2009 Left Field Position Review

Onward we go, this time to the left field position in 2009. Here are the players and how they fared when they played left field.

Name	G	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	H	R	HR	RBI	BB	SO
David Dejesus	139	.281	.344	.430	.775	153	71	12	69	48	85
Mitch Maier	17	.194	.200	.200	.400	12	6	0	6	13	17
Willie Bloomquist	9	.290	.378	.355	.733	9	4	0	2	5	4
Jose Guillen	4	.200	.235	.400	.635	3	3	1	2	0	5
Josh Anderson	1	1.000	1.000	1.000	2.000	1	1	0	0	0	0
Ryan Freel	1	.200	.333	.226	.559	1	0	0	0	0	2
Tug Hulett	1	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	0	0	0

Basically we are talking about David Dejesus. Personally I am a huge fan of David Dejesus. I think he is one of the most underrated Royals, at least to Royals fans. I thought he was a fine center fielder, particularly considering his offensive output. Moving him to left was not something I opposed but more something I just didn't get. He went from being a very good CF bat and a decent CF defender to a below average LF bat and an elite LF defender. First, lets see how our position compared to the rest of the league.

Team	Split	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	sOPS+
Red Sox	as LF	.267	.378	.535	.913	132
Rays	as LF	.308	.371	.472	.843	116
Yankees	as LF	.276	.353	.486	.839	114
Blue Jays	as LF	.270	.349	.461	.810	107
Rangers	as LF	.271	.334	.472	.806	105
Twins	as LF	.290	.338	.452	.790	102
Orioles	as LF	.261	.344	.436	.779	100
Tigers	as LF	.254	.326	.445	.772	97
White Sox	as LF	.263	.342	.421	.763	96
Royals	as LF	.273	.345	.412	.756	95
Angels	as LF	.272	.323	.431	.754	93
Athletics	as LF	.260	.336	.408	.744	91
Indians	as LF	.253	.313	.417	.730	87
Mariners	as LF	.219	.276	.333	.609	57

Offensively, the Royals were below average, however a .756 OPS would have been the 4th highest in the AL at CF. But being at least somewhat close to average at LF is something to appreciate on this team.

It is pretty clear from the chart how most teams utilize the LF position. They usually have guys with some power out if left field, presumably to hide their less than stellar defense. The Royals on the other hand take a capable center fielder who is good at getting on base and great defense, and put him out in left. The Royals had a very high average and on base percentage for the position, but only outslugged the Mariners LF.

The Royals look to continue the trend of playing Dejesus in LF in 2010, which isn't the worst thing in the world, particularly on this team. But of course that is in a vacuum. Would the Royals have been better served in putting Dejesus back in CF and picking up a LF on the free agent market? Possibly. However, it didn't happen.