Glovework- The Importance of a Good Fielding Shorstop

Derek Jeter may be overrated, but his all around value isn't debatable. A shortstop with a .316 career average, 16 homers, 75-80 rbis, 110 runs and 20 sb's annually for most of his career is more than enough to secure a spot for the Yankees' Golden Boy. However, one aspect of his game that is overlooked and still overrated is his defense. Jeter's glove work is average at best, and outside of two above average seasons warrants him to move to second base or center field, especially at age 35.

Jeter's range factor throughout his career has been a shade below the league average, 4.04 vs. 4.13 while his fielding percentage has been a shade above, .975-.972. In 2009 and 2008 Jeter's defense has been at the league bottom, the only saving grace was his improved zone rating last year. His range has dropped well below four, and with shorstops like Jimmy Rollins, Omar Vizquel, Troy Tulowitzki and Orlando Cabrera, Jeter looks like a bad fielder. Neither his side to side movement or his arm are particularly to blaim, both are actually above average--what kills Jeter is his poor play in "the hole" (the space between 3rd and SS). That play where he tracks down a ground ball, runs into left field and then throws a two-hopper to the firstbasemen/premium right field seats isn't a good play...By an stretch of the phrase. If you watch the play, while it looks spectacular, you'll notice that rarely does the play result in an out. If you watch Orlando Cabrera or Omar Vizquel you'll see the proper technique, a "figure 4" slide, crossing your legs to make a "4" shape.

Comparing Jeter's numbers to a good fielding shorstop only proves the case more. Troy Tulowitzki, possibly the best fielding young shortstop in the bigs sans John McDonald, has a career range factor of 5.04, and has had years where it has been well above 5.20. Tulowitzkis RF throughout his career is a full point above Jeter's, meaning he gets to one more ball than Jeter every game.

Jeter still has adequate speed, and for this reason he should be a good fit for center field or second base--more likely center field. The Yankees are in dyer need of a good centerfielder with the failure of Melky Cabrera and the overall weak hitting of Brett Gardner. For those of you who play in fantasy leagues, this would kill Jeter's value, he'd go from a sick-hitting shortstop to Andre Etheir or J.D. Drew. Regardless, this move would help the Yankees. Maybe they could even slide A-Rod over to short, since he still has plenty left in the tank. A-Rod should originally been the starting SS for the Yanks with his consecutive gold gloves and a zone rating that made Jeter look like a little-leaguer, but Jeter's smile and goody goody attitude kept him at the most important defensive position outside of catcher. With A-Rod at third the Yankees could move Cano, a player with a great arm, to third base, a better fit for a slower player with an arm rocket.
At second the Yankees have a few options for second, first of all they have a slick fielding slap hitter Marcos Venchionacci in AA whose probably their best defense minor leaguer. Reggie Corona, a possible 20-20 guy also could be a good fit. Possibly the best fit is Trenton teammate Kevin Russo, who hit .307 last year and played adequate defense.