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David DeJesus played more games in left field in 2009 than any other player in the division. In fact, David's 138 games at the position made him the only player among the five Central division members to exceed 100 games played. Through it all, DeJesus was criticized for smiling too much, being 'only average' on a team full of below average players, and generally have the audacity to not be Carlos Beltran or Johnny Damon.
Be that as it may, let's check the offensive numbers each team generated from the left field position:
|
|
BA
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
OPS
|
wRuns Created
|
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Kansas City
|
.272
|
.342
|
.405.
|
747
|
88
|
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Chicago
|
.271
|
.346
|
.428
|
.774
|
101
|
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Cleveland
|
.256
|
.317
|
.427
|
.744
|
83
|
|
Detroit
|
.261
|
.332
|
.454
|
.786
|
94
|
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Minnesota
|
.300
|
.354
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.453
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.807
|
115
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Personally, David DeJesus put up a line of .281/.347/.434./781 with 79 runs created, which illustrates just how awful the left fielders were for the 24 games he did not play.
Cleveland started ten different players in left, while Detroit started seven. Minnesota used Jason Kubel, Dennard Span and Delmon Young at the position, while most of the time in Chicago was split between Carlos Quentin and Scott Podsednik: two of the most different players to ever share a position.
Here is how the major players stack up defensively:
|
|
Games
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UZR/150
|
|
DeJesus
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KC
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138
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+14.0
|
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Quentin
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CHI
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87
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-18.6
|
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Podsednik
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CHI
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67
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-4.1
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Francisco
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CLE
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43
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-12.9
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LaPorta
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CLE
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29
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-3.6
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Raburn
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DET
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43
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+11.4
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Guillen
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DET
|
42
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-10.3
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Kubel
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MIN
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25
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-2.7
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Span
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MIN
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45
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+13.2
|
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Young
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MIN
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93
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-19.6
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As one of our commenters pointed out a few columns ago, there is some skepticism with regard to Ultimate Zone Ratings, but I think they are at least accurate enough for a quick view of fielding capability. My personal favorite is John Dewan's plus/minus system, but UZR/150 is what I started this series with so I'm sticking with it for a few more columns.
Visually, DeJesus passed the 'eye test' in left field, with the exception of a couple of boneheaded plays during the season (a trait that is sadly not unique to the Royals), and certainly seemed to a go from a 'minus' defender in center to a 'plus' defender in left.
Solution
Does he have the power you would ideally like from a corner outfielder? Probably not, although his extra base ability is at worst average. Does he have that elite level on-base ability? Again, no, but a .347 on-base percentage in a somewhat down year personally while batting in an order full of hackers is not horrible at all.
The only real problem with David DeJesus is that he is a solid, everyday player on a team that currently has no stars. As such, instead of comfortably settling in as maybe the fourth or fifth best hitter in the lineup he has, until the emergence of Billy Butler, been viewed as the team's best hitter.
That is not David DeJesus' fault, nor is it a reason to ship him off. Frankly, the trade value of DeJesus does not equal the worth he currently carries with Kansas City. Right now, he is just one of three (Butler and Callaspo being the other two) position players on the roster that can viewed as true everyday major leaguers.
He is good, but not so good that other teams will give up the requisite booty to make a trade worthwhile. While DeJesus has a team friendly contract, he is what he is and that is both a positive and a negative.
What David DeJesus is, without question, is the Royals' left fielder in 2010. Write it down, move on and stop worrying about how much he smiles.
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Comments
At any rate, you guys seemed to have nailed it; DeJesus is a great everyday regular on a team (mostly) full of incompetents. Unfortunately for him this raises expectations for his performance.
Also, I cannot believe MN got 115 runs created out of left field. Either Span/Kubel played a lot more out there than I remembered, or else the system is broken. Long story short: Delmon Young is terrible.
Denard Span, though both a solid hitter and defender, logged only 438 innings in LF. Kubel chipped in another 208 innings.
also, yeah, DeJesus is good. not necessarily the absolute least of the Royals problems, but definitely not a problem himself. very solid player.
I fail to see how the Cardinals running out of gas was McRae's fault. Maybe their loss could be the Royals' gain. Then again, I don't see Dayton Moore making this kind of move, but it's fun to think about.