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February 2, 2016Opening Day for the MLB season may still be a couple months away, but MLB Network is beginning to rank the top players at each position. At left field, there is a very familiar face atop the rankings of “The Shredder” as Cleveland Indians lefty Michael Brantley was named the best left fielder in baseball.
What is The Shredder, you ask?
An algorithm based on player performance that accounts for both offense and defense that was put together by MLB Network’s research department “without emotion or bias.” The Shredder uses an objective methodology to rank players at each position based on their track record as well as future projection. It weighs offensive and defensive statistics for a player in both one- and two-year increments, and places more emphasis on defense at positions on the right of the defensive spectrum: catcher, shortstop, second base and center field. It also takes into account a player’s durability as well as the offensive environment of his home park (in other words, it gives more credit to home runs hit in San Diego as opposed to Colorado).
Expected to miss the start of the season due to a November shoulder surgery (was expected to miss 5-6 months), the lefty will be missed not only in the Indians’ lineup, but also in the field. In 2015, he had a .310 batting average (second among LF), .379 on-base percentage (first), 45 doubles (first), 84 RBIs (second), and a .480 slugging percentage (third) in 137 games.
Co-host Brian Kenny, who had Brantley as his fifth-best left fielder in 2015, admitted that he was surprised of Brantley being named the league’s best left fielder by The Shredder.
“It might be a bit of a surprise,” Kenny said. “Brantley has turned into a tremendous player, but one who will start the season injured. In his last two years, he’s become a great player. What a terrific player when he’s playing.”
After seeing the Indians’ best hitter’s stats last season, Kenny mentioned that he would have listed Brantley higher on his rankings if he looked at those specific stats before making his final decision.
“I think I made a mistake,” Kenny said of leaving Brantley only at No.4.
In December, ESPN slotted Michael Brantley as the second-best left fielder, trailing only Pittsburgh’s Starling Marte.
The entire top-10:
- Michael Brantley, Cleveland Indians
- Starling Marte, Pittsburgh Pirates
- Justin Upton, Detroit Tigers
- Yoenis Cespedes, New York Mets
- Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals
- David Peralta, Arizona Diamondbacks
- Christian Yelich, Miami Marlins
- Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals
- Corey Dickerson, Tampa Bay Rays
- Brett Gardner, New York Yankees
2 Comments
In the current era of pitching dominance, LF is a bit of an offensive wasteland. Brantley is the exception.
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=lf&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2015&month=0&season1=2015&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=17,d
There can be only one Shredder!
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/62/TMNTShredderComic.jpg