Jason Heyward is Just That Good
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There are some special nuggets contained in the write-ups accompanying the
that were announced late last week. We mentioned the awards during
Saturday’s edition of the Morning Chop
on these pages, but there’s a lot more going on there than “just” the award.
I mentioned at the time my own belief that this is becoming THE fielding award that matters in baseball. The Gold Glove awards are getting quite silly in the kinds of people getting their awards (example: Justin Upton is a NL LF Gold Glove finalist – he correctly failed to crack the Fielding Bible’s Top Ten). But the reason for the rise of the Fielding Bible involves their voters (people who actually care about defensive skills and nothing else), their exclusivity (MLB-wide awards; no league distinctions), and their transparency (full access to voting results).
About Jason Heyward
With that, I will stand aside and let their words speak for themselves:
"“The Fielding Bible Award voters were unanimous about Jason Heyward as well. Heyward is the best defensive right fielder in baseball, bar none. He has had double-digit runs saved totals in every season of his five-year career. What makes him so consistently good? He refuses to allow an extra-base hit. Over his career he has been a bit above average on shallow hit balls (+18 plays in the Plus/Minus System) and on medium hit balls (+31). On deeply hit balls he is phenomenal. +140! That means he has saved 140 more bases making catches on deeply hit balls than an average right fielder. He was +40 on deeply hit balls in 2014 alone. Think of it like this: he saved 20 doubles last year! He excels at picking the ball up quickly off the bat and he always takes a good route to the ball. Overall, he had 32 Runs Saved for the Braves defensively in 2014, the highest total at any position in 2014 and a career high for Heyward.”"
Let some of that sink in:
- “He saved 20 doubles last year” (turning them into outs or singles).
- “32 Runs Saved … in 2014… highest total at any position” (that’s one run per week during the season)
Braves RF Jason Heyward (22) throws a ball from deep in right field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports
It is an over-simplification to do this, but I will nonetheless for the sake of convenience: let’s suppose those defensive runs saved by Jason were all actually “saved” – that none of them ever scored. That is the general idea, since batters reaching – and reaching more bases – will extend innings and lead to more runs. Jason’s skills cut off big innings and lead to easier innings for his pitchers.
That said, Braves’ pitching allowed 597 runs (547 earned) in 2014. If Jason were merely “average”, then his DRS score would be 0 (zero), and that number would be over 5% higher: 629 runs allowed. Just how bad would it have been for the Braves had they not had Jason out there chasing down liners to right?
Even More
Let’s add the respective contributions of Heyward and Andrelton Simmons in the infield, who himself had another 28 Defensive Runs Saved. Had this pair been merely mortal, the Braves would have allowed 10% more runs during the season, moving Atlanta from 25th in team runs allowed to 14th overall.
How many wins would have been lost without these two?
THE REST OF THE OUTFIELD
What about the other Braves’ outfielders from 2014? How did they compare with Jason?
Brace yourself: 2014 team total DRS for all outfielders not named “Jason Heyward“: -8. That’s a Negative 8.
B.J Upton rated a -7 by himself. He cost the Braves 7 additional runs. His brother (that Gold Glove finalist) Justin Upton garnered a zero.
Please Extend Heyward
Sure, he wasn’t quite as productive on the offensive side as we had hoped. Jason was changing up things in his swing throughout the season in an effort to adjust to hitting leadoff. But clearly, his defensive efforts were off the charts.
Fielders like Jason – and Simmons – make your pitching better. It doesn’t matter who is throwing. Sure, strikeout pitchers are flashy and fielders aren’t challenged as often, but pitch-to-contact pitchers are easier to find (and they are cheaper). The Aaron Harang‘s of this world instantly become more effective with premium defenders behind. It’s therefore a good thing that even better defense (Jose Peraza) is on the way.
But in the meantime, it is vital to keep what you have. Jason Heyward is entering his final year prior to free agency.
The Braves would be wise to keep Jason and his glove out there for years to come.