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Franklin Gutierrez is Incredible
I sincerely hope that all Mariners fans know just how lucky we are to have
Franklin Gutierrez. Not only has he been the best defensive center fielder in baseball this season, with a 15.1 UZR (BJ Upton is 2nd with a 7.7), but he has also been one of the most valuable in general, for virtually no money.
I want to make some comparisons here to a few other notable center fielders. Keep in mind, the WAR values are a day old.
Franklin Gutierrez – 26 years old, .300 BA, .816 OPS, 14 HR, 3.8 WAR, 15.1 UZR
Salary: $455,000
Torii Hunter – 34 years old, .305 BA, .938 OPS, 17 HR, 2.9 WAR, -2.5 UZR
Salary: $18,000,000
Curtis Granderson – 28 years old, .261 BA, .816 OPS, 22 HR, 2.7 WAR, -2.8 UZR
Salary: $3,500,000
B.J. Upton – 24 years old, .240 BA, .678 OPS, 7 HR, 2.0 WAR, 7.7 UZR
Salary: $435,000
Adam Jones – 24 years old, .298 BA, .845 OPS, 19 HR, 2.1 WAR, -8.4 UZR
Salary: $435,000
Grady Sizemore – 27 years old, .232 BA, .754 OPS, 15 HR, 1.1 WAR, -2.6 UZR
Salary: $4,766,666
Vernon Wells – 30 years old, .259 BA, .719 OPS, 12 HR, -1.0 WAR, -19.5 UZR
Salary: $4,687,500
And that’s just a few of the notable center fielders in the game that Franklin Gutierrez has been more valuable than. The only center fielders in baseball that have been better than him are Matt Kemp, who is also incredible, and Nyjer Morgan, who is just an unbelievable defensive outfielder.
The fact is, Franklin Gutierrez is an all-star caliber player, and if he continues to play like this he will most certainly be recognized as such in the near future. We are truly privileged in the fact that we’ll get to watch him play in a Mariner uniform for at least the next 3 years.
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