In previous posts, I took the Revised Zone Rating (RZR) and Out-of-Zone Plays (OOZ) metrics listed at FanGraphs and converted them to runs based on an algorithm developed by Colin Wyers a few years ago. Links to these posts are provided below:
Now, I'm going to to do the run conversion for right fielders. Table 1 below contains the following information for 18 MLB right fiielders with 800 or more innings in 2012:
- Inn = Innings
- RZR = Revised Zone Rating
- OOZ = Out-of-Zone Plays
- PIZAA = Plays in Zone Above Average
- OOZAA = Out-of-Zone Plays Above Average
- PMAA = Total Plays Above Average
- RSAA = Runs Saved Above Average
When the Tigers acquired Torii Hunter earlier this off-season, they saw him as an upgrade both offensively and defensively. The Tigers' most frequent right fielder last season was Brennan Boesch who cost the Tigers an estimated -11 runs defensively according to RSAA. In contrast, Hunter was an estimated +11 runs better that the average right fielder. If his defense is the same in 2013, that would be a +22 run or two win improvement over Boesch.
What is interesting is how the two outfielders got to their final run saved/cost figures. According to these zone rating statistics, Boesch was actually better than Hunter on in-zone plays last year (+5 versus -1). However, Hunter was a stunning 32 plays better outside the zone (+13 versus -19). So, we can expect Hunter to cover a lot more ground in the outfield in 2013 than Boesch did in 2012.
Table 1: Runs Saved by MLB Right Fielders According to RZR, OOZ, 2012
Player | Team | Inn | RZR | OOZ | PIZ AA | OOZ AA | PMAA | RSAA |
Alex Rios | CHW | 1,369 | .934 | 107 | 5 | 26 | 31 | 26 |
Jason Heyward | ATL | 1,337 | .943 | 98 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 22 |
Josh Reddick | OAK | 1,179 | .924 | 93 | 2 | 24 | 25 | 21 |
Giancarlo Stanton | MIA | 1,034 | .897 | 82 | -3 | 21 | 18 | 15 |
Torii Hunter | LAA | 1,112 | .910 | 79 | -1 | 13 | 13 | 11 |
Ichiro Suzuki | SEA/NYY | 1,072 | .967 | 63 | 10 | -0 | 9 | 8 |
Justin Upton | ARI | 1,280 | .919 | 83 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 7 |
Nick Swisher | NYY | 907 | .905 | 63 | -2 | 10 | 8 | 7 |
Norichika Aoki | MIL | 896 | .889 | 59 | -4 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
Carlos Beltran | STL | 1,126 | .898 | 70 | -3 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Hunter Pence | PHI/SF | 1,408 | .918 | 80 | 1 | -3 | -2 | -2 |
Jay Bruce | CIN | 1,343 | .908 | 70 | -2 | -9 | -11 | -9 |
Andre Ethier | LAD | 1,256 | .947 | 57 | 6 | -17 | -11 | -9 |
Nick Markakis | BAL | 926 | .886 | 47 | -4 | -8 | -12 | -10 |
Brennan Boesch | DET | 909 | .950 | 35 | 5 | -19 | -14 | -11 |
Nelson Cruz | TEX | 1,286 | .869 | 73 | -11 | -3 | -14 | -12 |
Shin-Soo Choo | CLE | 1,331 | .920 | 63 | 2 | -15 | -14 | -12 |
Jeff Francoeur | KCR | 1,283 | .916 | 46 | 0 | -30 | -29 | -25 |
Data source: FanGraphs.com
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