I was submitting my defensive rankings on the Fan's Scouting Report that RFerry linked to earlier (link), and got me to thinking.... I asked a friend of mine also, & I guess I've never thought much about it, because we were both stumped.

 

Who would you consider the Marlins best defensive player this year?

 

 

 

 

Jacobs isn't anything better than average. Helms & Treanor are pretty good defensively, just not sure bench players should get the same consideration. Cabrera's played alright but he's never going to be a gold-glove type IMO. Uggla's played much better than predicted. Hanley's played okay but has looked like a rookie, especially early. Olivo might get votes with his arm & quick reactions, but allows far too many passed balls for my liking. And our outfielders, well.... yeah. I'd almost give Treanor the nod. As bizarre as it sounds, Dan Uggla might be our steadiest fielder, and lately he's even begun to make some flashy plays too. Those two diving stops Monday against the DBacks were terrific. True, 2nd base is an easier position to play than others...

 

Most of the team is very young so it's understandable we don't have a lot of standouts defensively, just wondering what others thought.

I was thinking about how much the overall team defense has improved from early in the season and how each player has done defensively compared to my expectations:

 

- Olivo is between average & good and I expected average.

 

- Jacobs is bad is that's what I expected.

 

- Uggla is good and I expected bad.

 

- Hanley is between bad & average and that's what I expected. In the future I think he'll be a good.

 

- Cabrera is average and I expected bad. Struggled early but has improved.

 

- Willingham is between bad & average but I expected horrible. Also struggled early on but has improved.

 

- Hermida is bad and I expected average.

 

My answer to your question: Uggla.

Treanor, Amezaga and Ross are the best probably.

 

 

of the starters, Olivo has a lot of PBs and WPs, but I think he's the answer.

Unfortunately, at this point none of our rooks are really playing outstanding defense. I would say Olivio without a doubt is best on the field right now. But Uggla is getting better, and I'm sure Hanley will as well.

Uggla has amazed me with every facet of his game including defense. Our best defensive regular with Olivo a close second. Amezega would be up there as well as a 2B. Treanor and Ross(best defensive OFer) are the best of the bench.

By position

 

Pitcher- Dontrelle

 

Catcher- Olivo

 

1B- Helms

 

2B- Uggla

 

SS- Hanley

 

3B- Cabs

 

RF- Borchard

 

CF- Amezega

 

LF- Ross

 

 

 

Overall winner- Olivo for the arm and quickness.

 

What does this say about our overall defense that Olivo is the winner?

 

Pretty bad defensive team overall with flashes of brilliance.

Catcher- Olivo

 

 

 

Treanor is better than Olivo defensively(alot better in most circumstances), but besides that I agree with your assesment.

:deadhorse

that took longer than expected

:deadhorse

 

 

 

do you have any A1 steak sauce for that horse?

 

Uggla for starters and Matt T. for backups.

Uggla has suprised me. He looks like he could be a plus defender. As long as Hill doesn't pack up and leave.

Uggla has suprised me. He looks like he could be a plus defender. As long as Hill doesn't pack up and leave.

 

I don't think Uggla is going to magically forget everything he learned if Perry leaves, though I think Perry does a lot of in-game positioning of the fielders and such.

Idk how many of you realzed, but Borch is pretty damn good on defense.

As far as right now goes, Uggla and Cabrera are probably the two best defensive players among our starters.

 

Hanley, by far, has the most potential to be great, though he's just not there yet.

To this day I still don't understand the knock on Cabrera at third. He's been extremely solid, make few errors, has a cannon, and occasionally makes an incredible play. To this day I believe he has gold-glove potential.

 

I think the best defender this season has been Uggla, but I think Hanley will be the best defensive player on this team when it's all said and done. He just gets a little anxious sometimes, that's all.

I'd say Eric Reed, if we are picking people on the squad right now. Otherwise, Olivo or Cabrera.

To this day I still don't understand the knock on Cabrera at third. He's been extremely solid, make few errors, has a cannon, and occasionally makes an incredible play. To this day I believe he has gold-glove potential.

 

 

I wouldn't go that far, but to each his own.

 

Personally, I think all Miggy needs to do to become great is work more on his bunt/slow-roller coverage. Really, the only thing holding him back is his first-step, and realistically, that's hard to improve.

uggla's the best. olivo a close second.

 

hermida is the worst, by far.

 

and i don't know why people mention willis as being a good defender. he makes some great plays, but has a ton of throwing errors.

Oh, cmon hes easily our best fielding pitcher, no discussion

To this day I still don't understand the knock on Cabrera at third. He's been extremely solid, make few errors, has a cannon, and occasionally makes an incredible play. To this day I believe he has gold-glove potential.

 

I think the main knock is that he tends to get lazy with his D.

To this day I still don't understand the knock on Cabrera at third. He's been extremely solid, make few errors, has a cannon, and occasionally makes an incredible play. To this day I believe he has gold-glove potential.

 

I think the main knock is that he tends to get lazy with his D.

 

He's just lazy in general, hence the comparisons to Manny. But if he actually put a little time and hard work in, he would be just about as good as anyone.

To this day I still don't understand the knock on Cabrera at third. He's been extremely solid, make few errors, has a cannon, and occasionally makes an incredible play. To this day I believe he has gold-glove potential.

 

I think the main knock is that he tends to get lazy with his D.

 

He's just lazy in general, hence the comparisons to Manny. But if he actually put a little time and hard work in, he would be just about as good as anyone.

 

It's not entirely rational to say he isn't giving it his all. His throwing arm is probably top-3 in all of baseball for ML third-basemen (Aramis Ramirez and ARod are the other two), and his footwork isn't terrible, nor are his hands, it's just that first step, and that's all instinct.

 

I used to get on Miggy hard about not trying, but I've seen him flip a sh*t in the dugout (in person, not on TV) this season after innings where he felt as if he let the team down, so I am, without question, giving him the benefit of the doubt that he is trying.

Oh, cmon hes easily our best fielding pitcher, no discussion

 

we talked 'bout this a while ago. he makes some fantastic plays, but he throws so many balls away, I doubt he has the best fielding percentage on the team (for pitcher's). he proabably also has the most errors.

Keep in mind that the likes of Alex Gonzalez and Luis Castillo made a lot of errors when they first came up, and they're now amongst the elite defensive players in the majors. It takes time to settle in defensively at the MLB level.

 

To answer the OP, I think Hanley has the most talent. He is a bit taller than what you'd like at SS and could end up elsewhere a few yaers down the line, but the talent is there, no question.

I'd say Eric Reed, if we are picking people on the squad right now. Otherwise, Olivo or Cabrera.

 

I agree did you know that Eric was recognized by Baseball America as the Best Defensive Outfielder in the Florida State League...

:gofish