Figgins Having A Career Year (Again)
At the age of 31, Chone Figgins is showing no signs of slowing down. He racked up four hits yesterday, three of them doubles, to raise his season line to .312/.401/.413. He’s also flashing the leather over at third base, and his total performance for the season has been worth +4.6 wins. He’s got a shot at finishing the season as a +6 win player, just in time for free agency.
Figgins began his career as an okay hitter, who hit for a high average, drew some walks, and stole a bunch of bases. Since he didn’t really establish himself as a regular until he was 26, his early career performance looked like it would be his peak. Instead, he’s getting better with age.
Here’s Figgins walk rates by season:
Every year since he arrived in the big leagues, Figgins has upped his rate of free passes. He’s done this without a corresponding increase in strikeout rate by just swinging at fewer pitches out of the zone. By getting more selective, he’s been able to increase his contact rate and draw more walks, which is a pretty nifty combination.
After bouncing all over the field, he’s also found a home at third base, and has settled in as one of the better defenders of the hot corner in the game. His +9.6 UZR for the season ranks him just behind Evan Longoria and Joe Crede but right in front of Brandon Inge and Adrian Beltre. That’s some pretty nice company.
In his first three and a half years in the big leagues (2003 to 2006), Figgins racked up a total of +7.3 wins, making him essentially a league average player. In the last two and a half years, Figgins has earned +10.1 wins, which is the kind of production teams get from all-star caliber players.
He’s not as big a name as Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, but Figgins is going to get paid fairly well this winter, and if the Angels don’t shell out the cash to keep him around, they’re going to have a tough time replacing his production. He’s turned himself into a very nice player.
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I would love, love, LOVE, my O’s to sign Chone this offseason.
He would fit in nicely at the top of the order, allowing AJones to move down to his more natural 4 spot, and Figgins would fill the gaping offensive hole left by MelMo. And if the O’s can afford to pay MelMo $8 mil per, then pony up baby!
Dave,
Is there any documented correlation between a player bouncing around defensive positions, and their offensive productivity? It seems the spike in Figgins offensive production really took off after he established himself at third base. Before then, he was a super utility player, playing multiple positions each year.
Wow, I had no idea Figgins’ UZR was right up there with Evan Longoria. Take a look at the rest of his numbers: his .401 OBP is the 4th highest in the AL. He leads the AL in runs (92). He’s third in SB (37) and 5th in walks (68).
His contributions at the top of the Angels order, especially in Torii Hunter’s absence, shouldn’t be ignored. Do you think Figgins will generate any MVP consideration? I’d argue he’s been more valuable to his team than Tex has for the stacked Yankees.
Karl Moats
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Dave, do you think that Chone is the type of player that Jack Z would target for the Mariners this offseason?
It would never in a million years happen, but i would love to see the Cubs plug Figgins into the 2B role
Figgins is a fit for almost every team, because he can slot into any defensive position other than catcher. That said, he is an absolute vacuum at third and his arm is as strong as anyone’s at the position. The other thing is that I still think he gets way below value because he doesn’t have the cache of home runs. All the reports say that he is the Angels’ first priority, even before John Lackey, so I think the chances of him leaving are slim.
He can play a bunch of positions, but hasn’t been above average anywhere but third. Whoever signs him should leave him there.
I recall a particularly contentious comment thread this winter after Ryan Glass called out Figgins as lucky and forecasted a sub-.650 OPS going forward. Ryan, if you are still around, how would you approach a revised BABIP analysis of Figgins?
I recall 3 contentious threads, about Figgins, Brian Giles and Jason Kubel, and i think the score is 0-3. Sometimes as we advance stat wise we get to a point where we gild the lily and over-analyze what is there.
Beat me to it RR8.
The Yankees need to sign him to ensure that they never actually play against him again.