Pitching, Defense and 3 Run Homers League; Teams; Players; Trade. Signed By The Latex Salesmen for $9. On defense, there's no question that a move from shortstop to second base should help Polanco's skill set play up. Arraez will see time at second and also likely at third base, left field, and maybe even some shortstop to keep his bat in the lineup and afford plenty of days off to his teammates. 0. The problem is that his -9.1 UZR was dead last (of 128 players to record an inning at the position), and his -8.4 ErrR is reflective of a guy who struggled to throw more often than he didn’t. Many of the plays he was asked to make on the right side of the infield as a shortstop looked a lot like plays you’d expect from a second baseman. Forward thinking teams have been reconsidering how they staff that position and are frequently looking to use that spot to add more offensive punch to their lineups. "I think he's moving around really well," manager Rocco Baldelli said after the Twins' 7-6 win in their spring opener against the Red Sox on Sunday. Altogether this could pretty easily be a 3 to 5 win upgrade for the club. AVG.157. SB. The addition of Simmons means incumbent shortstop Jorge Polanco is expected to shift over to second base. While that data is mostly a dead end for trying to project Polanco at second, we can get some idea of how he might fare from Statcast data. Polanco has been productive at the plate, posting a career .277/.334/.431, but his defense at shortstop is limited. With crisp movements, sure glovework and little wasted movement from even the earliest days of camp, Donaldson had every bit the look of the anchor that the Twins hope will bring some stability to the left side of the infield after years of uncertain defense from both Miguel Sanó and shortstop Jorge Polanco. AVG. After finishing 23 rd overall in team defense last season, Minnesota currently finds themselves 2 nd in 2020. Getting that component of his game back will be critical for both the overall well-roundedness of the lineup and Polanco's success. By those same measures over the same time period, Simmons ranked as the best at the position with +73 DRS and +48.5 UZR. Polanco took a big step back last season after an All-Star campaign in 2019. Arraez has had his own knee troubles in his short big league career and how he’ll fare defensively in the multi-positional role is a question mark. Marwin started 159 of the Twins’ 222 games the past two seasons, the fifth-most of any Twin behind Polanco, Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler, and Nelson Cruz. 1. Then again, he might not need that much transition time. 2021 Fantasy Outlook . In 448 innings last year, Polanco had a defensive runs saved (DRS) of -4. Jorge Polanco has gotten off to a hot start in his career, already racking up 226 RBI and a .281 BA over 441 games. Outs Above Average (OAA) is the cumulative effect of all individual plays a fielder has been credited or debited with, making it a range-based metric of fielding skill that accounts for the number of plays made and the difficulty of them. I think there's an excitement level there for him and all of us to just watch him play and not have to worry about anything health-wise. Polanco has always been a bit of defensive enigma, and that continued in 2020. What remains to be seen is how Polanco will fare on plays moving backward and to his left. His OAA grades by direction at shortstop can give us some insight there. Both Polanco and the Twins noted that his left-handed swing in particular was affected last season by his lingering ankle issues, resulting in a regression from a .306/.378/.513 line from that side in '19 to a .227/.287/.318 mark in '20. The logic of these moves on the defensive side is undeniable. "When you have a legitimate shortstop playing second, that mentality alone, I think that's going to be impactful.". He is a lifelong Twins fan and former college pitcher. The Twins put Polanco toward the top of the lineup against right-handed pitchers for the last two seasons because they believe in his ability to take good at-bats and make solid contact from the left side. Moustakas and Muncy have considerably different body builds and athletic profiles than Polanco (and neither was a big league shortstop) but both have been average-ish defensively there. FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It didn't take long for Jorge Polanco to realize that something was wrong -- again. With Statcast, the fielder’s starting point is now tracked and able to be referenced relative to a batted ball, allowing us to have visibility into all the defensive plays a player is involved in whether they are in their traditional zone or not. Position: Shortstop Bats: Both • Throws: Right 5-11, 208lb (180cm, 94kg) . Did the Twins know this when they signed Simmons? He's always been better from the left side throughout his career, and the fact that his left-handed OPS was 200 points worse than his right-handed mark last season makes the impact of the problem clear -- as does the fact that his average exit velocity as a left-handed hitter dipped considerably, from 88.6 mph in 2019 to 84.9 mph in '20. A list of 30 terrible things that are still better than MLB’s extra-innings rules, Because putting a runner on second to begin extra innings isn’t real baseball, Simmons brings an elite defensive reputation, Twinkie Town Analytics Fundamentals: Measuring Defense, 13 essays look for the meaning of “42 Today”. When asked by Darren Wolfson of SKOR North if Jorge Polanco would be their opening day shortstop, Twins GM Thad Levin said, “I think we look … More From This Game; Minnesota Twins; Jorge Polanco; defense; highlight; Spring Training; Grapefruit League; OFFICIAL INFORMATION. Wait. The net result is there are less plays to make, fewer opportunities to turn two, and less ground for second basemen to cover than ever. Those cases add support to the idea that Polanco can be a plus defender in his new role. This combination of moves is not without risk, though. In pieces analyzing the Moustakas and Semien moves to the keystone for MLB.com, analyst Mike Petriello pointed out that a big driver in teams being willing to make these kinds of moves at second base is that the difficulty level of defense at second base has declined from the past. Polanco has completed 1,173 fielding attempts across 496 games in his career, 980 of which came at the shortstop position. The side arm throwing should play better at second base where the throws are generally shorter. Auctions; Waiver Claim; FA 2-start SPs; Restricted Players; FanGraphs Sortable Stats ; FanGraphs Free Agents ; RotoGraphs ; Avg Salaries; Jorge Polanco MIN SS S Born: 07/05/1993 Age: 27 FanGraphs Player Page. In the wake of a newly positive test, this series has been delayed until further notice. It’s a small sample to be sure, but +2 is leaps and bounds better than his negative numbers in the shortstop area and an improvement on Arraez’s negative numbers in the second base area. 2021 Stats. Barring anything unexpected, Jorge Polanco is expected to be Minnesota's starting shortstop on Opening Day, but manager Paul Molitor admitted that the organization didn't handle Polanco correctly in 2016.Polanco played 75 games at Triple-A Rochester last season, but none of those came at shortstop, as he . (4/6/2021) The numbers throughout this piece suggest Polanco should be a clear upgrade on Arraez at second. Despite Jorge Polanco’s improved defense in 2020, this signing could’ve been a result of the Twins defensive mistakes against the Astros last year in the postseason. Jorge Polanco is rewarding the Minnesota Twins’ faith. Players moving to second base from other positions is becoming a bit of a trend across baseball and Polanco isn’t even the only former shortstop making this same transition this winter — new Blue Jay Marcus Semien is doing the same. That suggests he should be just fine on those kinds of plays at second base. For a second baseman that meant the area between first base and second base where second basemen have historically stood. Rest-of-Season Projections. That's why I didn't know at first if I needed another surgery. Jorge Polanco’s Defensive Transformation Jul 10 2019 08:30 PM | Cody Christie in Minnesota Twins Jorge Polanco made his first All-Star appearance this week and he … Doing so was seen as a way to take advantage of a free agent class flush with good shortstops and improve the infield defense that ranked in the bottom third of MLB in converting ground balls into outs the past two seasons. This data is encouraging and suggests Polanco should be solid at second, especially with a full spring training to get comfortable with the transition. You can see it in his face. Then throw in the recent slide rule changes that have all but eliminated take out slides and it’s clear the athletic demands of the position are significantly less than they used to be. With good health, Simmons is a clear upgrade on Polanco at short. For example, a fielder who catches a 25% Out Probability play gets +.75; one who fails to make the play gets -.25. PA AB R H HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG OPS; 2021: 58: 51: 5: 8: 0: 6: 1.157.241.216.457: 8 Seasons: 2155: 1942 : 259: 534: 49: 251: 34.275.333.428.761: AVG HR RBI SB OPS; 2021.157: 0: 6: 1.457: 8 S Unlock Our Projections. All of them came while he was listed in the Twins’ lineup as the shortstop. You can follow him on Twitter @JohnFoley_21. As the Twins look ready to make a … Going back to 2017, Polanco has had the primary opportunity to make the play on 1,173 batted balls, which are plotted above. The Twins expect that once a healthy Polanco gets acclimated to a handful of new wrinkles at second base -- most notably, playing in shallow right field for pull shifts against left-handed hitters -- he'll play a big role in what they hope will be significantly improved infield defense. Controversy? Statcast’s formulas evaluate each play for difficulty, based on distance, time, runner speed, and other factors. Since 2017, among qualified shortstops, Polanco ranks fifth-worst in defensive runs saved (DRS) with minus-23. The metrics haven't been kind to him at shortstop over the years despite continued hard work at the position, as he's been worth negative Defensive Runs Saved in every Major League season, totaling minus-34 over seven years. In a full 162-game season two years ago, he had a DRS of -10 in 1,233 innings. The optimism about Polanco at second is bolstered by the 200 games and almost 1,700 innings Polanco played there in the minor leagues. The 2020 season had barely started when Polanco realized that his problematic right ankle still didn't feel good. Nonetheless, he’s not entirely unfamiliar with the position, which should help the transition be somewhat easier. What? It's very nice.". HR. Bottom Line: Jorge Polanco It's never good to make a list like this early in your career, but Jorge Polanco has done just enough in six seasons to make the cut. Overall; Last 10; All Leagues … Rookie Status: Exceeded rookie limits during 2016 season "I think I can be pretty dang good at second base," Polanco said. Jorge Polanco wasn’t the worst shortstop in baseball by any means in 2019; heck he even posted a posted 1 DRS. From 2008 to 2019, the number of batted balls charted in the zone of the second baseman decreased by 25%. SS RotoWire News: Polanco will start at shortstop and bat second Tuesday against the Tigers, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports. Simmons and Polanco have both struggled with ankle injuries the past few seasons. In some ways, Jorge Polanco's defense has already progressed. He hit just .258 with a .658 OPS and just four home runs. Despite being listed as the shortstop, Polanco got it started cleanly from the second baseman’s area with a nice backhand feed. We knew many of the problems from a year ago. Though Polanco could continue to see limited time at shortstop as a backup, moving his experience across the bag will certainly serve as a big defensive upgrade over Luis Arraez, and the range and arm that occasionally proved problematic at short should fit right in at the new position. Since the 2016 season when he came to the majors for good, he’s hit .278 / .334 / .434. Jorge Polanco signed a 5 year / $25,750,000 contract with the Minnesota Twins, including $25,750,000 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $5,150,000. Poor Avg Great. For example: That looks like a pretty routine 4-3 ground out. R. SB. Team: Minnesota Twins (majors) Born: July 5, 1993 in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic do Debut: June 26, 2014 (Age 20-356d, 18,290th in MLB history) vs. LAA 0 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB . Much of Polanco’s difficulty on plays to his right came as a result of weak and inconsistent throwing that even led to him revamping his throwing mechanics to rely more on a side arm slot. "It was kind of painful sometimes," Polanco said. Upgrading at shortstop was the key that could also lead to upgrades at second base and the utility position. With Polanco moving to second base due to the arrival of Andrelton Simmons, there should be less pressure on the ankle that required an arthroscopic debridement following the 2019 season and the removal of a bone spur and bone chip following the '20 season. Jorge Polanco ranges to his left, closing on a ball in the hole and making the snow cone catch for the 2nd out of the top of the 4th inning . By OAA, Arraez was 40th of 44 (minus-5 OAA) in 2019 and 24th of 38 (0 OAA) in 2020. In fact, he learned several months before the end of the season that he'd require surgery on the area for a second straight offseason. In 2021, Polanco will earn a base salary of $4,333,334, while carrying a total salary of $4,333,334. Twins 3, Tigers 2: Pitching, defense, and timely hitting is a simple recipe New, 19 comments Kenta Maeda, Jorge Polanco, and the defense lead Twins to victory "Looks great. There were just 0.8 double plays per game in 2020, the lowest in 100 years. At least offensively, Arraez will be a clear upgrade on Marwin Gonzalez in the utility role. Minnesota Twins . Before Statcast was implemented, defensive measures were calculated using a fielder’s typical starting location on the field. 6. The Twins signed the 25-year-old shortstop to a five-year, $25.75-million contract during spring training. RBI. That was a data limitation that proved increasingly problematic with the rising rate of defensive shifts, which frequently changed the typical starting location for fielders and made it more and more difficult to measure an individual player’s defensive contributions. Taken together these moves should also have positive impacts for the pitching staff due to improved infield defense. Though his defense was something of a mixed bag depending on the metric (a -15.7 UZR/150 but +1 Defensive Runs Saved), Polanco still an … Changes in the way the game is played have had a big effect on the requirements for a second base defender. "It feels great to be back after the surgery and having had a couple of at-bats.". Pitch Highlighter | Player Similarity | Shifts | Swing Take Profile | illustrator | Infield Defense | Zone Swing Profile | Player Comparison | Transaction History. "Sometimes it was getting good. Sano was making the move back to third base full time after last year's failed experiment in right field, while Polanco played almost exclusively at second base at Triple-A Rochester in 2016 before playing … In Polanco’s case, it’s a bit of the best of both worlds. How about something more challenging? 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Opportunities into outs Polanco said ; about MLB ; Team INFORMATION ; OFFICIAL INFORMATION might perform at second base the... 0 OAA ) in 2019 the way the game is played have had a couple of at-bats ``. His minus-16.4 ranked second worst innings Polanco played there in the Twins as! Comfortable getting my at-bats, getting my at-bats, getting my at-bats getting. A move from shortstop to second base should help the transition be somewhat easier `` when You have legitimate! The best at the same time, runner speed, and other factors feels great be... Games and almost 1,700 innings Polanco played there in the Twins ’ hope that keystone. Grades by direction at shortstop was the key that could also lead to at...: that looks like a pretty routine 4-3 ground out, among qualified shortstops Polanco. 1,083 more home runs a newly positive test, this series has been productive the...
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