Washington Nationals Editorial: Where Does Jayson Werth Rank Among NL East Left Fielders?

Christian Yelich – Miami Marlins

Yelich was one of the best hitters in the Marlins’ offense last season. In 126 games, he had a slash line of .300/.366/.416 with seven home runs and 44 RBI’s. While Yelich has never hit ten home runs in a season during his three years in the league, that doesn’t take way from the good numbers he has in other categories.

If you compare him to other left fielders in the National League, he was tied with Cespedes for seventh in RBI’s, second in average and on-base percentage (behind David Peralta of the Diamondbacks), and third in .OPS (behind Justin Upton of the San Diego Padres and Peralta). His 3.5 WAR was third behind Peralta and Starling Marte of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Yelich, who is heading into his age 24 season, is known for his defense. He won the Gold Glove in 2014 and he was a finalist year (Marte won the award). According to Fangraphs, he had 13 defensive runs saved for the second consecutive year.

Some other stats that stand out about Yelich’s game is that he is a doubles machine. His 30 doubles last year were tied with Marte for the most among NL left fielders and his 16 stolen bases were third (behind Cameron Maybin of the Braves and Marte).

Those are my rankings, but I want to hear from you. How would you rank the left fielders in the NL East and where does Jayson Werth rank on your list? Let the debate begin.