Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayhawk Bill
As I posted yesterday, Lowrie's range (RZR) in his short time at SS in 2008 would be AL-leading were he a regular.
Something interesting--if one looks at Lowrie's FRAA at SS, the best MiLB fielding stat I can access, it shows a big jump for Lowrie at Pawtucket:
| Level | Games | FRAA | | A- | 40 | -3 | | A+ | 88 | -10 | | AA | 84 | -7 | | AAA | 31 | 8 |
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/pe...E19840417A.php
In A and AA, Lowrie cost his team a run every 10-11 games at shortstop. In AAA, he's saved his team a run every four games or so. That's a big difference.
Maybe that superb RZR isn't just a small-sample fluke. Maybe Lowrie's finally caught on to playing shortstop...after all, he played mostly second base for Stanford.
FWIW, he actually pitched some in high school. His pro career was his first time playing SS regularly.
Cal Ripken Jr. wasn't a "true shortstop" either, but he did excel at SS given a chance. I see Lowrie as potentially being a more-than-adequate defensive shortstop, and right now Lugo isn't. |
I'm not a big fan of BPs and other defensive stats the readings just don't seem to be as accuare as MGL. I often wonder how Dustin Pedroia can be ranked the best in the league when his range is pretty average.
I am a fan of MGLs UZR stuff. A lot of the guys that rank well with that are guys that when you see play actually look like good fielders when you see them play. In fact many of the defensive statistics that major league teams use are based off of MGL or use similar methodology.
The big difference between Lowrie and Ripken as far as I can see is that Ripken was big guy with a big arm. He could play deeper and increase his range. I'm not sure Lowrie can do that. There ARE certainly scouts that believe that Lowrie can play SS in the majors. Personally, I'd rather see his bat and glove get more work in Pawtuckett for the time being and bring in a veteran SS for 08 at least.