New York Yankees: Debating Todd Frazier vs Mike Moustakas
By Sean Dyer
Defense at the Hot Corner
While offense is great, having good defense at third base is crucial. That’s why Miguel Andujar isn’t already sharpied into the Opening Day lineup.
Both starting their careers in 2011, Todd Frazier and Mike Moustakas have played nearly the same amount of defensive innings.
According to FanGraphs, Frazier has played 6900.0 defensive innings at third base and Moustakas has logged 6938.2 innings at the hot corner.
Where the two third basemen separate are their versatility and effectiveness.
In his career, Frazier has played every infield position and both corner outfield spots. Moustakas, on the other hand, has not logged a single inning at a position other than third base.
Frazier came up through the minor leagues as a middle infielder and can move around the diamond. He’s even expressed a willingness to do so this year.
With the unpredictability of a 162 game season, versatility in the field is a nice thing to have.
When it comes to evaluating Frazier and Moustakas’s defensive effectiveness, however, we’ll focus on third base as that’s where these two would be playing for the New York Yankees.
Over his career at the hot corner, Frazier has 30 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), according to FanGraphs, which is the fifth-most over that time. Moustakas has just seven DRS.
Looking at just 2017, Frazier separates himself even more. Last year, Frazier had 10 DRS, fourth-most among qualified third basemen and Moustakas had -8 DRS, which was third-worst.
Frazier also stood out in 2017 when it came to Revised Zone Rating (RZR) which is “the proportion of balls hit into a fielder’s zone that he successfully converted into an out”, per FanGraphs.
Frazier was fifth among qualified third basemen this past season with a .728 RZR, whereas Moustakas was 14th with a .691.
With so much firepower already in the Yankees lineup, perhaps sound defense should be their focus moving forward. If that’s the case, The Toddfather would be the better addition.
Defense at the Hot Corner – Advantage Todd Frazier