011: Season Preview – Outfield

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9-News - 48.011: Season Preview – Outfield

Post by RonCo » Wed Sep 01, 2021 2:58 pm

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Add Slizz, Then Stir

March 31, 2048: Fool’s Gulch, AZ – Like most everything else around the Yellow Springs baseball club, the Nine outfield continues to slowly evolve. At one point it was quite young, now it is not. Fans of the team have seen guys like Ricardo Mendoza begin their careers here, then move on, and others like Luis Costello join in mid-career, and leave for roster reasons. Still, most of the core has been “home-grown” in the sense that they spend time in the minors here. Look for the same kind of feel in 2048.

Center Field

The big deal, of course, is the signing of Sawyer Slizz, who is still a star, though perhaps a slightly tarnished one after posting “only” 3.8 WAR last season in Brooklyn. Word is that he’ll slide over from center field to play mostly right field against right-handed pitchers, and will occasionally spell current center fielder Arvin Duggan against some lefties.

Bottom line here is that the Nine are now blessed with two center fielders of quality—both capable of competing for a Zimmer with the glove, and both with 5 WAR potential overall. If center is how you begin to judge an outfield, then the Nine look pretty well set. This is a big deal because, though Duggan is only 26, the Nine suffered through the first part of 2047 after he broke a kneecap last spring. While the plan may be to optimize the pair as best as possible, the fact is that having both means depth in a critical defensive slot, and that’s hard to over-value.

That said, the plan seems to call for Duggan to get the majority of reps in center, and that should be a good thing.


Left Field: After some late-season posturing and payroll shuffling, the Nine finally got their act together, admitted the obvious, and signed Rex Foster to a long-term deal, structured in such a way to help them navigate around other contracts. This means one of the better outfielders in the game will return to platoon with Natsume Kondo, perhaps one of the more under-rated outfielders in the game.

Everyone knows Foster, of course. Though injuries have limited his time a bit, the 27-year-old native of New York makes a splash everywhere he goes—which will tend to happen anyway when you can make 7 WAR in a mostly platoon role. The kid can hit. In fact, since he hits lefties just a little (his career 83 OPS+ against LHP is barely enough to squeak by), if he were playing full time, some suggest he’d gather enough counting numbers to be a routine contender for the Silk. Instead, he hits mostly against RHP, who he destroys to the tune of a 167 career OPS+.

That’s right. +167.

Read it and freaking weep.

Kondo may be his perfect match, though. He’s 25 years old now, and having worked through a bit of development looks like he’s hitting his peak. Assuming 2047 is that peak, it’s a pretty good one. Against those left-handed pitchers that eat Foster for lunch, Kondo posted a 164 OPS+ last year.

That’s right. +164.

So average Foster and Kondo and you get a heaping plate full of trouble for opposing mangers. That said, Kondo’s number is one year and 150 or so plate appearances. Let’s watch another season before we get going too fast for our britches.


Right Field

As noted, the expectation is that LHB Sawyer Slizz will platoon in right. His partner will be RHB Bret Powers. Powers is 27 and has been putting up 2 WAR in the RH-platoon slot for the past three seasons. He’s hit 62 homers over those three seasons, and could arguably double that if her were playing fulltime. If he could take a walk, perhaps he would be. He was very Kondo-like last year, posting a 157 OPS+ against LHB (and a 110 vs RHP).

So. Yeah. There’s that.


OVERALL GRADE:

Bottom line here, is that the Nine have five high-quality outfielders. Look in the minors and you’ve got at least three guys who could make a WAR or two if needed. Maybe more.

I admit I haven’t done a full scan, so feel free to disregard me here. But I’m willing to bet this is the best overall outfield in the BBA as it stands today.

Let’s call it an A+, and see what happens.
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