WAB (Wins Above Beard): Scott Van Slyke’s Improved Defense

The Dodgers nearly skipped out on keeping Scott Van Slyke in 2012 when they designated the outfielder for assignment to make room for Skip Schumaker. It was likely the lowest point of Van Slyke’s career, but that didn’t stop him from becoming one of the most productive Dodger players in recent years. You can call him a bench player, but Scott Van Slyke could surely be a starter for any number of teams who don’t have the outfield depth like the Dodgers. The beard is legit.

Adrian wrote about Scott Van Slyke’s improved offense and career turnaround, and I agree that Scotty doesn’t always get the credit which he deserves for being not only an excellent pinch-hitter but also improved overall at the plate and in the field.

There was a time that I absolutely cringed when watching Van Slyke play in the outfield. Van Slyke was bigger than he is now, and he looked slow and bumbling in the outfield. The big outfielder has only made 4 career errors with the Dodgers (none in 2015 as of yet), but those numbers don’t really reflect the defensive troubles Van Slyke had in 2012 when he first came up with the Dodgers. Van Slyke did show glimpses of power at the plate, but he was lacking defensively making it difficult to play him over more spry outfielders like Carl Crawford, Yasiel Puig and even the now departed Matt Kemp.

More from Dodgers Way

• Giants sign former Dodgers pitcher in another move that’ll get them nowhere
• Kevin Kiermaier being ‘top target’ to replace Cody Bellinger is bad sign for Dodgers
• Are the Dodgers really prepared to hand Shohei Ohtani a blank check?
• Dodgers fans shouldn’t dismiss interest in Dansby Swanson for this reason
• Giants laughably sign pitcher that Dodgers absolutely own

Who knew that Van Slyke had a strong arm? He’s already made 3 outfield assists from left field. He only made 1 outfield assist in each of his two previous seasons with the Dodgers. All of a sudden, with improved speed and svelte body, Van Slyke is not worse (if not better) than the weak-armed Carl Crawford in left field. Of course Crawford is much faster, but with a laundry list of rusty injuries sure to land him on the disabled list multiple times this season, having Scott Van Slyke on the team is that much more important.

Van Slyke’s defensive stats so far look a bit better than his career averages, and combined with his offense makes him a more rounded player than previously thought. Van Slyke’s UZR of 4.3  (Ultimate Zone Rating in Runs Above Average) is ticking better than his 3.9 UZR of 2014 and much improved from his 1.9 and 1.5 UZR for 2012 and 2013. Although his 2015 numbers are of course a very small sample size. If he continues to play solid defense, we may expect him to receive an above average UZR for the season in left field.

Even though SVS does not have the range of an elite outfielder, his defensive shortcomings in his first two seasons with the Dodgers has markedy improved since then. His RTZ (Total Zone Fielding Runs Above Average) is on pace to be at 4 again, the same as last season. His first two seasons Van Slyke had a 0 and -2 RTZ.

While Alex Guerrero has been manning left field primarily after Carl Crawford tore his oblique, I have to argue that Van Slyke is superior defensively in left than Guerrero. I may even contest that SVS is more dangerous at the plate than Guerrero. With the need for a starting pitcher, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Dodgers trade either Guerrero or Van Slyke this season at some point. I wouldn’t want to see either go, and Scott Van Slyke definitely brings a lot of value to this team not only as a platoon/bench player but as a starter as well.

Scott Van Slyke can hit both lefties and righties, come up with big pinch-hits, play an improved left field and even a decent first base and above all has the best WAB (Wins Above Beard) in the majors. Okay, maybe that stat was made up, but Van Slyke’s impressive beard should not go unnoticed.

Van Slyke is fourth on the Dodgers in batting average (.308), and he’s actually hitting right-handers better (.340) than lefties (.222) over his first 26 games. Both of his homeruns have been hit off of right-handers. Van Slyke has sure pleasantly surprised me with his improved offense and defense, and perhaps Skip Schumaker’s presence in 2012 somehow helped us get the better Van Slyke now, in the then future.

Scott Van Slyke’s better than expected defense and excellent offensive production makes him a viable starter for the Dodgers or any other team-or just a really really good pinch-hitter. Even though it is still relatively early in the season, his defensive statistics give a very positive outlook for him this season not only at the plate but also in the outfield. The Dodger outfield is armed and dangerous, and Van Slyke has been an integral part of this Dodger team.

I didn’t even mention his homemade rain hats in the dugout and staring contest victories.