House That Hank Built
Fansided

How Atlanta Braves position players stack up in the NL East: left field

By Alan Carpenter

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - MARCH 12: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves runs to second after hitting a double in the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals during the Grapefruit League spring training game at Champion Stadium on March 12, 2019 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - MARCH 12: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves runs to second after hitting a double in the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals during the Grapefruit League spring training game at Champion Stadium on March 12, 2019 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 17: Curtis Granderson #28 of the Milwaukee Brewers is attended to by first base coach Carlos Subero #31 after Granderson chipped his tooth on his helmet after sliding into second base on his double to deep right center field during the ninth inning of Game Five of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 17: Curtis Granderson #28 of the Milwaukee Brewers is attended to by first base coach Carlos Subero #31 after Granderson chipped his tooth on his helmet after sliding into second base on his double to deep right center field during the ninth inning of Game Five of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

#5 – Miami Marlins

LF – CURTIS GRANDERSON

As of today, Granderson is still listed as the #1 LF on the Marlins depth chart. However, he is signed to a minor league deal and is only hitting .136 this Spring.  Therefore a change is still plausible, though Granderson remains their most likely option and this is written in that direction.

Austin Dean has had a hot Spring, but has shown little at the major league level to date.  Even if the pair shares duties, it won’t move the projection needle.

It hasn’t been only Christian Yelich, Marcel Ozuna, and Giancarlo Stanton that the Marlins have waves goodbye to from their outfield in recent seasons:  LF Derek Dietrich is yet another casualty of their rebuild.

Though he didn’t put up the kind of numbers of his former teammates, Dietrich did give them 2.4 fWAR in 2016, though you saw on the previous page that he – and his team – slumped in 2018.

It isn’t going to get any better for them this season as they turn to a player who just completed his 38th year – Curtis Granderson.

He’s no longer a center fielder, but there’s still some ground to cover out in left field and he will have difficulty in navigating that, which will further diminish his contribution for the Marlins.

Granderson has been a Tiger, a Yankee, a Met, a Dodger, a Blue Jay, and a Brewer over a nice career that has spanned 15 seasons.

He has 332 homers, a lifetime .252 average, .810 OPS, 116 OPS+, 2 All-Star appearances, and 3 years with MVP votes.  He also can total boast career earnings above $100 million.

That’s not bad at all and if it ends here, he can certainly walk out of the room with his head held high, though he might prefer to do so on different terms.  Still, he’s back in 2019 because he still wants to play, and Miami is giving him a chance.

Whether it’s Granderson or someone else, the Marlins don’t have a lot going for them here:  a batting average of .230-240 with below average fielding looks to be the expectation in this corner of their outfield.

It just isn’t likely to add up well for them, and that’s unfortunately the nature of how their season will go, too.

Thus I’m expecting production in the range of 0.8-1.5 fWAR and a 5th place ranking in the NL East.

Home/Braves News