On a forgettable opening day for the New York Yankees, one of the most significant changing of the guards in recent memory took place.
After 20 seasons of watching Derek Jeter start at shortstop, Yankees fans saw Didi Gregorius try to fill an impossibly large pair of shoes. Gregorius isn’t going to be a worthy successor to Jeter in terms of replicating what he did in his prime, but he should be more than capable of providing more than the future Hall-of-Famer was producing at the end of his career.
Gregorius managed a meager 76 wRC+ last season, virtually identical to Jeter’s 73 mark, meaning the upgrade will be coming on defense. This should not come as a surprise. Regardless of where one stands on the divisive issue of Jeter’s defensive value, replacing a 40-year-old shortstop with a 25-year-old who has a reputation for sterling defense is going to be an upgrade in the field.
It really doesn’t take much statistical analysis to crack that nut, but to hammer the point home the following chart compares the two since 2012 when Gregorius came into the league.
| Player | DRS | UZR | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Derek Jeter | -35 | -26.3 | -30.7 |
| Didi Gregorius | +1 | -3.6 | -1.3 |
Even though advanced metrics are surprisingly low on Gregorious — a guy with a glove-first profile — it remains clear he will give Yankees fans a glimpse of better defense at the shortstop position than they’ve seen in years.
Once again, all of this is fairly intuitive. What is more interesting than the fact Gregorius will be an upgrade over Jeter in the field is how he will be. FanGraphs’ fielding spray charts — based on Inside Edge fielding data — shed some light on the issue. Below is a visual representation of all the plays Jeter has made since 2012.
What we see here is a lot of green, denoting easier plays and very few difficult plays made far from the second base to Jeter’s right. Unsurprisingly, at his advanced age the Yankees legend was unable to make plays deep in the hole. The difference with Gregorius is subtle, but his range extends farther into the hole, allowing him make more difficult plays.
This point is better illustrated with moving pictures than multi-colored dots, so I’ve picked out some plays Gregorious has made in this area of the field that I think it’s safe to assume that Jeter would not have.
Exhibit A
It should be noted that a pitcher is running here and this play would not be possible against those fleeter of foot. That being said, Andrew Cashner is one of the more athletic pitchers around for whatever that’s worth.
To get this out Gregorius has to go a long way to his right, stop his momentum and make a very strong throw. There are a lot of shortstops that wouldn’t have gotten to that ball in the first place, and it’s safe to say that most would’ve had to eat it. One could argue the throw was inadvisable, but with a strong arm and a pitcher running it was worth a shot and Gregorious made it happen.
Exhibit B
This throw is incredible. While Justin Turner’s lack of wheels may be an unfortunate nickname killer, he is not especially slow either. The range Gregorius demonstrates here is one thing, but the arm is something different altogether.
Exhibit C
It would seem that Mr. Gregorius just doesn’t like the San Diego Padres. His ability to make a strong throw across the diamond — and across his body — stands out again. It is apparent that he can make spectacular plays on balls where other shortstops would concede singles and not feel remotely guilty about it.
Looking at highlights is always a misleading way of evaluating players because it shows them at their best as opposed to demonstrating what it’s fair to expect from them. However, the clips above show that Gregorius is capable of plays that other players, like late-career Jeter, simply are not. He will not make spectacular plays in the hole on an everyday basis, no one except perhaps Andrelton Simmons can, but he will do it more often than Yankees fans have grown accustomed to seeing. More than anything else, this skill is the biggest differentiator between him and late-career Jeter.
The gift Gregorius has for ranging to his right for remarkable plays isn’t going to make anyone forget a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but it should give Yankees fans something new to remember.
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