The Best Fourth Outfielder in Baseball http://sbn.to/1j9sxyb 来自 @BtBScore Four Kinds of Fourth Outfielders: Defensive Standouts, Base Runners, Platoon Splitters, Big Boppers Like a blank in Scrabble, the very best fourth outfielders in the game will probably be able to check off more than one of the above boxes. So for best fourth outfielder in baseball, I'd like to nominate new Athletics acquisition Craig Gentry. Those that frequently tune into the Beyond the Box Score channel can guess that we pay particular attention to unconventional moves by Billy Beane & Co., and the Gentry acquisition could fit the mold. Consider that in the same offseason in which they acquired Gentry, the Athletics also traded Seth Smith. Smith doesn't have much of a platoon split to take advantage of, and with a middling BsR (1.7 in 2013), not much power (46 AB/HR in 2013, 28 AB/HR career), and roughly average defense (5.4 UZR/150 in 2013, but 1.8 UZR/150 career), Smith doesn't have any special sauce that might make him particularly useful in particular situations. With Gentry, who has even less of a platoon split than Smith, I'm reminded that a player need not have a platoon split of his own for a team to get a platoon advantage out of him. Context like Coco Crisp's recent struggles against lefties (.216 in 2013, versus .286 against RHP) does matter, just like offense-first fourth outfielders can be fits for teams that start two outfielders capable of playing center. Gentry fits our fourth outfielder definition perfectly -- he's more than adequate with the bat (108 wRC+ in 2013, 96 wRC+ career), and he can play all three outfield positions. What sets him apart, however, is that he's got two varieties of special sauce -- very good baserunning (5.8 BsR in 2013) and superb defense (32.1 UZR/150 in 2013, 29.3 UZR/150 career). --

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