Because it amazes me how many people complain about Jackie Bradley Jr. not doing enough offensively yet still think Stephen Drew is an asset because of what he brings defensively I had to write this post.
While I agree it is very easy to look at Jackie's .208 batting average and cringe, sometimes you need to look at the leaves and not the tree. One such leaf is the fact that he has scored 29 runs which is fourth on the team. Obviously a big negative is the amount of strikeouts he has which is currently at 75. While many of those strikeouts probably weren't very impressive I do recall many that were 10 or 11 pitches in length. I would love to see the actual stats on how many pitches his typical strikeout lasts, so if you know where to find that, please let me know.
Another place he struggles is when the bases are empty. Regardless of whether he is leading off or the bases are just empty, However he seems to be able to really turn it on when guys are on base. His average with runners in scoring position is .293. Two outs and runners in scoring position it increases slightly to .296. When there is at least one runner on in with two outs his average is .298. Additionally, Jackie is a third on the team with 10 RBIs with runners in scoring position and two outs.
Now when it comes to defense Bradley has been flawless. In addition to making no mistakes in the outfield, he leads all MLB outfielders with four double plays this season. In 601 innings he has 185 putouts and 8 assists.
Now I do have to give Drew credit for his excellent fielding. However it is really hard to look at his offensive stats and come up with anything positive. I guess the good news is that at Fenway he is hitting .385. Unfortunately, that means he is hitting .040 on the road.
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