AL Central Rundown: Left Field

I have to give the Cleveland team an A. Of course I am an Eddie fan, but take that away and think of what Cleveland has had in the OF the last two years.  I have never seen a worse team of OFs than they have put together.  So they get an A because they really changed the dynamics and if Francona is healthy Rosario will look even better in the OF.  Their projected lineup has Eddie #3.  In the final Off Season video on TD the panelists - Bonnes, Nelson, and Stohs were all stuck trying to put the lineup together because of Eddie's absence - that said a lo too.  

I really hope Kiriloff gives us a solid B - I am expecting it. 

KC has made some very interesting moves this off season and I am anxious to see what they put together. 

Detroit did better than the grade.  For them any position that gives you anything above replacement is a positive.  They deserve at least a C.

Eloy is a mystery.  If Rosario is knocked down for his fielding and Giminez is much worse as you indicate than the grade is too high. 

I don't see how Rosario grades lower than Kiriloff for this season. I think Grossman is average which should make him a C.  I agree Benintendi is a bit of an unknown but worth a shot for KC.  Thanks for the article.

I don't see how Rosario grades lower than Kiriloff for this season. I think Grossman is average which should make him a C.  I agree Benintendi is a bit of an unknown but worth a shot for KC.  Thanks for the article.

If all goes well this season, you'll see.

A few quick thoughts on the grades themselves:

Detroit: IF they get the 2020 version of Grossman they have to be a C. He can be a solid table setter with a few RBI at the top of the order.

KC: Agree on the C grade based on the Benintendi we've seen the last couple of seasons.

Cleveland: "A" for effort and improvement...the kind of signing they should have made 2-3yrs ago...but the C+ is probably accurate. If Rosario hits to the same level as he bas the past couple of years, I would argue for a grade somewhere in the "B's".

Dirty Sox: IMO, you can't discuss/examine Rosario's defense and not downgrade Jimenez for the same. I think a slight downgrade to B+ may be in order.

Twins: INCOMPLETE. I fully appreciate the perspective presented here, but I'm calling the grade incomplete at this time as theee are too many things in motion right now to put any big, red letter at the top of the page.

I think AK will be fine defensively, and I think he is going to be an outstanding offensive player. I'm still a little uncertain as to his AVG/OB skills vs pure power ceiling, but he's going to be a STUD. I agree Cave is a nice ballplayer and a fine 4th OF who gets a bad rap only because his offense has been streaky at times. Rooker has a chance to have a nice career as a bat first player who can play 3 spots as well as DH. Jury is still out, obviously, as to how good he can be.

Arraez was handed an OF glove in 2019 and thrown out in to LF. All things considered, I didn't think he performed all that bad. Now he has time to actually work on the position to be at least passable in his new role. Kirilloff will be the guy soon, if not immediately. And I'm not going to rehash the service time issue as it's been done to death already and we don't even know if jts going to happen. But I will repeat that a few weeks at AAA to get going and let Arraez and Rooker get a shot isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I wouldn't be shocked if AK is in the ROY conversation once the smoke clears however.

I think Kiriloff has an excellent chance to be ROY as well even though the competition will be fierce.

Eloy Jim HAS to be rated above Eddie.  They are both poor defensive OF'ers but Eloy Jim's offensive potential is certainly higher than Eddie's.  

If you had a chance to have either Eddie or Eloy Jim, who would you take ???

Eloy Jim.  Discussion ended.

If we have healthy Buxton we could live with Rooker in short bursts, but if Rooker is our starter in LF we will be in for some adventures in OF.  He is basically a statute out there and teams will drool thinking of hitting balls his way.  Eloy is similar bad defender.  I am looking forward to having not Gordon in LF for royals stealing doubles away every game.  Personally, I do not get why they put such poor defenders in LF for offense. 

Mike,

 

Thanks for reading and commenting. The grading process was hard. I relied in projected fWAR for the grades, which overwhelmingly made Eloy the best.

 

I know you don't want to hear this but the Twins are going to be better defensively without Eddie. I don't necessarily think uncertainty means they get knocked.

I have not read that Kiriloff is good in the field.  I have to see that.  Here is what baseball Savant has as his scouting grades - Kirilloff has the skills to be an average corner outfielder, with enough range and a solid arm to fit nicely in right field. He played a good amount of first base in 2019, something that will continue as the Twins want to increase his versatility, and he could be a better than average defender there. 2020 Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 55 | Run: 50 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 55

I do not want to knock Kiriloff, I have high hopes that he will not only surpass Eddie, but also Kepler and Buxton in everything but fielding.  And he should at least match Eddie this year, but as a rookie I do not see him unlocking his potential, just giving us an excellent player.  I said B because I also see him being kept out of the lineup for contract considerations in the first month.  So solid B and hoping for more.

I gave you the reasons for my grading of the others.  I also saw it as a team grade not an individual which is why I gave Cleveland such a good grade.   Here are the starting OFs for Cleveland last year - Luplow - LF - 192/304/359,  DeShields - CF - 252/310/318,  Naquin - RF - 218/248/383.  That is a horrible OF and it was terrible in 2019 too.  So Eddie raises the bar significantly which is why the team gets an A for LF from me. 

I know grading is hard (I have been a college instructor for decades) and in this case it is all subjective.  So nothing personal, I just gave you my take.  I really enjoy these exercises - thank you. 

These grades need help. 

I would give Detroit a C / C+.  When you get league average /solid both defense and offense for just 5 million is a solid grade.

Kansas City B- Benentini can be anywhere from done to near allstar level.  With the expectation he will be above average.

Cleveland B   Rosario has his warts but he can also hit and comes at a reasonable price.  I wouldn't blame a B- grade either, but a C is league average baseline. 

White Sox is A-/B+  it depends on just how bad his defense really is and if he can take that next step.  

Minnesota C+ / Incomplete We don't have a set LF at the moment.  We do know we have a lot of potential options who should develop into above average and all star level players but rookie seasons can be a developmental season and not give us above average production.  I guess with Arreaz getting enough time with his batting title bat in the lineup can push the grade to a B- with enough time there....