A Three Headed…What Exactly?

Good morning all, I hope your morning is going well.

Usually, when you describe something as a “three headed monster” you’re describing something dangerous, something that’ll worry people.

Well, with Jon Jay coming back here soon, we’ll have a three headed logjam at center field, and I’m not sure three headed monster is the correct term for it.

The first two heads, Randall Grichuk and Peter Bourjos, have been monstrous, performing well in Jay’s absence. It’s Jay himself who doesn’t fit the category. He hit .248 until he was injured, and our so-called lead-off hitter has been replaced by Kolten Wong, who, if you hadn’t noticed, has been doing a pretty darn good job, to the tune of a .316 BA, a .373 OBP and a .483 Slugging Percentage.

Back to center field: Grichuk is hitting .308 with a .615 (!) Slugging Percentage. Yes it’s a small sample size at 52 AB’s, but given his potential, I believe he’s capable of sstaining the performance.

As for Bourjos, he’s not doing too bad himself, hitting .272 with a .342 OBP and a .420 Slugging Percentage. Bourjos is also creating havoc on the base paths. For example, the other night, in the bottom of the ninth, he clipped the opposing catcher on the leg with a slide, causing a wild throw which resulting in the winning run scoring in a come from behind victory. He also already has three triples in 81 AB’s.

So this leaves the .248 hitting Jay, who has a .267 Slugging Percentage in 101 AB’s? He has an OK .330 OBP, but Wong’s is better. He doesn’t have Bourjos’ speed or glove, nor can he match Grichuk’s power or the all around offensive game he’s developing. Sure he could be a little more patient as his OBP at .333 is only .025 points higher than his BA, but given his current performance, I think that’s nitpicking.

I think all of that leaves Jay on the bench as a 5th OF. It won’t work out that way of course, as Jay has been one of “Matheny’s Guys” in the past.

I know I’ve been anti-Jay in the past, and admittedly wrongly so on occasion, but I think it’s justified this time.

 

As always, thanks for reading

  • plm998877 May 31, 2015, 8:28 am

    If you look at BAs…. Heyward should be on the bench. Grichuk should be starting in RF, Jay in CF. We traded a bonefide starting pitcher….. former #1 draft pick by the Cards….. for a bench OF and a DLed reliever who may not be back to 100% in ’15. Mozeliak was wrong about Miller…. wrong about Grichuk and wrong about Heyward. This situation shouldn’t be made worse by playing Heyward.

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