2017 Atlanta Braves Preview: Utility Man Jace Peterson
By Scott Ferris
Despite his (as of yesterday) 1064 career plate appearances, Jace Peterson is still anonymous to many baseball fans outside of Atlanta. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t still be an important player for the Braves in 2017.
To anyone who hasn’t followed the Atlanta Braves closely, Jace Peterson appears, on paper, to be one of the most boring players in all of baseball. He doesn’t have much power, isn’t a speed demon, is just passable defensively, and doesn’t even have a position to call home. He just sort of…is.
However, despite his lack of a standout tool or a well-defined role, Peterson could remain a valuable jack-of-all-trades for the Braves.
So, what can we look for out of Peterson in 2017?
Let’s explore.
Flexibility:
The idea of a utility player has been around for decades but was typically reserved for a fringe guy willing to be moved all over the diamond. In 2009, Ben Zobrist made the position sexy.
Fresh off the first and only World Series appearance in Rays history, Zobrist hit .297/.405/.543 over 599 plate appearances with 27 home runs and 17 stolen bases while playing seven (7!) different positions.
Since then, every team has wanted to find their “Ben Zobrist-type” (the same phenomenon happening with “Andrew Miller-types” right now).
While he won’t deliver quite that level of performance, Peterson can come close to rivaling the versatility. Thus far in his major league career, the ex-Padres farmhand has spent time at four positions – second, third, left field, and center field. It stands to reason that he could handle some innings in right field or at first base and could probably even fill in at short for brief stints.
Though his natural position is second base, Peterson may not see much time there as the Braves will soon have a logjam at the cornerstone.
Newly-acquired veteran second baseman Brandon Phillips will begin the season as the team’s everyday starter and top prospect Ozzie Albies seems destined to join him sooner rather than later.
As a result, Peterson will probably be Adonis Garcia’s primary back-up at third and occasionally spell Matt Kemp or Nick Markakis in the outfield (centerfield back-up ABs will likely go to Emilio Bonifacio).
Progress at the Plate:
Peterson wasn’t a great hitter in 2016. However, he was noticeably worse in 2015.
Evidence:
2015: .239/.314/.335 over 597 plate appearances
2016: .254/.350/.366 over 408 plate appearances
He also cut his strikeout rate (16.9 K% in 2016 v. 20.1% in 2015) and boosted his walk rate (12.7 BB% in 2016 v. 9.4% in 2015).
While that’s not exactly a breakout campaign it represents a substantial improvement nonetheless.
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Peterson’s versatility should allow him to remain a valuable player for the team this season but if he wants to have a long-term role, he’ll need to continue that offensive improvement. Between Albies and Dansby Swanson up the middle, Garcia and Rio Ruiz at third, and the return of Sean Rodriguez, the team will have most of their infield plate appearances spoken for.
If Peterson can build on the successes from 2016, he’ll help his case to be part of that mix.
Looking Ahead:
Neither ZiPS nor Steamer loves Peterson’s 2017 outlook. In fact, Steamer only projects him for 229 plate appearances over 59 games. Both systems have him striking out more, walking less, and generally failing to impress.
While that’s certainly a pessimistic take, Peterson’s job really isn’t to impress.
Acquired in the Justin Upton trade, he was never expected to be a star. In his time with Atlanta he’s ranged from everyday starter at second to “guy who lost his job to Gordon Beckham’s reanimated corpse” to super utility Swiss Army knife.
In 2017, the Braves would love for him to fall into that last category. If he can do that, this season will have to be considered a win for him.
*Fun Fact I had Nowhere Else to Mention: Peterson stole 132 bases in 303 games during his first three professional seasons. That’s just over 70 per 162 games.
What does it mean? Almost definitely nothing.
That no longer appears to be part of his game. Kinda neat though. If you’re into that.