How Atlanta Braves position players stack up in the NL East: right field
We’ve reached the end of the scorecard – right field. Here’s how the 5 members of the NL East look at the long corner position for 2019.
This is the final installment from this series in which we rank Atlanta Braves position players against their counterparts in the NL East.
We may yet do a series on the starting pitching, but that proves to be a bit more difficult, owing to early injuries and late decisions by teams, so that will at least have to be delayed.
We are now to the right field corner, and let’s not belabor this… the season is nearly upon us, so let’s jump right in.
2018 results
How did the East fare in 2018? Well, unless you’re the Red Sox or Brewers, you had no shot at being the best at this position. Both teams recorded in excess of 10 fangraphs’ Wins Above Replacement (fWAR) last year – fantastic numbers.
The East did hold its own, though:
- Nationals (5.4, 7th in the majors)
- Mets (5.0, 8th)
- Braves (2.9)
- Marlins (0.9)
- Phillies (0.3)
It’s probably fair to suggest that this last figure will come up a bit in 2019. I hear that Philadelphia has made an improvement to that spot on their roster. We’ll have to see where that scrub might land on this list, but that comes later on.
As we embark, here’s a reminder of where we’ve been in this journey:
Before we launch into the left field rankings, here’s a set of links to the positions rankings we’ve already presented in the past couple of weeks:
For today, let’s check the rankings for the right fielders of the NL East.
#5 – Miami Marlins
GARRETT COOPER – RF
I think this is the right answer.
As of this writing, the “Official” depth chart of the Miami Marlins from MLB.com lists two guys for the Right Field position who have both been optioned to New Orleans to begin the year in AAA. That’s Austin Dean and Peter O’Brien.
That leaves Garrett Cooper as the last man out standing in his (right) field.
Cooper did have a terrific Spring, in hitting a robust .406 with a .990 OPS (just 4 extra base hits, 3 walks, 5 K in 32 AB).
But will that be sustained? Cooper has an odd bunch of numbers on the chart.
He broke in with the Yankees in 2017, getting into 13 games with 45 plate appearance. He hit .326 for his cup of coffee. In 2018, the Marlins used him for 14 games and 38 PA’s… hitting .212.
In the minor leagues, he has lots of lofty hitting numbers amd even showed a little power (17 homers for the Brewers’ AAA club in 2017 while hitting .366 in 320 PA’s).
Fangraphs’ scouting report suggests that Cooper has plenty of raw power (grade 60 on the 20-80 scale), but he hasn’t seen that flash to game action very much.
This will be his first full-time chance in the majors, though, and it comes at age 28.
Cooper doesn’t have enough major league time to assess his defensive skills, but looks to be roughly average overall, so that won’t hurt him.
More than likely, though, the pitching in this NL East will hurt him, and that’s weighing heavily in this assessment.
I’m going to suggest that he’s good for no more than a 2.0 fWAR overall personally, and perhaps a 2.2 for the team as a whole, for I expect the Marlins to switch players in and out quite a bit.
Either way, that’s good for 5th place in the NL East.
#4 – Atlanta Braves
NICK MARKAKIS – RF
Yes… I did put Nick in this position.
It’s not so much as a result of dissing him – not at all, in fact – but a function of 3 things:
- We’ve seen his peak (1st half of 2018)
- We know what he’s capable of
- Others are simply going to do better this year
Markakis finished 2019 with a 2.6 fWAR, an All-Star appearance, and a Gold Glove. He did play better in the field in 2018, but he’s truly no longer better than an average corner man.
Even as I say this, I do have to add this: the plays he makes on balls defensively are almost always sure-handed. His total errors since 2012? 10. 10 over 7 years.
He’ll benefit well from positioning and while not making the spectacular play, Markakis will make virtually all plays he gets to – and that’s certainly valuable… a trait that led to a +2 Defensive Runs Saved score in 2018.
Beyond that, he’s undeniably consistent with the bat, hitting between .269 and .298 every season since 2008 (he hit .306 that year). He’s now at 2237 career hits overall and should comfortably get to 2400 this year.
He’s not a traditional corner-power guy, but is usually good for around a dozen home runs each year… and I’d expect nothing different in 2019 – even at the age of 35½.
It’s not disrespect to place him here, but I would guess an fWAR between 2.5 and 3.0 this season, which should be good for 4th place in the NL East.
#3 – Washington Nationals
ADAM EATON – RF
The rest of these are tricky, for I can certainly envision any order for the remaining trio. Here’s why:
- Eaton: career range from 0.5 to 5.9 fWAR
- Brandon Nimmo: 0.1 (small sample size) to 4.5 fWAR
- Bryce Harper: 1.6 to 9.3 fWAR
So rather than drag this out, I am intending to shorten this review and I will do these 3 in condensed fashion.
For Adam Eaton, the Nationals gave up a lot to get him and he’s finally healthy (so far) and has a real chance of breaking out again like he did in 2016 with the White Sox.
He hit extremely well during Spring (over 1.100 OPS) and looks to be ready to roll. Since he was an excellent defender as a center fielder, that should play even better in right field, which immediately represents a serious upgrade to the position for the Nationals.
I’m therefore going to project more than Steamer, ZiPS, or just about anyone else here and figure Eaton for a 4.0 fWAR… and 3rd ranking overall.
#3 – New York Mets
BRANDON NIMMO – RF
I really wanted Harper to be #2 on this list, but I can’t bring myself to do it.
Nimmo had a great season in 2018 and is about to turn 26, so he’s got even more left in the tank than most others here. He should also have quite a bit of support in this new Mets lineup.
In fact, if any club wants to beat the Mets, I’d start by getting this guy out – if you can. Robbie Cano is the other one you need to send back to the bench with bat in tow, but if Nimmo busts out, then his team is going to be difficult to manage.
His defense isn’t the best, but should be on par with Markakis, or thereabouts.
I will project that Nimmo improves on his 4.5 mark from 2018 and hits 5.0 in 2019, good for the second rank in the NL East.
#1 – Philadelphia Phillies
BRYCE HARPER – RF
When I try to think about all of the factors that could go wrong for Bryce Harper this year, I then have to remind myself about the other side of this coin:
- This is his ‘honeymoon’ season in Philly… even he should enjoy this year
- He made the choice to come there
- The ballpark is perfectly set up for him
- The lineup around him is impressive
Yes – I know: aside from that one crazy MVP year in which he blew up to a 9.3 fWAR, he’s never exceeded 4.8… which isn’t terrible, but the way.
Honestly, his defense isn’t as terrible as the numbers suggest, and never venturing from RF will definitely help that (he played a few spells in CF… definitely not his position). He’s another one lurking below average defensively… perhaps the worst of these 5, but not epic-worse.
More from Tomahawk Take
- Atlanta Braves 2012 Prospect Review: Joey Terdoslavich
- Braves News: Braves sign Fuentes, Andruw’s HOF candidacy, more
- The Weakest Braves Homers Since 2015
- Atlanta Braves Sign Joshua Fuentes to Minor League Deal
- Braves News: New Year’s Eve comes with several questions about the 2023 Braves
So that 4.8 maxima (excepting 2015)? I think he’s going to beat it soundly.
I am expecting an 5.5 or 6.0 fWAR, which should be good enough to win this NL East ranking.
Unfortunately, that probably implies a lot of damage to the Braves in the process… we’ll find out how that starts on Thursday.
Summary
That’s it for right field! Here’s what we’ve found:
- #5 – MIAMI (Cooper)
- #4 – ATLANTA (Markakis)
- #3 – WASHINGTON (Eaton)
- #2 – METS (Nimmo)
- #1 – PHILADELPHIA (Harper)
Next. Who is Wes Parsons??. dark
Thanks very much for checking out these reviews… now we just need to get everybody on the field – for real!