The Contributions of Brendan Harris

by Jesse on Jun 24, 2009 6:00 PM EDT in Player Profiles Comment 8 comments

We know his bat has really come around, but what about the glove?

It's been a rough year for Minnesota's middle infielders. Between offensive futility, defensive inconsistenicy, injuries and a severe lack of focus and understanding, it's been hard for fans to get behind the guys starting at second and short, and just as hard for Ron Gardenhire to fill out a lineup card on a daily basis.

It was easy to include Brendan Harris into that group. On the morning of May 26, Harris was hitting .255/.294/.353. Not encouraging. But in his next 26 games, Harris has failed to reach base just once; June 14. In the 102 intervening at-bats he's put together a triple slash of .324/.389/.451. That's a world of difference no matter how you look at it, and it's all come at just the right time. With Alexi Casilla (.467 OPS), Nick Punto (.570) and Matt Tolbert (.484) being offensive black holes, and other guys missing time for one reason or another, Harris' sudden flourish with the bat has helped Gardy give the top of his batting order a bit of...order.

So Harris has been the only middle infielder of use with the bat so far in 2009. This we know, you didn't need me to point it out. The interesting comparison is the defensive one.

		Second Base			Shortstop
Name	Innings	RZR/150	OOZ	Innings	RZR/150	OOZ
Alexi Casilla	258.1	-19.7	4	--	--	--
Brendan Harris	85.1	-18.7	2	282.2	10.8	10
Nick Punto	74.1	-3.6	0	348.1	-2.1	12
Matt Tolbert	218.0	-15.2	3	5.0	-27.3	0

RZR/150: UZR runs above average per 150 defensive games.
OOZ: Plays made outside the zone of that position.

Obviously there are some sample size issues, but there are a couple of things that are pretty clear. First, nobody plays defense at second base very well. Second...Harris has actually done well at shortstop. At least, he's done better there than anyone else this season.

When the Twins signed Punto to his two-year contract over the winter, Gardenhire said they were signing him to play shortstop. And that was fine, because considering what we knew about these guys coming into the season Punto was probably the best equipped to handle the spot. But after what we've been witness to, and considering the pretty large gap between how everyone has performed between second base and shortstop, it's about time to re-evaluate how to best deploy the assets that we have.

So we can rip on Harris for his glove, but he's the best option at short that we have. And the fact is that he may not be exceptional, but he's definitely doing okay. Let's hope he keeps it rolling.

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Good post.

Who would’ve thought Harris would be our best middle infielder at the start of the season?

by matty_b on Jun 24, 2009 6:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Not me.

This isn’t the piece I started writing at all. Finding those numbers sort of changed it for me.

by Jesse on Jun 24, 2009 6:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well said, my friend.

Harris is a beast. If he could improve his fielding, imagine the things he could accomplish.

"He didn’t call me or anything. It was an accident, but a lot of people would have called to see how someone is doing after they got hit in the head. Especially if they had to go on the DL." — Morneau on pitcher Ron Villone after an April 2005 beaning.

by Gonzo2 on Jun 24, 2009 6:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just curious

Jesse, what was your original thinking at the start of this piece? I love it when numbers change my mind too.

If Ozzie Guillen likes Punto that much, I vote we send him down to Chicago. Punto and Guillen deserve each other.

by FoulJack on Jun 24, 2009 7:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That Harris' offensive contributions were probably negated by his defense.

He’s never really been a GOOD defensive player, just more or less adequate. Oddly enough, adequate would still be better than any other options we have. That point remained the same, I was just surprised that his defensive metrics are as positive as they are at short.

by Jesse on Jun 24, 2009 7:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

UZR park adjustments

One thing you’ll see if you look backwards at UZR is that whomever the Twins play at SS has a good UZR. That works for Bartlett and Punto all the way back to Cristian Guzman. I believe there are some overriding factors at work, perhaps the turf, perhaps the pitching staff. I think Harris is better at the left side of the infield because he has a hard time turning the pivot at 2B. 3B is probably his best position but he has been an adequate SS this year. I still believe he’s giving back with the glove some of what you get with the bat but an adequate SS for the league minimum salary is a pretty valuable player to have.

by DJL44 on Jun 25, 2009 9:42 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs