After not faring well in the corner outfield spots, the Atlanta Braves land at No. 16 in FanGraphs positional power rankings for center fielders.
Ender Inciarte helped spark the Braves turnaround during the second half of the 2016 season both at the plate and with his glove. FanGraphs projects him at 2.6 Wins Above Replacement.
FanGraphs center field projections Braves
Name | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | Bat | BsR | Fld | WAR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | Bat | BsR | Fld | WAR |
Ender Inciarte | 616 | .283 | .333 | .383 | .311 | -6.4 | 1.5 | 8.3 | 2.6 |
Chase d'Arnaud | 42 | .236 | .287 | .333 | .272 | -1.8 | 0.0 | -0.2 | 0.0 |
Emilio Bonifacio | 42 | .247 | .296 | .315 | .270 | -1.9 | 0.1 | -0.4 | -0.1 |
Total | 700 | .278 | .328 | .376 | .306 | -10.1 | 1.6 | 7.8 | 2.5 |
The Braves signed Inciarte to a five-year extension in December after he established himself as much more than just an add on addition to the Shelby Miller/Dansby Swanson trade. FanGraphs author Dave Cameron suggests that Inciarte could be the center fielder for the next good Braves team or he could end up being trade bait for Atlanta as soon as this season.
Ender Inciatre is the owner of a shiny new (team-friendly) contract, establishing himself as much more than just a secondary piece in the Dansby Swanson trade. Though he doesn’t hit for much power, he’s proven himself capable of being a decent high-average leadoff man with stolen base potential and a fantastic glove. He’s probably never going to tear the cover off the ball, but the Braves don’t necessarily need him to do that, especially with how he plays center field. Given the Braves just locked him up at bargain salaries, he should be the center fielder on the next good Braves team.
However, with a center field prospect (that Eric loves) named Ronald Acuna moving up the minor league ladder, Inciarte could become a pretty appealing trade chip if the team’s plans to win in the short-term don’t pan out. As a glove-first guy, Inciarte’s value is more skewed towards the present, and a lot of contenders would love to put him in their outfield. If the Braves fall on their faces in the first half and end up as sellers, Inciarte could be maybe the most valuable player available this July, especially with that new contract making him even more appealing.
As was the case for the Braves on just about every one of FanGraphs projections, they get dinged for not having a lot of depth behind Inciarte. However, with Ronald Acuna shooting up prospect lists everywhere, that might not be the case for long.