Who is the best defensive AL East centerfielder? Check out my ranking below and let me know if you agree! Check back next week for the NL East centerfielder countdown.
8. Randal Grichuk (Toronto Blue Jays)
Grichuk had a down year in 2019 and is hopeful to bounce back when baseball returns. While he was top 10% of the league in outs above average in 2019, his outfielder jump is below average. His sprint speed is also not at the same level of other AL East centerfielders.
His UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) has hovered around average since the beginning of his MLB career and was below average in 2019. UZR measures how many runs a defender saves with 0 UZR being the MLB average, the higher the better. Read more about UZR and why it is meaningful here.
Grichuk played all three outfield positions during his career, but switched between right and centerfield in 2019. While I believe he is better fit to be in rightfield over center, I also believe he is Toronto’s best centerfield option. Best case scenario for him going forward is to maintain an average UZR and work on adjusting to centerfield from right.
7. Aaron Hicks (New York Yankees)
Aaron Hicks joined the Yankees in 2016 and since then has proven himself as a solid defensive option for centerfield. Hicks remains above average in UZR, with a career high 7 UZR in 2017. He also has demonstrated incredible arm strength, throwing a ball 105.5 mph from center to home back in 2016.
One setback for his Hicks is that he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019. Assuming a full recovery from his surgery (he recently started swinging again!), expect to see Hicks hold down the fort in the outfield. But I don’t think we’ll be seeing another 105 mph throw coming from him in the near future.
6. Austin Hays (Baltimore Orioles)
A young AL East centerfielder who definitely made a name for himself in Baltimore last season, Hays is fast, has a plus arm, and made some great grabs in 2019 during his time in the majors. Hays has the potential to be a great centerfielder for the Orioles. While he isn’t quite up to the standard of the more experienced players on this list, I wouldn’t be surprised if he moved up a few spots in the next couple years.
5. Kevin Pillar (Boston Red Sox)
Former Blue Jay star centerfielder, Kevin Pillar is the type of player who makes outfield plays look easy. Though he was in the running for a Gold Glove a few times, he unfortunately never won. The year for him to do it, however, would have been 2016. His best season defensively, Pillar demonstrated his outfield range and ability to make fantastic fan favorite plays.
Since 2016, Pillar remains an above average defender but his defensive stats started to decline to a career low in 2019. His career high 12.2 UZR from 2016 slowly decreased to a below average -0.5 UZR in 2019. He is also not making those super tough plays at the same rate that he used to.
Looking at all of his defensive stats, it’s possible that we’ve seen Pillar’s best seasons already. While he may have lost a step in centerfield, Pillar is still capable of making exciting plays in big moments. He is a great, experienced defensive player, and Red Sox fans should be excited to have him join the team.
4. Brett Gardner (New York Yankees)
Brett Gardner is one of those players who has been on the Yankees forever, and for good reason. He is a fantastic defensive player and a fan-favorite, with a career high 26.7 UZR in 2011. While he has never again gotten his UZR up that high, he continued to impress defensively during his last three seasons by maintaining an UZR well above average. This means that he’s given fans some great plays to watch and is expected to continue to when baseball returns.
Gardner, however, is approaching his 12th year in the majors in 2020 at 36 years old and cannot be expected to make the same plays he has over the past decade. He also has never really been able to make the absolute toughest plays (plays with less than a 10% probability of being made) at the same rate of other centerfielders on this list.
3. Manuel Margot (Tampa Bay Rays)
A new AL East centerfielder, Margot was traded to the Rays this past offseason, adding depth to their outfield. While he will likely be a platoon player for Kiermaier, he is sure to have highlight plays in the outfield.
Coming from the Padres, Margot had a career high 6 UZR in 2018 and 5.8 UZR in 2019. In 2019 he also ranked 7th in the league for Outs Above Average (OAA). Outs Above Average measures how many more outs a player makes relative to the average number across the league, the higher the better. Read more about what Outs Above Average is and why it is meaningful here.
Those stats mean that his defensive skills will allow Margot to make more successful plays than an average defensive centerfielder. Expect to see him help get out of high pressure pitching spots and save some runs. He also has great outfielder jump, meaning he reacts to the ball quickly, and is fast.
2. Jackie Bradley Jr. (Boston Red Sox)
A 2018 Gold Glove recipient, Bradley Jr. performed very well defensively over the past 7 seasons with the Red Sox. A fun to watch member of the Red Sox outfield, he has an elite arm and above average UZR for the majority of his time in the majors. He’s shown the ability to consistently make tough plays out of his defensive zone, meaning he has good range and covers a lot of outfield ground.
After winning his 2018 Gold Glove, Bradley Jr. said that he felt 2018 was actually his worst season to date defensively. While this was a peak year for him in terms of UZR, we actually see a decrease in his other defensive stats that season. That being said, he still made one third of plays deemed “remote”, meaning the probability of making them was less than 10 percent. (Talk about being hard on yourself!)
During the 2019 season, there is a downward trend with his UZR and he made a fewer percentage of those “remote” plays than in previous years. Regardless, Bradley Jr. remains an elite defender with the ability to make exciting outfield plays in the coming years.
1. Kevin Kiermaier (Tampa Bay Rays)
Watching Kevin Kiermaier in the outfield is one of the reasons why Rays fans love watching their games. Three time Gold Glove winner and 2015 Platinum Glove winner, his dives and clutch grabs are what make him so much fun to watch.
Kiermaier is one of those players who just can’t seem to stay healthy. Whether it’s diving for a ball in center or sliding into first (painful to watch that one), it seems like every season he finds a way to get on the injured list.
Despite his time off the field, he still manages to put up incredible defensive numbers. That is what makes him not only the best defensive AL East centerfielder, but one of the best in baseball as well.
Kiermaier put up a career high 18.6 UZR in 2015. Though he hasn’t quite gotten that high again, Kiermaier has maintained an above average UZR almost every year since. He also has a plus arm and is really fast, top 3% in the league. He reaches the most remote balls, has elite jump, and has efficient routes.
In terms of Outs Above Average, Kiermaier ranked 2nd in the league for the 2019 season with 17 OAA. In fact, his OAA has been in the double digits every year of his major league career except one (2017, with 7 OAA). He is truly an elite defensive centerfielder.
Who do you think is the best defensive AL East centerfielder? Leave a comment below. Check back next Tuesday to find out who the best defensive centerfielder in the NL East is!