Comments on: Can Dexter Fowler Really Keep This Up?

By: Brian Mangan

Brian Mangan — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 20:02:57 +0000

Fowler’s rest of season ZIPS: .280/.364/.462
Fowler’s updated total season projection: .304/.388/.495

I guess the answer to the article is a resounding “yes”

By: ALeeRocks

ALeeRocks — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 17:54:39 +0000

So now that Fowler’s numbers have evened out:

Home: 0.333/0.425/0.610 (still awesome)
Away: 0.250/0.322/0.417 (league average)
vs. Right: 0.301/0.387/0.540
vs. Left: 0.297/0.379/0.516
HR/FB: 17.5%

Does that look like “a league average CF?” Three plus months into 2012, he now only has the ninth-highest wOBA of any qualified outfielder. Baseball history shows that many players’ career paths are not as linear as others.

I would not sell high.

By: WackyTobaccy

WackyTobaccy — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 03:29:29 +0000

Pairing two southpaws with strong platoon splits makes it no easier or better to take advantage of splits. To believe the option of two LH hitters with heavy platoon splits supercedes the other option of a LH and RH hitter who both carry traditional platoon splits is to fall victim to the gambler’s fallacy. You would be pre-supposing that the game in which the LaHairless Cubs are playing against a LHP, will somehow coincide more succinctly with that of another LH bat playing against a RHSP in a different game, than that of a Bay led tributary of offense against a LHSP on the same day in a separate game.

The reality is that better platoon partners are made from the same team (i.e. Reed Johnson who has career OPSs of .831 vs LHP compared to .709 vs RHP) or I would suggest finding a guy whose OPS is .700+ on another team and who plays regularly with less than a .030 split difference and use him as a substitute regardless. In essence, I would suggest choosing to play player X regardless over LaHair when a southpaw starter or a team deep with LH relievers (i.e. Reds – Chapman, Marshall, Bray) is facing the Cubs.

By finding a platoon neutral player, you are guaranteed to take advantage of days where you don’t want to play LaHair’s .457 OPS vs LHP. If the guy is league average or better, plays everyday, and his worse of the two platoon splits is around .700, than you are guaranteed to avoid holes in your lineup. Figuring you can maneuver your roster accordingly, I would pick up a guy like Casper Wells or Craig Allen, so long as they play regularly.

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 20:10:07 +0000

I have Stubbs and Fowler in a league and I am looking to shed one of them. Which should I keep and which should I drop?
I am totally baffled. My guts says keep Stubbs, but Fowler has more upside.

By: themick

themick — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 20:04:50 +0000

I watch almost every Rockies game that is on TV and try to go to 3-4 a year and just about when you have had it with Fowler he starts hitting. But he can not steal a base to save his butt. Most of the time when the pitcher delivers his pitch Dexter is leaning back toward first, now you would think after 3+ years in the Majors he would be able to read a pitcher by now. In the outfield he gets great jumps on most balls and his speed lets him run them down.
But a man that is 6’5″ and has such long arms and legs should be able to hit 25 hr, 20 triples and 30 doubles in his sleep. Myself I think he is a bit on the lazy side from time to time.

By: neboguy

neboguy — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:33:35 +0000

I was able to nab Tim Hudson for Fowler straight up on Sunday. The funny thing is I offered the same trade (and a few other Fowler offers to other owners) a week earlier and I couldn’t give him away. Funny how much a player’s value can go up (or down) in a week. But that’s the beauty of baseball . . .

By: theeiffeltower

theeiffeltower — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 10:55:24 +0000

You also probably should have mentioned the adjustment he made to his swing partway through last year, which coincides nicely with his hot streak.

By: theeiffeltower

theeiffeltower — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 10:54:01 +0000

Are those FB and GB percentages bad or something? I don’t get it

By: James

James — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 05:40:19 +0000

Yeah, my league is full of risk-averse players who value their players more than players on other teams. I wouldn’t be able to get anything of value for him right now. My plan is just to platoon him until September 2nd when 20 out of the final 30 games is on the road. Hopefully he will have a .285/.370/.870 line with 15HRs and 20 steals at that point and with around 500 ABs by then, people will let their guard down a bit about small sample size flukes. That’s when I’ll be selling high.

By: BosoxBob

BosoxBob — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 03:36:09 +0000

I used Baseball Musings' Day By Day Database tool - specifically, the Batter Split Comparisons. I got the home left/right splits directly, and computed the away left/right splits from the difference of the total left/right and home left/right splits.