2013 NL Gold Glove Finalists: Outfielders

Finally we’ve reached the group of outfielders who will hope to have their name called when it’s time to reveal who will go home with a Gold Glove at their respect position.

Now once again, if this is your first time coming across my Gold Glove articles, please click here and continue to click where it tells you to as it will lead you to all the articles in order from the most recent.

So we’re going to start from left field and make our way to right field. Makes sense to just do it that way, right?

LEFT FIELD

Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies – Car-Go is hands down one of my favorite players in the league right now. There’s something about his follow through that just amazes me for some reason. Anyways, Car-Go is coming off back to back to back to back 20+ home run and 70+ RBI seasons after just hitting 18 home runs and 55 RBI’s in his first two seasons. What a pick up this guy was from the Oakland Athletics, am I right? Alright, now this season his fielding has slightly improved from last season’s percentage wise. He fielded .984 percent with 186 put outs, 11 assists and three errors through 106 starts. He won  back in 2010 and last season.

Starling Marte, Pittsburgh Pirates – A rising star on this Pittsburgh Pirates playoff team who played his first full season this year. The 25 year old Dominican outfielder fielded .968 percent with 176 put outs, five assists and six errors in 124 games played at left field. He got a couple games in at center field. This young man has come through with some clutch hits this year for the Bucs as they reached the playoffs for the first time in over 20 years. He’s going to be exciting to watch.

Eric Young, Jr., Colorado Rockies – Former teammate of Carlos Gonzalez, Eric Young was moved from the Colorado Rockies to the New York Mets. Which wasn’t that bad of a decision, because he’s closer to home now. You can never go wrong with that. Anyways, Young split some time majority of his playing time in left, clocking in a total of 88 games at this position. He fielded .989 percent with 176 put outs, seven assists and two errors. Doesn’t have that much power in his bat, but can provide a team with some solid defense across the outfield. Stick him anywhere, he’ll chase down that ball and record an out for you.

CENTER FIELD

Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates – The man who graced the cover of MLB 13 The Show is a big reason why this Pirates team is as successful as they are now. Of course this man can do it all, he’s got the power, the speed and the fielding ability you need to have a solid corner-stone outfielder and that’s exactly what he is. This guy is the building block for this organization and they need to continue to build around him. McCutchen slugged 21 home runs this season while driving in 84 RBI’s. A defending Gold Glove winner from last season, fielded .982 this season with 321 put outs, 11 assists, six errors and three double plays. He’s a favorite to win this, but has some stiff competition this year.

Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers- This kid is an absolute freak. I’m a Chicago Cubs fan, but watching this kid play is always entertaining. The soon to be 28 year old center fielder had a break out year offensively as he hit 24 home runs and plated 73 runs. Gomez held down center field nicely for the Brewers this year, as he put out 391 batters, 12 assists, was charged with five errors but turned two double plays with a .988 fielding percentage.

Denard Span, Washington Nationals – This Washington Nationals team looked like they were in great shape to win the World Series last season, but fell short. This year the team fell short in the division and failed to reach the post-season. Denard Span, who was brought in from Minnesota provided this team with some excellent defense. In 145 games started, he has a perfect fielding percentage of 1.000 with 379 put outs, five assists, no errors and one double play. I think this man is the favorite to walk away with this years Gold Glove.

RIGHT FIELD

Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves – The man who homered in his first Major League at bat, in the opening game a couple of seasons ago off Carlos Zambrano and my Chicago Cubs. I have to admit the guy is talented, but this season he looked somewhat different before and after missing some games. Regardless, he’s still one of the best young outfielders of this decade and will become one of the best right fielders of all time. This year he played both center field and right field and put up perfect fielding percentages across the board. He had 173 put outs, three assists in left field without being charged with an error.

Gerardo Parra, Arizona Diamondbacks – A 26 year old left handed hitter for this Arizona Diamondbacks team who looked solid for most of this season but let the division slip away. Parra got some playing time all over the outfield, spending 33 games in center field, six in left but 123 in right. He put up a .989 fielding percentage in right field with 256 put outs, 15 assists, three errors and one double play. Great numbers, but right now Heyward’s perfect 1.000 is overshadowing his performance this year.

Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds – This is one guy who I wish was on the Chicago Cubs. Ever since he entered this league back in 2008 with the Reds, he’s been nothing but a headache to opposing pitchers and batters across the league. He’s hit over 20+ home runs and 50+ RBI’s in each of his six seasons and he’s only 26 years old. In his first year with the Reds, he was swapped back and forth between left, center and right field. But he’s been playing nothing but right field for the last five seasons and has made the best of it. This year he’s improved his fielding percentage from last years (.981) as he put up an excellent .991 with 330 put outs, 13 assists, three errors and three double plays. Not sure if he did enough to take the Gold Glove away from Heyward, but you never know.