Monday, April 24, 2017

Force To Be Reckoned With

If you follow me at all, you've probably been wondering why this post hasn't been written already. After all, he's one of my very favorite Cardinals and I've yet to write about him. Well, wonder no more. My Grich post has finally arrived.

I'll forewarn you, I have never and will never refer to him as Stallion. Or a Lamborghini. Grich is neither an animal nor a car, so I had, we'll just say, a strong dislike for both nicknames. To be honest, I think most of the disdain for the nicknames came from my dislike of Matheny and his use of said names. It was his fault "the stallion was pent up in the stable" or "the lamborghini was left in the garage." Last year, Matheny couldn't say much that thrilled me, but these nicknames took the cake.

Randal Grichuk is a polarizing player with Cards fans. There are those that love the guy and believe in what he brings to the table. Then there are those who have decided after 301 games and only in his age 25 season, that he will never cut it.

Starting with this season, early as it may be, I have much reason to hope, as well as be completely fine with where he is at this moment, especially when compared to the rest of the team.

In 19 games/69 plate appearances: 8 R, 15 H, 6 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 4 BB, 22 SO, 231 BA, 275 OBP, 415 SLG, 691 OPS, 87 OPS+, 317 BAPIP

Sure, some numbers aren't great--here's looking at you, strikeouts. However, in case anyone might not know, he is tied with Dexter Fowler for the lead there, with Matt Carpenter closing in on them at 17, Stephen Piscotty at 14. At the opposite angle, with walks, sure, it doesn't seem like he takes many. Again, you may be surprised to know that 4 is the same number or more than Jose Martinez, Yadier Molina, Aledmys Diaz, Greg Garcia, Eric Fryer, Jhonny Peralta and Matt Adams. No one on the team is practicing much patience, as our highest amount of walks for one player is 11, and the rest are single digits, mostly in the 2-5 range. 

Grich is tied for second on the team in runs batted in with 8. Out of his 15 hits, 8 are extra base hits. By the way, only one person has more hits this season and that is Aledmys Diaz. Randal's 231 batting average, if you take out Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha, puts him at 7th highest on the team. Below him are Wong, Piscotty, Fryer, Adams, Fowler and Peralta. Carpenter is only at 236.

Honestly, I'm not sure how anyone is feeling negatively about him at this point anymore, but I'll continue.

Given how he is fitting in fairly well with the team's offense right now, as well as the team's defense, both of which are running on the low side, there really shouldn't be more concern for Grichuk over others this year.

Now I'll take you on a little trip down Memory Lane.

In 301 games/1013 plate appearances: 238 hits, 64 2B, 11 3B, 46 HR, 131 RBI, 10 SB, 59 BB, 304 SO, 252 BA, 275 OBP, 489 SLG, 790 OPS, 110 OPS+, 322 BAPIP

Out of those 238 hits, 121 were for extra bases. Over half! In 2016, it became a running commentary on Twitter that he hated first base because he was never there...he seemed to only be able to hit for extra bases.

Some fun offensive highlights through the years for all the warm fuzzies: 

Grand Slam against Cubs

Walk Off Home Run Against the Cubs

Grich's First Major League Home Run

Opening Night 2017 Grich Home run and walk off hit

I'll dive a bit into the defensive side of things, if only to show my favorite defensive highlights of Grich...amazing plays.

In 19 games/12 complete games: 2 errors and -5 defensive runs saved with 943 fielding percentage

Numbers aren't great, and I can't necessarily put a sunny spin on them for this year specifically for Grich. However, I can say that defensively speaking, our team is last or almost last across all of baseball in all defensive categories. In all honesty, numbers won't stay at this level and with continued daily play in left field, he'll continue to improve. Most likely he will probably end up in the top 10 in the MLB again after the season is done as he did last season in center field.

Over his career, however, things are much brighter.

In 258 games/186 complete games: 8 errors, 14 defensive runs saved, 984 fielding percentage (these include 2017)

For a brief comparison, in those same years, Dexter has 13 errors and staggering -33 defensive runs saved (402 games/364 complete games). Piscotty has 6 errors and -3 defensive runs saved (in 228 games/184 complete games). Randal Grichuk can't possibly look like he's struggling out there when compared to our other outfielders. And I love Dex, but bear in mind that is only going back to 2014 to stick with comparable years as closely as I can. The negatives dive deeper. Defensively, it is somewhat of a wait and see if he is much better than Grichuk out there.

I'm well aware that these defensive stats do not cover everything, but they do paint a bit of the picture. In a fairly comparable amount of playing time, Grichuk has proven he is not the one we should be overly concerned about out there in the outfield.

Now, for those beautiful defensive highlights:

Diving Double Play

Home Run Robbery-Kendrick Dodgers

Grichuk Diving Catch

Home Run Robbery-Rizzo Cubs

All in all, after these warm fuzzy videos, in many of which he is showing his love for beating the Cubs, I hope I've turned a few naysayers over to my side. All I ask is that Grichuk gets some time to prove himself. While his friends all are receiving millions, avoiding arbitration or getting extensions, the front office and seemingly fans have reservations about Grichuk. He's only 25 and has only played in 301 games until now. I don't think it's time to definitively say anything about Grichuk with much conviction. Grich needs more time and with consistent daily play (no bus to Memphis gassed up and waiting in the parking lot), he can very possibly end up performing much like his second half numbers from last year. He was given the opportunities then to play daily without any concerns of being benched and he lit up the box score. If he keeps playing every day, any strikeouts will be overshadowed by the power. Keep in mind too, he had 24 home runs in the majors last year, 30 total for the year. His speed and athleticism help round out the qualities he brings to the table.

Give Grichuk a chance. Give him some of the time you may have given to others over the years. I promise fireworks and highlight reels. Give him a small slice of your patience. Randal Grichuk is a force to be reckoned with. 








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