Your email address will not be published. Freddy Peralta thrills family with dazzling debut, Real or Not? Versions for all ages with a 14-Day Free Trial. College softball coaches evaluate a player's athleticism based on arm strength and accuracy, speed, fielding range and the ability to hit for . the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Make a guess now (Note: Baseball-Reference uses fielding runs below average, which can be drawn from two different sources depending on the year. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Last year, he was actually recognized by American League managers as the best defensive shortstop in the AL, and in an interview with T.R. Twenty-eight of those 29 runs below average came as a center fielder, where he made 2.50 plays per nine innings compared to the MLB average of 2.76. In general, positions are more likely to be filled with people with more experience than others. Was he really that bad? The 2008-09 correlation was a bit weaker, but still above 0.25. The corner outfielders, shortstop and second baseman are typically the fastest players on a competitive fastpitch softball team. It's also interesting that all 10 seasons here occurred since 1990, which is a reflection of more data available to grade defense. Jean Segura has a UZR of zero, which slots him in 18th place. His ball exchange and quickness of his arm are the true separators. > Career Fielding % as 3B. Its fine to love one position more than the others, but in the competitive world of travel, varsity and collegiate fastpitch, it just may not be realistic that a player can start at that position as they rise. He's going to make errors, because he's going to get to more balls that most other guys, but he's not booting one every four or five days. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. It's true; his composite stats are currently laughable, so he's obviously not in the top 10. Perhaps Shields racked up the strong numbers because Florida Southerns weaker competition didnt generally hit balls as hard as the batters in a top D I conference. One method in doing so is fielding percentage. While Hardy's RF is just 4.02 (seventeenth), his DPR on 1.0 (third-best) is quite impressive, considering the fact that, throughout the years, it has constantly been up in the air as to who his double playmate will be (this happens when you have the oft-injured Brian Roberts as your projected starting second baseman). All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. This one makes a lot of sense: An old outfielder trying to play in Coors Field. Drew has a RF of 4.32, good enough for 10th place. Contributor Network wrote about the "stability Kozma has injected into the Cardinals' infield," so jumping to extreme conclusions about Kozma's talent may not be warranted. Finally, you'll never receive email notifications about content they create or likes they designate for your content. Left fielders need to play excellent outfield defense and thus must be fast and have a great glove. Baseball-Reference.com (Career Leaders & Records for Range Factor/9Inn as SS), Baseball-Reference.com (Fielding Stats Glossary), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Range_factor&oldid=1133069561, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 12 January 2023, at 04:16. Rankings of Negro League players should consider that Negro League data is not complete. But I probably won't miss his defense. The Twins walked the fewest batters in the AL and were in the middle of the pack in strikeouts and home runs allowed but were 13th in hits allowed, so the team defense was pretty bad overall, with Puckett apparently playing a big role. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. It can certainly contribute to the discussion, but until a few more years go by and we can combine the data with professional records for these college players, we dont know just how worthwhile it is. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Double-play turns for lefty middle infielders are nearly impossible. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Must be a solid hitter at the plate and a great base runner because of their speed, Corner outfielders do need to have some pop in their bat. There is a possibility that Jose Iglesias takes over shortstop duties in the near future, but as of now, it's Drew who qualifies. Do you have a sports website? A batting average may be sacrificed for a great leader in the field. Brendan Ryan's UZR is an ugly -1.1 which has him sitting in 20th place among all qualifying shortstops. His UZR and DRS are both higher than Ramirez's, and his dWAR and DRS are higher than Drew's, while more of his secondary stats are mediocre to average, which is why he's slotted at eight. Dante Bichette, LF, 1999 Rockies (minus-34). The 2008-09 correlation was a bit. How do I pick which schools to send my Go Big profile to? Weeks has never had a good defensive reputation and in 2012 he started 152 games at second base and made just 4.08 plays per nine innings compared to the league-average range factor of 4.77. In Girls HS softball, can a team play 3 infielders and 4 outfielders (rover)? Nick Castellanos, 3B, 2014 Tigers (minus-30). Second baseman in softball are typically great defensive players but often lack a strong throwing arm. Replies and comments they make will be collapsed/hidden by default. Infield Velocity: Low 80s and above from SS. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Typically the centerfielder, because she will have to run down fly balls in both the outfield gaps. Velocity from the INF: Upper 70s MPH from SS. But when you look up after a hard-hit ball, and hes standing right there or ranges up the middle to his glove side, hes a very good defender. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. It's no surprise that he rated poorly in the outfield -- minus-20 runs -- but he also rated minus-23 runs at first base in just 540 innings. Most players want to play the exciting positions like pitcher, shortstop, first base and centerfield. Kirby Puckett, CF, 1993 Twins (minus-29 runs), This one seems a little odd considering Puckett had won a Gold Glove the previous season. The tiebreak deciding where Hardy is on the continuum ranging from average to elite is a DRS of seven, which is also good enough for third-best. What do college baseball scouts look for in a pitcher? Required fields are marked *. Lower NAIA/D2 Middle Infielder Physical Measurables: Height: 5'11" Weight: 170 lbs. A couple of other notes. Gomez's range factor was actually higher than the MLB average, 4.63 to 4.58, and his fielding percentage was fine, so I'm not quite sure why he rates so poorly. The Padres made the playoffs with Gomez playing shortstop in 1996 and 1998, so they apparently didn't think he was awful there. Many thanks to him. His DRS of four puts him in a four-way tie for seventh-best. I dont know if flashy is the word, but he can do things that other people cant do. What's even scarier is his age: Simmons is only 23. I would love to be on a softball team someday. His UZR of 5.7 is sixth among all qualifying shortstops as is his dWAR of 0.9. For shortstops who were in the field for 800 or more balls in play (roughly 33 games) in both 2007 and 2008, the year-to-year correlation was approximately 0.29. Nobody will dispute this rating. His +26 is just percentage points below the top performance of the last two years, which belonged to another D II product, UC San Diegos Vance Albitz. Rules question do runners have to be on base? Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, stability Kozma has injected into the Cardinals' infield, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Puckett's defensive metrics don't match up to his reputation -- he won six Gold Gloves -- as Baseball-Reference grades him out as 14 runs below average for his career. Center field requires lots of speed and great fly ball reading ability. Baseball Almanac invites you to examine fielding average records for shortstops. Data Provided By Fielding percentage: .977 (four-way tie for 11th). Dunn recently confirmed his retirement and I'll miss a guy who had a unique career in major league history. Andrus' Range Factor is surprising and unfortunate, seeing as the rest of his numbers are quite impressive. First, it is somewhat subjective. Here are some of the top 2009 picks who were above the 800 BIP threshold in each of the last two college seasons: The +/- column gives plays above or below average for the combination of the last two seasons per 2400 balls in play (approximately 100 games). Coaches at the top levels will look for middle infielders that display outstanding defensive ability in all of these categories. Many such players end up being solid 3Bs or 2Bs because of lack of speed or range or arm (in the case of switchers to 2B). Height and Weight for MIFs are really not as important as the key measurables and obviously the technical offensive and defensive ability. The AL East is setting up as a race for the ages, Albert Pujols' push for 3,000 powered by dominant decade, 'Ich-i-ro! Kozma cracks the top five namely because of his UZR, RF and fielding percentage. Learn more. Its just like a refresher course for me. Please post more of this stuff because now I know that for example 3rd is not a fit at all unlike left field. Sports averred that "he manages the defensive wizardry of a player three inches and 20 pounds smaller." No, they're not related. Do you have a sports website? *Many detailed statistics are based on play-by-play accounts accumulated by Retrosheet. They dont have to be big and hit for power, so they are often smaller players. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. Skip ahead anywhere in this article on softball positioning this applies both to fastpitch and slowpitch, though slowpitch is NOT the focus of this article. Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database. Even though Bichette hit 34 home runs and knocked in 133 runs, the Rockies traded him after the season. In 2009 while playing for an awful Nationals team that lost 103 games, Dunn started 83 games in the outfield and 66 at first base. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Monday, May 1, 12:21AM. Good reflexes and instincts are important, as line drives scream to first base. These totals may be incomplete (3.6% of all plays from 1914 to 1972 are missing or have incomplete accounts, click link for year and team summary of data completeness) for some players prior to 1973 and even complete seasons may not match the official totals due to errors in both the official totals and the . The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. 1. Am I good enough to play softball in college? The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Current Greats: Clayton Kershaw, Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Jacob deGrom, Miguel Cabrera, Zack Greinke, Jose Altuve, . Here's how Drew shakes up in comparison to others at his position: Drew's UZR of 5.4 puts him in seventh place among qualifying shortstops, while his dWAR of 0.6 and DRS of two put him at 12th and 11th, respectively. 3. The fact that the two names at the top are both from D II schools may give us pause. To be an elite shortstop, you need sure hands, a rocket for an arm, consistency, double-play adroitness and athleticism, and the guys who made the cut all embody this cocktail of skills to a certain degree. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Andrus' has a shockingly low RF of 3.78, which puts him at 24th (26 qualify). Michael Young, SS, 2005 Rangers (minus-32). Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? There is some good news, however. Undoubtedly, voters remembered the spectacular plays, but there was nothing in the numbers that suggested Kemp had above-average range and he was making a large number of miscues at the same time. Check out 2023 Regular Season MLB Baseball ss Fielding Statistics on ESPN.com. I checked Baseball-Reference.com for their list of worst individual fielding seasons and thought it would be fun to look at the bottom 10. What position is right for a young fastpitch player? The footwork required to make throws to first base is very awkward for a left-handed 2nd baseman, shortstop or third baseman it takes a lot of extra time and makes the throw significantly more difficult. Return to Top; Major League Players. a third baseman? Pingback: How Do You Size A Fastpitch Softball Glove: Beginner's Guide. His UZR of 11.3, dWAR of 3.1 and DRS of 24 are the best of all shortstops. While only about 1.6% of high school softball players go on to play at the Division 1 level, the other division levels, NAIA schools, and junior colleges offer many opportunities for promising prospects. 60 Yard Dash: 7.0 or below Velocity from the INF: 78+ MPH from SS Stats: OB%: .400 Slugging: .500 Coach Keys: Athleticism, knowledge of the game, and leadership skills are necessary for shortstops at this level. Farmer ranks. In an interview with Peter Abraham of telegram.com, Stephen Drew noted that while his game doesn't contain the wow factor that others in his position boast, consistency and efficiency are paramount for him: Some guys can do a lot of fancy stuff. 5. If he wasn't on fans' radars before 2012, he is now. A college shortstop playing high-level competition is probably more like a wood-bat-league third baseman. . Hardy makes it into the top four due to the current number of weighty third-place standings he holds. Bortnick is barely a dozen games into his professional career, but Tampa Bay has put him back at shortstop in the New York-Penn League. He's above Tulo due to a talent-infused blend of composite and component metrics, but there's still no contest between himor the rest of those who rankand the No. In the MLB, while no one is even close to being as skilled as Dutch phenom Andrelton Simmons of the Atlanta Braves, all-around powerhouse Troy Tulowitzki and defensive specialist Pedro Florimon make a valiant effort. His dWAR is just a hair below the Escobars' while his UZR bests the two by a greater margin, but it's his fielding percentage and RF that definitively solidify his higher ranking. F inal. Division 1 Pitch velocity: 84 MPH consistently; up to 95+ MPH Command of at least 3 pitches ERA: below 2.00 At least 1 K per inning pitched Walk less than 1 batter per 2 innings pitched Division 2 Pitch velocity: 82 MPH - 90+ MPH Whichever way you look at it, Escobar's defense is solid in terms of this category. Shortstops with career .271/.340/.493 lines don't grow on trees, and we're projecting him to be better than that this year. I also see players and parents fall into the trap of playing too many positions at the high school level, where scouts may not be sure where they fit in. For shortstops who were in the field for 800 or more balls in play (roughly 33 games) in both 2007 and 2008, the year-to-year correlation was approximately 0.29. completeness, Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE. Sullivan of MLB.com, Texas manager Ron Washington had this to say about Andrus: He has been outstanding. Originally, in the early years of baseball, the shortstop was the fourth outfielder. When you block a person, they can no longer invite you to a private message or post to your profile wall. The prototypical elite middle infield recruit can hit for a high average as well as steal a lot of bases and occasionally hit for power. From the minute I saw him, he's been making plays like that. Well break each position down, but its important to understand throwing speed as it pertains to which positions a softball player can play.