Friar Friday’s: Outfield
By Matt Welch
Last week on Friar Friday’s we looked at the catcher position. This week, we’ll take a look at the outfield.
Sep 9, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres left fielder Carlos Quentin (18) is congratulated by third base coach Glenn Hoffman (left) after hitting a home run during the seventh inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
We’ll start in left field with Carlos Quentin. Quentin had off-season knee surgery and has yet to make his debut in spring training this season. He’s expected back today or over the weekend. Last season, the two-time All Star hit .261 with 16 home runs and 46 RBI’s. He had an OBP of .374, a SLG of .504 and and an OPs of .877. For his career he has an AVG of .253 with 137 homers and 429 RBI’s. He’s hit over 20 home runs in four of his seven years in the majors. He won the Silver Slugger Award in 2008 with the Chicago White Sox when he hit 36 long balls and knocked in 100 RBI’s. He has a career fielding percentage of .976 and has only committed 12 errors in his career. Quentin has shown that he’s capable of being a power guy, but has lacked consistency over the years. He’s starting to slow down and it shows. He’s never hit better than .288 for his career and has 428 career strikeouts. He adds the power element to the lineup and is hoping to stay healthy enough to have a productive season.
Sep 10, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres center fielder Cameron Maybin (24) points to right fielder Will Venable (not pictured) after scoring on his fielder
Moving over the center field, there’s Cameron Maybin. So far this spring he’s hitting .350 with a home run and 3 RBI’s. Last season he finished the season hitting .243 with 8 home runs and 45 RBI’s. He also stole 26 bases. For his career he’s hitting .251 with 30 home runs, 135 RBI’s, and 85 stolen bases. In the field, he has a career fielding percentage of .988 in center field, committing 13 errors over the course of his career. Maybin is the speedster on the roster. He’s the type of guy you want to get on base in front of guys like Quentin and Chase Headley so that they can bring him around, even though he’s projected to bat towards the bottom of the lineup. He’s not going to outshine star players, but he’s going to get the job done.
March 3, 2013; Peoria, AZ, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Will Venable (25) singles in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox during a spring training game at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
In right field is Will Venable. This spring he’s hitting .240 with a home run, 2 RBI’s and 3 doubles. Last season he had an AVG of .264 with 9 home runs, 4 RBI’s, 26 doubles, 8 triples, and 24 stolen bases. For his career, he’s hitting .253 with 45 home runs, 188 RBI’s, 69 doubles, 26 triples, and 86 stolen bases. In the field, he has a fielding percentage of .983 in the outfield for his career, committing 15 errors. Venable is the much like Maybin. He’s good at knocking the ball in the gap and then letting his speed do the work around the base path. His power is coming along but it comes mostly in the form of doubles and triples that lead to him scoring runs at the hands of the top of the lineup.
Other players who are likely to see time in the outfield are Chris Denorfia, Logan Forsythe, Jesus Guzman, and Alex Amarista.