Rajai Davis: Everyday Left Fielder

Watching pre-game coverage of tonight's Blue Jays vs. White Sox game, Rogers Sportsnet interviewed Rajai Davis, current left fielder (LF) for the Toronto team. In the team's last game, at home against the Yankees, he made one of the best plays of the season. He also drove in 5 runs, which was a career high for him.

This prompted Hazel May to ask Greg Zaun whether he thought Rajai Davis should be an every day left fielder in the major leagues. Zaun said that he is definitely a worthy everyday player in the league, but that it depends on what a team is looking for from their LF.

That statement caught my attention. Apparently, Zaun is pretty darn sure that Rajai Davis is one of the top 30 LF in MLB. Secondly, Zaun thinks that teams are looking for something specific from their LF.

Let's dissect.

Rajai Davis is the 24th ranked OF by Fangraphs Wins Above Replacement (fWAR) in 2012, according to fangraphs.com. He has been average overall at the plate, he has been very good running the bases, he has been solid in the field. His 1.4 WAR in 299 plate appearances makes him an above-average player all told this season, and the Jays are certainly pleased with his contributions.

However, this is already the second most fWAR he's ever produced in the majors (3.8 with the Oakland A's in 2009). Before joining the Blue Jays he was an above-average hitter for the A's and a well-above average base runner. His two last seasons with the A's were tough for him in the field, though, and over his career he's slightly negative in that area. But he's close enough to an average defensive fielder, and seems to have the tools to be good if he's given a chance. By WAR alone, I'd agree that he's worthy of an every day spot in a team's left field. But that brings us to the next point.

MLB teams are, probably, looking for a certain type of batting production from their LF. I don't think teams care THAT much what style of player they have where, as long as that player can competently field the position and their bat can make up for any defensive/positional issues he may have. But typically, your corner outfielders are power hitters (Manny Ramirez, Jose Bautista). There are exceptions, and some teams do use speedy guys at the corners (Brett Gardner), but it's rare.

Look at the top 25 LF in baseball, by fWAR, so far in 2012:

1) Mike Trout (probably should be a CF, amazing at everything)
2) Ryan Braun (big time power and speed bat, not great fielder)
3) Matt Holliday (big time power bat, surprisingly good fielder)
4) Melky Cabrera (very good power bat, meh fielder)
5) Josh Hamilton (big time power and speed bat, above-average fielder)
6) Alex Gordon (solid bat with poor power, great fielder)
7) Josh Willingham (big power bat, terrible fielder)
8) Martin Prado (solid power bat, good fielder)
9) Carlos Gonzalez (great power and speed bat, bad fielder)
10) Alfonso Soriano (still a very good power bat, has become a better fielder than you'd think)
11) Mark Trumbo (great power bat, terrible fielder who shouldn't be playing OF)
12) Jason Kubel (good bat, bad fielder who shouldn't be playing OF)
13) Desmond Jennings (average bat with little power, very good fielder, great wheels)
14) Matt Joyce (very good power bat, bad fielder who shouldn't be playing OF)
15) Justin Ruggiano (tons of power so far, very poor fielder)
16) David Murphy (good all round bat, decent fielder)
17) Ryan Ludwick (out of nowhere power at, bad fielder)
18) Carlos Quentin (great power bat, bad fielder)
19) Gerardo Parra (average bat, very good fielder, solid wheels)
20) Johnny Gomes (all power bat, poor fielder)
21) Yoenis Cespedes (great power bat, terrible fielder)
22) Chris Denorfia (above-average bat, average fielder)
23) Andy Dirks (solid power bat, average fielder)
24) RAJAI DAVIS
25) Daniel Nava (good eye but little power, good fielder, good wheels)

The overwhelming theme is power bat, bad fielder. Teams clearly seem to have a type of player that they want in LF, and Davis isn't it. If you're really fast and really good in the outfield, then you SHOULD be playing CF. Otherwise, that talent is somewhat wasted, unless your team already has a very good defensive CF, but it's very rare to have 2 guys like that on your team (Tampa Bay Rays Desmond Jennings and B.J. Upton). Often, when you see a guy who is a great defender in LF or RF, the guy in CF is there because of some political reason. A current example is Matt Kemp, and a past example is Vernon Wells.

The skills required to be a great fielder typically don't translate well to power hitting, and your lineup definitely needs power hitters. That's why teams like to stash home run batters in the corners of the infield and outfield, and fill the middle slots with good, speedy defenders.

So Zaun hedged himself a little, which makes sense. He's right, that technically Davis seems good enough to be an everyday OF, but when you're building your lineup, ideally you'd be getting more power from the corner spots.

Because the Jays don't have any better internal options, I'd expect them to keep Rajai around. However, I'd prefer to see him play more of a utility role, especially as he gets closer to 35. In the meantime though, he'll do.