Cubs Quick Hits: What’s Up With Albert Almora’s Terrible Defensive Rating?
Albert Almora’s defensive abilities have never been questioned. FanGraphs rates the smart centerfielder as a 65/80 fielder with a 60/80 arm. In other words, FanGraphs believes Almora’s defense will be more valuable than over 90 percent of MLB centerfielders. Quite a compliment, I’d say.
However, Almora’s 2017 has been surprisingly terrible from a defensive perspective. According to “Def,” FanGraphs’ defensive runs above average score that includes UZR and position adjustments, Almora has been one of the worst centerfielders in MLB with a -5.8 score (scaled to 1200 innings).
UZR takes more than one season in order to even rule out 50 percent of baseball’s randomness, so I’m skeptical about this score. From what I’ve seen, Almora looks fine out there. But my eyes could be lying to me. What say you?