Is Center Field Becoming Baseball’s Ultimate Defensive Fortress?
Some of the faces of the new center fielder? This is the fun part, really. Unlike the catcher framing revolution, which was impactful but nearly invisible, the pivot to defense in center comes with serious highlight plays that must be factored in just like home run totals in developing your sense of cache in the No. 8 spot.
Consider the Rockies’ Brenton Doyle, a two-time Gold Glove winner and a top-five overall defender in baseball by Statcast’s estimation. Tallying a batting line that hovered around league average in 2024 helped him rack up a 4.6 WAR season, ahead of Rodriguez (4.0). (He should definitely be on that top 10.)



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