I have to step in here and say that I disagree wholeheartedly although not by a wide margin with the MLB take that Andrew Mccutchen is a better centerfielder than Mike Trout. We all know who the best in each league is and unarguably, these two fir that bill. That is not the debate here, however, since this is MLB-wide, and to me it is clearly Trout. Not because he is so much better that it is not a contest, but because he plays the game on such a unique level. He has done things in his first three years that no player in the history of the game has ever done in the same amount of time. They both hit for power and produce runs, but that is not a part of their outfield prowess. So, lets take a gander at what does define a good outfielder in the MLB. First, how good is their defensive play? Trout: .991FLD% / Cutch: .987FLD% Trout: 11 E in 4 seasons / Cutch: 27 E in 6 seasons Trout: fewer chances, better ratio of putouts Cutch: a lot more chances, as such commits more errors but has a lot more assists in his career, although Trout had a 4-1 advantage in the 2014 season Trout: Makes in my opinion the best plays of any fielder in the game, saving plays and runs Cutch: Makes his fair share of plays like Trout but I enjoy Trouts play more Trout: 2014 DWar of -0.5 / Cutch: 2014 DWar of -1.1, advantage Cutch Cutch has played 872 games to Trouts 493 yet their numbers are remarkably similar. Now, on to the offense, because it does matter if you look at a complete player Trout career: 493GP / .305 / 98HR / 307RBI / 572H / 102SB / .395OBP / .549SLG% / .944OPS / 28.4WAR Cutch career: 880GP / .299 / 128HR / 462RBI / 986H / 143SB / .385OBP / .498SLG% / .883OPS / 32.7WAR Trout 4 season averages: 123GP / .289BA / 24.5HR / 76.75RBI / 143H / 25.5SB / .372OBP / .518SLG% / .890OPS / 7.1WAR Cutch first 4 season averages: .289BA / 20.5HR / 73.75RBI / 157H / 24.5SB / .374OBP / .482SLG% / .856OPS / 4.53WAR Cutch 6 season averages: 147GP / .298BA / 21.33HR / 77RBI / 164.3H / 23.83SB / .385OBP / .497SLG% / .881OPS / 5.45WAR Assuming averages hold, Trout after 6 seasons (totals): 739GP / .289BA / 147HR / 461RBI / 858H / 153SB / .372OBP / .518SLG% / .890OPS / 42.6WAR Trout would have very similar numbers but would have played essentially a season less in terms of games. This is one reason I like Trout here, but another is age relative to upside. Yes, Cutch is young by baseball standards and gets better all the time, but Trout is much younger and shows potential to be the best ever in some ways, and his upside has seemingly no end. Cutch will be 30 just after Trout is 25, so Trout has the advantage here, but as I said at the start, there is no great divide here. It is marginal, and either could play for me any time. MLB Network MLB #MLB #MajorLeagueBaseball #HotStove #MLBDeals #FreeAgents
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 10:01:18 +0000
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