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Yankees Editorial: Brett Gardner Ranked Among AL East Left Fielders

By Antonio Mendes

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New York Yankees left-fielder Brett Gardner is coming off a powerful season. The 5 ft 10 in outfielder (mostly known for his small size and speed) hit 17 home runs in 2014, doubling any amount he’s hit in years past. This came as a great surprise for the Yankees with the atrocious amount of power that was put out during the season.

The AL East has some extremely talented left-fielders. The group consists of the Boston Red Sox newly acquired Hanley Ramirez, Baltimore Orioles Alejandro De Aza, new Toronto Blue Jay Michael Saunders, and the Tampa Bay Rays David Dejesus.

Hanley Ramirez

First lets look at Hanley Ramirez, one of the many expensive Red Sox moves this off-season. A 10 year veteran who is coming off a decent season, will be expected to perform beyond that with an $88 million dollar contract. Ramirez has never been a power hitter, hes more of a ‘bring em in’ RBI role player. He can hit over 20 homers but has never really done so at a consistent rate. Fielding wise its hard to tell how well he’ll do. It’s hard to say an infielder can switch to outfield, and play better than guys who have spent their whole careers there.

Batting wise is a different situation. Though he isn’t a home run hitter (for an infielder) the power is still a slight advantage. He is surely one of the top three, but to say he is the best left fielder in the division? When he hasn’t even played a season at the position that’s an overreaction, but it’ll be interesting to see what the new outfielder does.

Alejandro De Aza

Alejandro De Aza is a very talented player, his bat can contest with the likes of Hanley’s, and his speed is a key trait as well. One thing he struggles with is his strikeout rate. Though he can hit for power his SLG percentage is relatively low for his strikeout total. He does bring a very versatile strength and speed mix to the table, which is one of the best things to have in the MLB.

I find him to be a very underrated player as a whole, he still has more room to grow. His main fault is inconsistency, that also having a lot to do with injuries. If healthy for a majority of the season, he can do as much damage as anyone else in this group.

David Dejesus

David Dejesus hasn’t been a full time player in a couple years, but is still considered the Rays starting left fielder. Dejesus is nowhere what he used to be, but still gives the Rays quality fielding. It’s hard to say what he’s worth now, but being a part time player doesn’t help show what he can still do. Dejesus is on the back end of his career, but is not a bad bat at all to have on the 2nd portion of the lineup.

He had six homers last season, to put this in perspective he’s only hit 10 or more three times in his career. There’s not much to expect from Dejesus compared to the rest, but going on his 13th season and 35 years old, it’s understandable.

Michael Saunders

The Blue Jays picked up Michael Saunders this year, a tall lefty with great fielding and a decent bat. He moves fairly well for his size, just enough for him to make the great plays he does in the field. Though he missed almost half of the 2014 season with a back injury, his numbers were still decent through about 80 games. He showed in 2012 he can give you near 20 big knocks, 60-70 RBIs, and a .250 BA.

Moving out of the Mariners pitcher friendly park he’s sure to maybe have the best year of his career thus far. The ceiling for Saunders is very high, and being he is only 28 years old he has a great amount of time to up his stature.

So where does this put these five guys in terms of ranks? The way I see it:

  1. Brett Gardner
  2. Hanley Ramirez
  3. Michael Saunders
  4. Alejandro De Aza
  5. David Dejesus

I have Gardner first simply because hes the most well rounded player in the group, the new found power adds to the argument even more. While Hanley has the advantage in the bat, it’s hard to give him the overall better grade not knowing what he’ll be in the field.

Michael Saunders still has more work to do, but he has the chance to be considered one of the best in the league. As of now his bat isn’t quite there, but I look for his numbers to rise now being in a hitters ball park.

Alejandro De Aza is not far behind at all. His 2013 season was great, but his numbers dropped with less ABs in 2014. Switching teams mid season is never easy, 2015 with the Orioles could help him a lot. If he has another season like he did in 2013 he is right there at the top with the others.

Next: Alex Rodriguez To Apologize In The Bronx?

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