Astros: Comparing the 2020 outfield lineup against the Yankees

It’s time for installment number two of the series. Are the Yankees really favored over the Astros in 2020? Let’s move on to the outfield.

Jumping right in, let’s get back to talking about Astros baseball and how they compare against the Yankees.

Left Field – Advantage Astros

In my last article, we looked at Yordan Alvarez at DH. Chances are, Alvarez will get some time in left field this season, especially at home, so we’ll make him a part of the outfield mix also. Of course, he’ll be hard to rate defensively since he only played the field in 10 games (starting in nine). He had 11 opportunities to make nine putouts with one assist and one error, giving him a fielding percentage of .909.

We all know his power is in the DH position and since I’ve already rated him and his bat in that position, I won’t repeat myself.

Next up is Michael Brantley. With a fielding percentage of .982 in left, Brantley was rated by MLB as number two of 2019’s top 10 left fielders. This was one of the most underrated free agent signings of 2019, and Uncle Mike proved that he is still a force to be reckoned with at the plate. His year ended with an average of .311, on-base percentage of .327, slugging percentage of .503, OPS of .875, 90 RBIs, and a career high of 22 home runs.

In 2019’s top 10, Giancarlo Stanton was rated by MLB as number 10 of left fielders. This simply has me scratching my head because his season was marred with injury and he only started a mere 10 games at the position, playing only a total of 18 games during the regular season. In those 18 games, he had a total of 59 at-bats for an average of .288, with three home runs and 13 RBIs.

Cameron Maybin picked up the slack in this position, playing 82 games for a fielding percentage of .969. With an average of .285 over 239 at-bats, Maybin proved to be no slouch at the plate with 11 homers and an OPS of .858.

I’d say the advantage goes to the Astros in left!