Dodgers vs. Giants position-by-position comparison: Shortstop

Brandon Crawford’s pedestrian offensive numbers can hide the value he brings defensively. By Ray Ambler – RAPhotos.com

The baseball season’s coming up and Mike Krukow thinks Yasiel Puig is dumb for not pegging the Giants as their biggest rival. In San Luis Obispo, I’d say they are, though the two teams have not met in the playoffs since the Wild Card round started.

I thought it would be fun to, over the next few weeks, go position by position and compare what personnel the two teams have in preparation for the 2015 season. Pitchers will come last, but we’ll finish off the infield with the most important infielder of them all — the shortstop.

Position by Position: Catcher

Position by Position: First Base

Position by Position: Second Base

Position by Position: Third Base

Position by Position: Left Field

Jimmy Rollins

Positionally, the Dodgers had enough of Hanley Ramirez over the past few seasons to make the cost of his bad defense somewhat defensible. They also had to play someone who wasn’t Hanley Ramirez at the position over 2/3 of the time over the past two seasons. When they needed him most, and when he was playing his best, the Cardinals drilled Ramirez in the ribs. Nobody ever “stood-up” for Hanley in any kind of a real way and the Dodgers withered away in the playoffs two straight years.

This season, Hanley is in Boston and the Dodgers acquired a much cheaper option who they aren’t committed to long-term. Along with double-play partner Howie Kendrick, Jimmy Rollins is really the embodiment of what the Dodgers did this offseason. They gave themselves what they hope is above average production while maintaining flexibility to spend their sizable funds elsewhere if need be.

Rollins isn’t Ramirez at the plate, but the Dodgers hope he can make up for it by not being an atrocious fielder. Even at the age of 36, Rollins is an average shortstop defensively — a huge upgrade — and can be a solid everyday leadoff hitter. Even though he isn’t as potent an offensive weapon as Ramirez, Rollins has played in 84 more games than Hanley over the past two seasons — the equivalent of a half a season. That reliability is worth a lot to a team that doesn’t have a ton of immediate depth at the position (Corey Seager is in the minors, but is probably still a year away).

Rollins is a widely-respected World Series champion and, in contrast to the departed Matt Kemp, is seen as a guy who is easy to get along with. By all accounts, he’s a reliable clubhouse leader. He is from the West coast (Oakland area) and the Dodgers feel he still has a lot to give.

While he’s been mostly injury-free during his career, the Dodgers hope they can get a lot of games out of

Rollins is projected by ZiPS for slightly more than two wins above replacement. Dodger fans hope that number is buoyed by the clubhouse atmosphere upgrade he also brings.

Brandon Crawford

Brandon Crawford is projected by ZiPS to be the third-highest field-playing contributor to the Giants’ overall success this season. Crawford hit under .250 last year, but his good defensive play makes him a valuable commodity for San Francisco in the middle of their infield.

Seriously, Crawford is really good at defense. Really good. He has great range and even if you don’t put a lot of weight in advanced defensive metrics, having a solid shortstop to anchor your defense has trickle-down effects that aren’t easily measured.

If you do want to hear about his defense, Crawford had an insane UZR/150 in 2012 (10.0). He was 10 defensive runs better than the average shortstop according to this number. Instead of making lots of insane plays like he did two or three years ago, Crawford got better at making just about all the “kind of tough” plays.

The bottom line is that Crawford has been steadily getting better each of the past three years and is 28 years-old. At that age, maintaining his value or even getting a little better is not out of the question, and projections for this season like a player of his age and profile.

Also, he’s been a contributor to two World Series champions, and that cannot be dismissed.

The verdict

Over time, defensive play at shortstop declines at varying rates, depending on the player. Rollins is a player who makes virtually all the routine plays, and has for years. Crawford has just three years of data, but seems to be slightly better defensively. Add to that the advantage that a eight-year age difference gives the San Fransciso shortstop and you have to give the defensive advantage to Crawford.

At this point in his career, Rollins may have the hitting edge by just about the same margin that Crawford has the edge in fielding. At first glance, I would think that Rollins has more of an advantage than that at the plate, but I haven’t seen Rollins play every day for the past few years.

I hate myself for doing this, but I’m going to do the position preview of calling a double-foul in basketball.

I’m calling this one a push.

I know, I’m disappointed in myself for not choosing, but this one is too close to call right now. Talk to me in August and let me know how dumb I was to call this one a draw.

Shortstop Advantage: Push

Trackbacks

1. Dodgers vs. Giants position-by-position comparison: Center Field - Fansmanship says:

   03/18/2015 at 7:04 am

   […] Position by Position: Shortstop […]