Washington Nationals Editorial: Where Does Ben Revere Rank Among NL East Center Fielders?

Atlanta Braves – Ender Inciarte

Although Inciarte is entering just his third season in the big leagues, he is expected to make a significant impact on the Braves in 2016. Last season, with the Diamondbacks, he had a slash line of .303/.338/.408 with six home runs and 45 RBI’s in 103 games.

Inciarte played mainly right field last season with Arizona due to A.J. Pollock being a Gold Glove center fielder, but he did play 22 games in center field in 2015. If you look at his rankings among right fielders in the NL, he was second in batting average behind Bryce Harper (.330), sixth in on-base percentage, ninth in slugging, eighth in .OPS (.747), and third in WAR (5.3). The only two right fielders with a higher WAR than Inciarte in 2015 were Harper and Jason Heyward.

As far as his defense goes, he has had 20+ runs saved each of the last two seasons as an outfielder. Four of his 29 runs saved last season came as a center fielder, but as an outfielder in general, he had the most runs saved in the National League and second most in the game (Kevin Kiermaier of the Rays had 42).

With the Braves in rebuilding mode, Inciarte is one of those pieces that can be a building block to the future when they move into their new ballpark next season. He may not have great power numbers, but he can get on base and provide good defense. The future is bright for Inciarte as he is only 25 years old.

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