What Brandon Belt Is a Good Player

[rog]

From the neck down? Split.

Brandon has a much better build, but JT was a MUCH better hitter.

Brandon has yet to prove the same consistency.

Rog -- I would probably give the advantage to Brandon from the neck down -- in part because I think BRANDON has been the much better hitter. JT's career OPS was .774, and his career OPS+ was 105 (5% above average). Brandon's career OPS is .817, and his career OPS+ is 126 (26% better than average). That's not close, particularly since Snow played in a higher-hitting era.

Now, Snow had 100 RBI's twice and came close two other times, so I guess we could say he was a better RBI man. But even that advantage may have come simply from having more runners to drive in (remember that higher-hitting era).

JT's and Brandon's numbers with Runners In Scoring Position were very close. Snow hit .273/.388/.441 /.829. Brandon has hit .266/.373/.449/.822. JT had a slightly higher average, and Brandon has shown slightly more power.

With runners on, JT hit .273/.376/.436/.812. Brandon hit .279/.373/.462/.835. Brandon hit for a little higher average and clearly hit with more power.

Given that Brandon has played his whole career at AT&T and JT had half his career in other venues, Brandon's performance with runners on base and in scoring position has been better relative to the era and park. JT did hit more sacrifice flies. He hit 64, and Brandon is on pace for only 35 in the same number of career at bats as JT. JT hit the ball on the ground more often. JT hit the ball on the ground more often, so he likely got a few more that way as well. He also hit into a lot more double plays than Brandon.

JT might have been a bit better at driving in runs because of the sacrifice flies (an extra two per season) and because he hit more ground balls (three more RBI's per season?), but the difference doesn't seem to be nearly as much as the simple counting stats indicate.

JT had 275 RBI's in 354 at bats with runners on third base and fewer than two outs. Brandon has 105 in 132 batting appearances. So perhaps Brandon has done about as well even in that situation. That JT had nearly three times as many chances in just over twice as many at bats backs up the thought that JT's higher RBI total may be in great part because he had more opportunities. JT did hit home runs more often, although Brandon hit them much more frequently ON THE ROAD. In neutral parks, Brandon had clearly more power than JT.

All in all, I think it's clear that Brandon has been the better hitter of the two.

Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/4309/brandon-belt-good-player?page=1#ixzz57xmar900

[rog]

in Anaheim, JT's range and arm was the equal or better than Belt's


Rog -- I'm with you on the arm. In fact, here is what I came across:


Snow also prides himself on having a stronger arm than most first basemen–a trait carried over from his days as a high school quarterback, he said. Snow said he looks forward to those rare opportunities when he can throw the ball, which is probably why he excels at the difficult 3-6-3 double play.

"You don’t see that play very often," Aurilia says, "but he’s one of the best at it."

But as for range, I'm going to guess that Brandon has more. He has average speed for a first baseman, while JT was known for being very slow.




Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/4309/brandon-belt-good-player?page=1#ixzz57xy1CUHu

[rog]

he bottom line is this...the GOOD first baseman will be able to let the 2nd baseman get as many balls as he can because the easier throw is to a first baseman standing on the bag rather than a pitcher sprinting over..


Rog -- As you would know if you had played first base, you are right on the money in theory. But in practice, it's tough to be right on the go/no go decision every time. The rangier first basemen err more often than the statuesque ones.




Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/4309/brandon-belt-good-player?page=2#ixzz57xymyTvl

[rog]

Bleacher Report ranked Brandon Belt only #18 among first basemen in 2017, in part because his season was reduced to about 2/3rds by his concussion, but this is what they said about his defense:


Defensively, he didn't screw up a single routine play and, according to one measure, showcased more range than any first baseman. He doesn't always look graceful. But look beneath his appearance, and you'll see his impressive collection of tools.