Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRedChief
He is a way better defensive player than Jay. Grichuk can get to every ball that Jay can. He will take a better route and has a way better arm.
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I don't get why you and Hamas are so hard on Grichuk. We all know this is not the best he is capable of. He looks like shit almost every game in at least one AB and sometimes every AB in a game. Even with the horrible AB's he is still hitting .284 with a .894OPS. How do you not play him over Jay/Bourjas?
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A) You're just making my point here - no, he's not a 'way' better defensive player than Jay. He isn't as good getting back on balls as Jay is and it's getting back on balls that saves XBHs. A double about 66% more likely to yield a run than a double. What Jay does well is slightly more likely to save a run than what Grichuk does well (it's how Heyward has also built such a sterling defensive rep). And no, Grichuk is not going to take a better route - Grichuk's made some great plays but he's done so
despite his routes. Perhaps in time he'll get to that point, but its absurd to say that he's presently a more direct route-runner than Jay in CF.
Grichuk is a fringe GG candidate in the corners, but people are just completely ignoring the defensive spectrum when they act like he's just that good in CF as well. They do the same when they treat Jay as though he wouldn't be a plus corner OFer defensively (especially since he's been an above average defensive CFer).
No, Grichuk is not substantially better at tracking down fly balls than Jay is. He gets in on them better, Jay goes back on them better. Grichuk's lateral range is actually probably about the same as Jay's because Jay actually does take a better path to the ball. Grichuk has a better arm than Jay but of the 5 tools, arm is easily the least important. I'm not going to base a decision on a guys throwing arm. That's a bonus.
Jay had a putrid defensive season in 2013. Apart from that he's shown himself to be a plus defender in CF and this season has been no different. He's not elite defensively out there, but Grichuk isn't either. You've allowed Dan and Al to convince you that Grichuk's is a world class sprinter and that's simply not the case. Grichuk is an above average runner with slightly above average speed for a CFer. That's it. He's not a gold glove CFer.
B) I'd play Bourjos over Grichuk (well that's not true, I'd timeshare the two) precisely because I think you're wildly overrated Grichuk's speed and his defense. The fact that you're buying guys that say 'laying off balls in the dirt' is something you can just teach the guy shows me you're just hearing what you want to hear. This isn't his first year in pro ball - his minor league walk rate was also abysmal. This is who Randal Grichik is offensively - he's a mad hacker that swings hard in case he hits it. That's who he'll always be. The list of guys that suddenly found religion as it relates to strike zone discipline is INCREDIBLY small. It doesn't happen. The guy has a sub 5 BB rate, a K rate of 30% and a BABIP of .370 - I don't know what to tell you if you can't see the myriad of problems that those figures present.
I'm not hard on Grichuk - I'm realistic as to some extremely large holes in his game. He's going to get over-exposed, the same way Reynolds has. Bourjos brings an all-world glove to CF; a guy that can change the way your pitchers approach games. His skill set is simply something I value a great deal.