Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Is Jeff Mathis worth it for the Angels?

Jeff Mathis is widely regarded as a great defensive catcher. So great, that he can not hit at all, and still be the starting catcher for the Angels. They believe that he is so valuable that he is worth keeping around. This is obviously not the case, as he had a -.3 WAR in 2011, actually an improvement from his 2010 season, where he had a  -1.2 WAR. He registered a .2 D-WAR in 2011, but had a -.6 D-WAR (-.6 is his career D-WAR) in 2010. According to runs saved statistics, he has actually cost his team runs, and his percentage of balls fielded turning into outs is lower than league average. He catches less  base stealers than league average, but he does have a better than average range factor. His offensive statistics are hideous, at a .557 OPS, .257 OBP, and a -1.9 O-WAR for his career. His PPG is just .72, and his PAPP is a disgusting 3.84. He seemingly can't hit the ball really hard either, at a .249 BABIP, which is weird since he is a flyball hitter. The explanation for this is found pretty quickly, as 24% of his flyballs don't leave the infield (league average is like 12%). His secondary average is terrible at .186, and his ISO sits at .107. His PPS is just 82.36, further cementing that Mathis is a liability in that lineup. Whatever imagined (and it is imagined) benefit Mathis gives the team defensively, he makes up for it by being one of the worst offensive players in all categories in the league. When your looking at why the Angels have fallen off a bit, it isn't hard to figure out. They have made a whole bunch of dumb roster moves.

1 comment:

  1. Could not be more true. If they get a catcher who can hit .220 it would be a huge improvement.

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