Top Five at Every Position Right Now: Left Field

Photo Courtesy of Federal Baseball 

By: Chris Larson 

Moving right along in our "Top Five at Every Position Right Now" Series, we are exactly halfway through the series and the focus now shifts to the outfield particularly left field. Left field tends to be a position that a lot of teams platoon players at and one where defense is absolutely critical in every sense of the word.

The defense in left field might not be as important compared to other positions such as shortstop, but it is still vital and any player in left field must be comfortable and willing to make the right plays at the flash of a few seconds. Often times, many of those plays tend to be situational based and come in situations where there might be runners on base. Being able to throw the ball in to home plate to tag the runner coming home or even at third base is extremely important.

Over the last ten years, there have certainly been some notable left fielders around the game of baseball and all of those individuals are still playing. However, they are in their post-peak seasons and starting to decline with each passing year, but let's not forget the legacy left behind by the following names during their prime years: Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers, Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics and New York Mets, and Alex Gordon of the Kansas City Royals. Furthermore, you can't overlook the legacy left behind by players like Matt Holliday or Carlos Gonzalez either.

With that being said, here are the top five left fielders in baseball right now.

* The statistics under each players name are from the 2019 regular season. * 

Photo Courtesy of USA Today 

1. Juan Soto (Washington Nationals) 

• Defensive Runs Saved: 1 (T-5th Among Left Fielders with 600 Innings Played) 
• Ultimate Zone Rating: -0.7 (8th) 
• Defensive Rating: -7.5 (11th) 
• Offensive Rating: 35.9 (1st Among Left Fielders with 400 PA) 
• Wins Above Replacement: 4.8 (2nd) 

Juan Soto is a blossoming superstar in the making. After finishing last season, at the ripe young age of 20, Soto has the makings of being a true five-tool player and putting together a Hall of Fame worthy resume as an integral member of the Washington Nationals. The Nationals took some heat last year when they decided to give Soto the full-time starting role in the outfield and ended up losing former outfielder Bryce Harper to free agency. If you don't remember, Harper ended up signing with the Philadelphia Phillies and that's where a lot of the criticism surrounding Soto and his ability to handle a full-time role stemmed from. Given that Soto is so young and a few years away from his prime seasons, there is a significant chance that he is definitely going to get even better at his craft and could very well be the next superstar, face of the game type of player eventually. 

For Soto, although his strikeout rate last year matched that of 2018 (20%), Soto's overall plate discipline increased as did his overall walk rate (16.4% last season compared to 16.0% in 2018). Plate discipline is something that takes time for someone to develop and for a young player like Soto, it might take another year or two before the strikeout rate comes down and that plate discipline increases even more. However, as Soto begins to see more pitches at the big league level and gains a full awareness of the strike zone, that should begin to happen. Furthermore, the power really took a step forward this year as indicated by Soto's Isolated Power (ISO) value of .266 over 659 plate appearances as well as his .312 Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP). The power is another factor of Soto's game that should continue to increase with more time in the big leagues and as Soto puts more muscle mass on his body. 

Photo Courtesy of UPI.Com 

2. Michael Brantley (Houston Astros) 

• Defensive Runs Saved: 10 (T-1st Among Left Fielders with 600 Innings Played) 
• Ultimate Zone Rating: 1.5 (5th) 
• Defensive Rating: -3.4 (5th) 
• Offensive Rating: 27.2 (4th Among Left Fielders with 400 PA) 
• Wins Above Replacement: 4.2 (4th) 

When you start to look at last year's Houston Astros lineup, a pivotal part of that batting order was Michael Brantley. Prior to last season, Brantley signed a two-year, $32 million dollar deal with the Astros after coming up as a prospect and spending ten seasons with the Cleveland Indians. During his tenure with the Indians, Brantley was a beloved member of the team by players and fans alike and really built up his legacy there in the city of Cleveland. Many fans were disheartened by the news that he had signed elsewhere in free agency which just goes to prove how much Brantley was liked and the type of player Indians fans viewed him as. However, the Astros got a very good player when they signed him and someone that locked down their left field opening for last year as well as this season. Furthermore, at the age of 32 Brantley is a leader both on and off the field and that is something that greatly benefits the entire Houston Astros organization. 

As you look over the offensive numbers from last season, Michael Brantley doesn't necessarily stick out as a power hitter type of outfielder. Rather, Brantley is someone that bases his style of play more around clutch moments and coming through in those moments to either generate activity on the base paths or to bring home a scoring run or two. Perhaps, sometimes depending on the moment, those situations can even bring about a time where Brantley drives home the winning run as well. Regardless, Brantley still slugged: .311/.372/.503 over 637 plate appearances with the Astros last season and had a cumulative Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) value of 133. Using the criteria from above, that put Brantley fourth among the group in that category. Looking ahead to this season, Brantley will once again be viewed as a key component of the Houston Astros offense and someone to provide valuable leadership given the circumstances that will plague the team all season long. 

Photo Courtesy of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

3. Bryan Reynolds (Pittsburgh Pirates) 

• Defensive Runs Saved: 1 (T-5th Among Left Fielders with 600 Innings Played) 
• Ultimate Zone Rating: -3.8 (11th) 
• Defensive Rating: -7.0 (10th) 
• Offensive Rating: 22.7 (5th Among Left Fielders with 400 PA) 
• Wins Above Replacement: 3.2 (7th) 

Amid what was a terrible season overall last year for the Pittsburgh Pirates, outfielder Bryan Reynolds ended up becoming a bright spot for the team. Reynolds really shined during his rookie season at the age of 24 and became someone that the Pirates view as a pillar in their lineup for the foreseeable future. For the Pirates, they need as much optimism right now as possible and Bryan Reynolds can definitely provide that especially when you take into consideration that he can solidify the left field spot with Jarrod Dyson in centerfield and Gregory Polanco over in right field. Overall, Reynolds is much stronger at the plate as opposed to the defense he provides, but there's still the chance that those defensive instincts and skills will take that next step forward this coming season. 

During his rookie season, easily the biggest takeaway about Bryan Reynolds approach at the plate is how much of a pull hitter he became. That argument is backed up by the metrics provided by FanGraphs when it comes to Batted Ball statistics and analyzing where hitters are more likely to hit the ball. In the Pull category of that sector, Reynolds had a cumulative percentage of 38.6% this past season. For comparisons sake, with the Triple-A team during the 2019 regular season, Reynolds cumulative Pull Percentage sat at 31.6%. Granted, you can't compare the minor leagues to the big leagues, but there's reason to believe that Reynolds will continue to trend as a pull hitter which will make it fascinating to see how opposing team's pitchers attack him at the plate this coming season. Reynolds ended up making such an impact during his rookie season that he finished fourth overall in the National League Rookie of the Year Award voting. 

Photo Courtesy of USA Today

4. Tommy Pham (Previously with the Tampa Bay Rays, Now with the San Diego Padres) 

• Defensive Runs Saved: 1 (T-5th Among Left Fielders with 600 Innings Played) 
• Ultimate Zone Rating: 0.4 (7th) 
• Defensive Rating: -5.2 (7th) 
• Offensive Rating: 18.5 (7th Among Left Fielders with 400 PA) 
• Wins Above Replacement: 3.3 (6th) 

Heading into this offseason, Tommy Pham was a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. Fast forward a couple of months and Tommy Pham is now an outfielder for the San Diego Padres. Pham along with middle infielder Jake Cronenworth were included in the trade which sent outfielder Hunter Renfroe and middle infield prospect Xavier Edwards the other way back to Tampa Bay. It's going to be fascinating to see if the switch in leagues helps Hunter Renfroe find that next level in his game and even more fascinating to see if Tommy Pham is able to take another big step forward with the switch back to the National League. Pham had a very good season overall last year and it was enough to put him in consideration for one of the starting American League All-Star Team positions. The Padres are in clear win-now mode and they likely view Pham as an integral and important part of the team's lineup this coming season. 

One of the interesting aspects of Tommy Pham's overall style of play from last season was the drop off in his overall Hard Hit Percentage. Pham became a much more rounded hitter overall when it came to making Soft, Medium and Hard contact on the balls that were hit and put into play. Last season, Pham's Soft Hit Percentage was 15.3% compared to 12.6% in 2018, his Medium Hit Percentage increased from 38.9% in 2018 to 41.1% last season, and his Hard Hit Percentage dropped from 48.5% two years ago to 43.6% this last season. Therefore, since he distributed his power into the other categories that very well could have been the key to why Pham had such a good season last year with the Tampa Bay Rays. Sometimes, if a hitter is too focused on their Hard Hit Rate or making contact in a powerful fashion at the plate, it can mess with other segments of their bat path and style of play. Furthermore, the Tampa Bay Rays may have very well introduced Tommy Pham to a new technique in his bat path which contributed to all of that.  

Photo Courtesy of Dodger Blue

5. Joc Pederson (Los Angeles Dodgers) 

* Split time between first base, left field, centerfield, and right field in 2019. * 

• Defensive Runs Saved: 6 (3rd Among Left Fielders with 500 Innings Played) 
• Ultimate Zone Rating: 5.2 (3rd) 
• Defensive Rating: 2.5 (1st) 
• Offensive Rating: 18.4 (8th Among Left Fielders with 400 PA) 
• Wins Above Replacement: 3.0 (8th) 

As it stands right now, Joc Pederson is still penciled in as a valuable member of the Los Angeles Dodgers roster. However, that could change at any moment leading up to Opening Day especially considering that the Dodgers had a deal in place with the Los Angeles Angels which also included pitcher Ross Stripling this past week. That portion of the blockbuster Mookie Betts and David Price blockbuster trade ended up falling through, but according to reports teams have still been inquiring about Joc Pederson and it's easy to see why. Pederson is a very good defender and someone that has a sneaky good bat overall that is capable of producing above league average offense. When you add all of Joc Pederson's contributions together, it came out to equal approximately 3 wins for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season which is good for a versatile player like Pederson. 

Pederson, who is entering his age 28 season, was able to produce an ISO value of .289 last season over 514 plate appearances and had a cumulative slash line of: .249/.339/.538. In addition, Pederson had a Weighted Runs Above Average (WRAA) value of 18.6 which put him ninth among the position player group, using the criteria from above. Furthermore, there has been a lot of discussion about Pederson's overall splits between left-handed and right-handed pitchers since his name surfaced in the proposed trade with the Los Angeles Angels over the last two weeks. Despite that though, Pederson didn't necessarily struggle against left-handers last season posting a batting line of: .224/.240/.265, but it's no where near the impact that he provided to the Dodgers against right-handers. Against righties, Pederson hit: .252/.349/.571 which is exact proof why the Dodgers prefer to start Pederson against right-handed pitchers or in a pinch hit situation later on in a game against a righty. Assuming that Joc Pederson is still a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers come Opening Day, he will once again be viewed as a pivotal component of the Dodgers outfield mix this year.