The left field recap each year is a time when I discuss how Starling Marte is under-rated in Pittsburgh. You would have thought that would have changed by now, especially in a year where Andrew McCutchen struggled, and Gregory Polanco stalled in his breakout campaign. But yet you still see comments about how Marte is the outfielder who should be traded for pitching, and you don’t see comments about how he’s one of the best players in the game.
So this is the part where we talk about how Marte ranks 20th in WAR out of 297 qualified position players from 2013-2016. The only player on the Pirates who is ahead of him is Andrew McCutchen, who still ranks 5th on the list, despite having a horrible 2016 season, which kind of shows how good he was from 2013-15. Marte is not McCutchen, but that’s an incredibly high bar for anyone. And I think it’s that high bar that leads to Marte being overlooked as one of the best position players in the game.
Marte has been pretty consistent from a value standpoint the last four years. He’s been around a 4.0 fWAR each year, with some years higher (4.8 in 2013) and some years lower (3.6 in 2015). He’s been a strong defender, ranking first this year among left fielders in UZR/150 and Defensive Runs Saved, and getting nominated for a Gold Glove award again. And he’s got the offense to win a Gold Glove award, ranking in the top 50 among qualified MLB players in wOBA, wRC+, and just outside the top 50 in OPS.
On a lot of teams, Marte would be the best player. On a contending team, like the 2013-15 Pirates, he’s one of the best number two guys you can have, giving a huge boost to the position player group. This year, he was the best player on the team, with McCutchen slumping. And maybe one of these years, he’ll get recognized as one of the best in the game, and a big contributor for the Pirates.
The Future
My hope is that when I’m writing the left field recap next year, I will be writing about someone other than Marte. That’s not that I hope Marte isn’t on the team, but that he will be moved to center field. He’s got the best outfield defense of the current trio, and as I wrote in the center field recap, there’s no reason why Andrew McCutchen should stay at that position.
Realistically, I don’t think Marte will replace McCutchen unless McCutchen is traded. That means we could see at least one more year of Marte in left field. He’s under team control through the 2021 season, and I think he will eventually make the switch to center field when McCutchen moves on. At that point, Austin Meadows would be the best option for left field.
Meadows has enough range to play center field, so he should be fine in left field. He doesn’t have a strong arm, and at worst it’s the same as McCutchen’s arm. It could be slightly better, but will pale in comparison to Marte and Polanco. That’s partially due to how good their arms are.
The Pirates have some other outfield options who would contend for a future starting role if Meadows doesn’t work out. Josh Bell might be the best of the group, but he fits more in the right field discussion due to his lack of range and poor defense. Barrett Barnes and Elvis Escobar are two interesting outfield options who can both play center field, but might end up at a corner. Connor Joe and Jordan Luplow might both lack the range needed for left field in PNC Park. All four of those guys are average starters at best, so it would be a downgrade if Meadows didn’t reach his upside.
In the short-term, Marte will continue to excel in left field, unless the Pirates trade McCutchen and force a quicker move. In the long-term, Meadows projects to take over the position, with Marte making that eventual move to center.
