Kevin Pilllar is 26th among MLB OFers in WAR with 1.5

[Spoonovic]

Above guys such as Michael Brantley and Starling Marte.

 

I think this whole board would have thrilled to get a 1.5 WAR from our centre fielder for the whole season going into spring training.

[admin]

Let's see how he does. He started the year off good. Then 19 games hit .118/.164. His last 22 games .388/.412.

[Caper]

Some days it looks like he will never make it others it looks like he might stick around. If he's watching tape, trying to become a true student of hitting then maybe he will figure it out.

 

A guy you really want to root for.

[KingKat]

Some days it looks like he will never make it others it looks like he might stick around. If he's watching tape, trying to become a true student of hitting then maybe he will figure it out.

 

A guy you really want to root for.

 

There's a lot to be said for guys with defensive values. Establishes a nice floor, a nice baseline of value which reflects the fact that they are always contributing in at least one way even when they are struggling at the plate. Ideally, you'd prefer to play matchups a little more with him to maximize his value but he's never flat out useless out there.

[pickoff22]

He has been outstanding. I refuse to live in a world where I always assume someone who is doing better than expected will simply crash back down to earth - here's hoping this is the new norm for him. Guy works his ass off.

[RealAccountant]

Anthony Gose = .1 WAR

[Jonzo]

Colby Rasmus = 1.1 WAR

[Frenchsoup]

Colby Rasmus = 1.1 WAR

 

That babip though. Also i believe Colby isn't playing CF, he's playing LF in an easy yard.

[Brownie19]

Anthony Gose = .1 WAR

 

shocking to see him with a negative on defense...

[BigCecil]

Baseball reference has his dWAR 1.6 and oWAR 1 - overall 2.4 WAR almost half way through season.

 

If he can hit more like he has in June the rest of the year (tall order) and continue to play strong D (his relay through to Kawasaki the night before last was not given the credit it deserved) then this will continue to move up.

 

He fked up last night but that happens. Overall he has given us more than we could hope to expect considering most see his ceiling as a 4th OF.

[BigCecil]

shocking to see him with a negative on defense...

 

Gose over rated on SB speed and D imo. He has a great arm though.

 

Pillar has stolen almost as many bags as Gose and has a better success ratio.

[GD]

He has a DRS of 12 or something stupid

[G-Snarls]

Gose over rated on SB speed and D imo. He has a great arm though.

 

Pillar has stolen almost as many bags as Gose and has a better success ratio.

 

Gose is so fast but gets caught stealing way too much

[Brownie19]

Gose over rated on SB speed and D imo. He has a great arm though.

 

Pillar has stolen almost as many bags as Gose and has a better success ratio.

 

Such a disappointment all around. Great god given talent. At the very least, you thought you'd get a GG defense in CF and a terror on the base paths - even if he never hit much. It's amazing we got Travis for this guy.

[Smokey]

There's a lot to be said for guys with defensive values. Establishes a nice floor, a nice baseline of value which reflects the fact that they are always contributing in at least one way even when they are struggling at the plate. Ideally, you'd prefer to play matchups a little more with him to maximize his value but he's never flat out useless out there.

 

Well, according to some Ryan Goins is a top 10 defensive infielder and he hasn't been able to establish much of a floor. So I don't think that theory is valid especially when it comes to a team aspiring to contend. That being said, Pillar is starting to show that he's more than just a one dimensional player. Since making that adjustment and reducing his leg kick he seems to have a much better plate coverage and is showing a great approach for a guy whose potential appears somewhat limited offensively.

 

I'm starting to warm up to the fact that he's a legit major leaguer but still remain a bit concerned that he might not be able to keep up this all out hustle all season long or might possibly injure himself running into a wall.

[G-Snarls]

Such a disappointment all around. Great god given talent. At the very least, you thought you'd get a GG defense in CF and a terror on the base paths - even if he never hit much. It's amazing we got Travis for this guy.

 

.309 OBP and only 11 for 17 in SB attempts this year

 

Not a leadoff hitter

[KingKat]

Well, according to some Ryan Goins is a top 10 defensive infielder and he hasn't been able to establish much of a floor. So I don't think that theory is valid especially when it comes to a team aspiring to contend. That being said, Pillar is starting to show that he's more than just a one dimensional player. Since making that adjustment and reducing his leg kick he seems to have a much better plate coverage and is showing a great approach for a guy whose potential appears somewhat limited offensively.

 

I'm starting to warm up to the fact that he's a legit major leaguer but still remain a bit concerned that he might not be able to keep up this all out hustle all season long or might possibly injure himself running into a wall.

 

Fair enough. You do need a baseline of offensive competence to not completely give away the gains you're making on defense. A good versatile defender with a platoon split is a guy you can extract a lot of value out of if you use him properly. A guy who can't hit on either side of the ball not so much.

[Dr. Dinger]

Some days it looks like he will never make it others it looks like he might stick around. If he's watching tape, trying to become a true student of hitting then maybe he will figure it out.

 

A guy you really want to root for.

 

I met Pillar on the street after his 2 HR game against Scherzer and he's a really humble guy. I've never been a big believer in his ability to hit much at the big league level, but he is easy to root for. Really, if he can even be a league average hitter, that's a pretty decent asset given his defence.

[z3r0s]

He is a lot better defensively than I ever gave him credit for. Even after some of the diving catches early in the year I wasn't much of a believer, but he just keeps doing it and the metrics like him. Guy looks like he could have a floor of a good 4th OF, ceiling is higher than I thought.

 

Good to be surprised.

[Frag]

I can see why he was compared to Reed Johnson, except I don't think Johnson's glove was ever this good.

[Dr. Dinger]

I can see why he was compared to Reed Johnson, except I don't think Johnson's glove was ever this good.

 

Reed was better at getting on base, the dude was a HBP machine. If I'm not mistaken, he's 2nd on the active list for HBP, behind Chase Utley.

[Frag]

Reed was better at getting on base, the dude was a HBP machine.

 

Well yeah, obviously.

[RealAccountant]

Reed Johnson vs a monster vs LHP

[KingKat]

I can see why he was compared to Reed Johnson, except I don't think Johnson's glove was ever this good.

 

Pretty different guys. Even in his younger days, Johnson was never more than an emergency CF. He was corner OF though and through but he had way better plate discipline than Pillar will ever have. I used to think Pillar could be a poor man's Johnson because he was an unheralded guy who would probably do well in a platoon but now that I'm more familiar with his game, I just think of Pillar as very much his own animal.

[theblujay]

My question is how does Kiermaier have a higher Def runs on fangraphs than Pillar

[KingKat]

My question is how does Kiermaier have a higher Def runs on fangraphs than Pillar

 

Kiermaier is oustanding. That's not really suspect.

[GD]

My question is how does Kiermaier have a higher Def runs on fangraphs than Pillar

 

because fangraphs isn't blue jays homer?

[theblujay]

because fangraphs isn't blue jays homer?

 

I'm saying why isn't pillar better?

[theblujay]

He's got 13 DRS Kiermaier has 18.

 

But Kiermaier has 5x the runs

[Smokey]

I'm saying why isn't pillar better?

 

Because he's not??