Let's talk Hunter Renfroe

[somebodyshotmypaw]

I was looking at Renfroe's stats this year versus last year. It can be hard to compare because of an unequal number of at-bats.

So I took Hunter's numbers and extrapolated them over 600 plate appearances (150 games with 4 plate appearances per game). Notice that I said 600 plate appearances, not 600 at-bats. Based on 600 plate appearances his stats would be this:

31.3 doubles and 32.5 homers in 2017
40.1 doubles and 28.3 homers in 2018

175.3 strikeouts and 33.8 walks in 2017
151.1 strikeouts and 49.6 walks in 2018

63.8 runs and 72.6 RBI in 2017
73.2 runs and 92.1 RBI in 2018

0.231 average, 0.284 OBP, 0.467 slugging in 2017
0.250 average, 0.315 OBP, 0.491 slugging in 2018

0.751 OPS in 2017
0.806 OPS in 2018

[Rick Danko]

He?ll never make it in the pros because a certain someone told me so****

[BrunswickDawg]

And he has homered in 4 straight games - including a game winning Grand Slam yesterday.

He has hit the Padres last 4 Grand Slams.

[Tbonewannabe]

Any clue on his defensive metrics this year? He has made some Sportscenter highlight type plays but I don't know what his overall defense has looked like. He is definitely improving so I guess he is putting in the work. Guys that can hit 450 - 500 ft homers can get away with hitting .230-.250.

[msstate7]

He?ll never make it in the pros because a certain someone told me so****

Yep. C34 must have forgot to throw his renfroe take in our faces

[Coach34]

Yep. C34 must have forgot to throw his renfroe take in our faces

Looks like I'm gonna be wrong on Renfroe. He made some major changes and they have paid off. Awesome for him and our school.

[msstate7]

Any clue on his defensive metrics this year? He has made some Sportscenter highlight type plays but I don't know what his overall defense has looked like. He is definitely improving so I guess he is putting in the work. Guys that can hit 450 - 500 ft homers can get away with hitting .230-.250.

He has -5.5 def value in 72 games according to fangraphs. This would be -12.4 over 162 games. Not good

[Bully13]

He has -5.5 def value in 72 games according to fangraphs. This would be -12.4 over 162 games. Not good

wasn't he a good fielder for us? or no? I guess I'm still just remembering that catch up against the wall he made in Omaha. Isn't he the one who also has a cannon? wasn't the guy who threw that runner out from the corner?

[somebodyshotmypaw]

wasn't he a good fielder for us? or no? I guess I'm still just remembering that catch up against the wall he made in Omaha. Isn't he the one who also has a cannon? wasn't the guy who threw that runner out from the corner?

Hunter is a very good athlete. And yes, he has a freaking cannon. But that doesn't always make you a good fielder. Sometimes he takes a poor route to the ball. Sometimes he likes to attempt to throw someone out when he should have hit the cut-off man. Sometimes the arm is strong, but not accurate.

Hunter still needs to improve further. But he is definitely making strides.

[Dawg61]

He has -5.5 def value in 72 games according to fangraphs. This would be -12.4 over 162 games. Not good

Fangraphs and baseball analytics nerds need to get ****ed. This is the most bullshit stat I have ever seen. He has 6 errors on the year. They are punishing players that don't have elite speed period. Renfroe catches the ball when they hit it at him and he has an elite arm. His defense is fine. Go **** yourself nerdgraphs.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

Fangraphs and baseball analytics nerds need to get ****ed. This is the most bullshit stat I have ever seen. He has 6 errors on the year. They are punishing players that don't have elite speed period. Renfroe catches the ball when they hit it at him and he has an elite arm. His defense is fine. Go **** yourself nerdgraphs.

It ain't just about catching the ball when it is hit to you. It's also about catching the ball when it's hit 100 feet away from you. So players without elite speed should be punished. For instance, let's say you could put Jake Mangum in centerfield and he promised to only drop 1 ball. Or you could put MSU right tackle Stewart Reese in centerfield and he promised to drop zero balls. Mangum would still be a better fielder because he would get to so many more balls. Mangum might get to 300 balls (dropping one). Reese might get to only 50 (but never dropped one).

[Dawg61]

It ain't just about catching the ball when it is hit to you. It's also about catching the ball when it's hit 100 feet away from you. So players without elite speed should be punished. For instance, let's say you could put Jake Mangum in centerfield and he promised to only drop 1 ball. Or you could put MSU right tackle Stewart Reese in centerfield and he promised to drop zero balls. Mangum would still be a better fielder because he would get to so many more balls. Mangum might get to 300 balls (dropping one). Reese might get to only 50 (but never dropped one).

I get it but it's an unfair measure. If Lamar Peters was 7 feet tall he'd dunk a lot more. That's basically what the baseball defensive analytics have come down to. There is such a thing as overthinking things and the baseball nerds went way past that point about two days after Moneyball came out.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

I get it but it's an unfair measure. If Lamar Peters was 7 feet tall he'd dunk a lot more. That's basically what the baseball defensive analytics have come down to. There is such a thing as overthinking things and the baseball nerds went way past that point about two days after Moneyball came out.

True. But there is no difference in a dunk and a layup, or a dunk and a mid-range jumper. They are all two points. There is a big difference in a dunk and a missed shot (2 points versus 0 points). Defensively in baseball it is about getting outs. Catching a ball produces an out. Letting it drop for a single because you didn't have the speed to get to it is a totally different issue.

And I agree that overthinking things can occur.

[smootness]

I get it but it's an unfair measure. If Lamar Peters was 7 feet tall he'd dunk a lot more. That's basically what the baseball defensive analytics have come down to. There is such a thing as overthinking things and the baseball nerds went way past that point about two days after Moneyball came out.

What are you talking about?

It's not a referendum on Hunter Renfroe as a human being or on how much of his potential he's reached. It's simply a comparison to other baseball players...since that is all that ever matters. The ability of an athlete is only meaningful when compared to other athletes in his/her sport and at his/her position. If there were 10 baseball players in the country, I'd be great at it. Since there are about 10 million, I suck at it.

Hunter Renfroe has room to improve quite a bit defensively. Will he? I have no idea, I certainly hope he does. Even if he doesn't, he can be a valuable major league player for several years. He is hitting very well right now, and that is a good thing. I love that he played for State, that he is in the majors, that he is succeeding, and I hope he continues.

But is he good defensively? No, not compared to other RF in major league baseball. The analytics simply help explain that. What good would a measure that only compared a player to himself be?

[somebodyshotmypaw]

Offensively, Hunter has improved in every statistic except for homeruns. Certainly bettering his strikeout/walk ratio from 5/1 to 3/1 has been needed. He's improved his patience and approach. But he's still a work-in-progress.

[msstate7]

Looks like I'm gonna be wrong on Renfroe. He made some major changes and they have paid off. Awesome for him and our school.

Well I'll be dang... nice to meet the new C34 haha

Renfroe better fix that defense before we get too carried away about him though

[Lord McBuckethead]

Well I'll be dang... nice to meet the new C34 haha

Renfroe better fix that defense before we get too carried away about him though

Nope, always can be a DH.

[msstate7]

wasn't he a good fielder for us? or no? I guess I'm still just remembering that catch up against the wall he made in Omaha. Isn't he the one who also has a cannon? wasn't the guy who threw that runner out from the corner?

He had one hell of an arm....still does. I don't remember him being a butcher in college, but he's being compared to pros now though

[somebodyshotmypaw]

BA/OBP/SLG

2017 vs RHP .202/.244/.393
2017 vs LHP .316/.392/.684

2018 vs RHP .243/.290/.479
2018 vs LHP .262/.354/.512

So in 2018 he has cooled off some versus lefties. But he has improved his hitting versus righthanders.

[msstate7]

Everyone pull especially hard for hunter this weekend. Help us brave fans out, renfroe