2023 NL East Position Rankings: Left Field Edition

The left field position for each of the five NL East teams remains mostly unchanged from 2022, with only one or two teams making a minor change. The overall group is underwhelming, especially when considering the amount of star players that play in the division. Continuing MMO’s series of position rankings in the NL East, here are the rankings of left fielders in the division.

5. Eddie Rosario, ATL

Eddie Rosario will forever be a hero in Atlanta Braves history because of his efforts during the team’s 2021 World Series run, but that luster has quickly faded. Rosario’s 2022 season was putrid, partly due to a swollen retina that required surgery midseason. His stats suffered because of it and in 250 at-bats, he slashed .212/.259/.328/.587 with five home runs and 24 RBIs, also posting a -1.1 fWAR.

Rosario swung at the same percentage of pitches in 2022 as he did in 2021, but his whiff rate rose from 19.2% to 31.9%. A source of hope for Rosario, though, is that he faced the shift over 80% of the time and performed much better against a non-shifted infield in 2022. With the shift completely banned in 2023, he can be expected to improve offensively.

Rosario has not been a quality defender at all throughout his career, and that remained so in 2022. He had -9 DRS and -5 OAA for the season, meaning he was a defensive liability in addition to his offensive woes. Even his arm strength, which was in the 94th percentile in 2020 and the 89th percentile in 2021, dropped down to the 54th percentile in 2022.

To give Rosario the benefit of the doubt, his 2022 was an outlier when you compare it to the rest of his career. His OPS+ of 64 was by far the lowest of his career, with the second lowest mark being 91 in 2016. If Rosario had never dealt with his eye issues, maybe his 2022 season would have gone differently. But he is now on the wrong side of 30 and is clearly the weak link in the Braves’ lineup. Unless he can find that 2021 postseason spark again, Rosario is the worst left fielder in the division.

4. Corey Dickerson, WAS

Corey Dickerson, like Rosario, has his best years behind him. A one-time All-Star, he has failed to regain the power he possessed in the beginning of his career when he hit 24-plus homers three times in a four year stretch. He hasn’t seen as much playing time as he did during those years, but even still he’s hitting home runs at a lower rate. Dickerson was average in every sense of the word in 2022, exhibited by his 0.4 fWAR and 100 OPS+. In 281 at-bats he slashed .267/.300/.399/.698 with six home runs and 36 RBIs in his lone year with the Cardinals.

Dickerson’s -5 DRS and 1 OAA in 2022 show that, while not a great defender, he can hold his own in left field. He won the only Gold Glove of his career in 2018, but with age catching up to him, that part of his game has been on the decline. Still, Dickerson will be expected to man left field for the Nationals in 2022, at least for the first half of the season.

It would be a surprise if Dickerson returned to his prime form now that he is 33 years old, but it would be just as surprising if his play fell off completely. Dickerson embodies mediocrity at this stage of his career, and thus takes fourth on the list.

3. Bryan De La Cruz, MIA

Bryan De La Cruz is an exciting young player for the Marlins, acquired from the Astros during the 2021 season. With Jazz Chisholm set to take over in center field, De La Cruz is expected to be the team’s left fielder in 2023. Playing in 115 games last season, he slashed .252/.294/.432/.725 in 329 at-bats. As his on-base percentage suggests, De La Cruz struggled at getting on base, hindered by an abysmal 0.21 walk-to-strikeout ratio.

His finish to the 2022 season gives reason for excitement, though, as he hit .388/.419/.718/1.137 with six of his 13 total home runs in September and October alone. If he can build on this in his third season in the league, De La Cruz can be a true offensive weapon for the Marlins.

De La Cruz was defensively sound last year, but especially so in left field. He recorded 4 DRS and 1 OAA at the position and his arm strength was in the 89th percentile of all players. Shifting over to left field full time may be the best thing for De La Cruz’s career, as it is sure to make him an improved defender.

De La Cruz exudes potential and upside that Marlins fans should be excited about. His career is still young, though, and he is held back by his undisciplined approach at the plate. Until he can perform at a high level in a larger sample size, De La Cruz finds himself in the middle of the pack of NL East left fielders, but he has the ability to climb up the rankings in future years.

2. Mark Canha, NYM

Mark Canha was an on-base machine in his first year with the Mets, posting the seventh-highest on-base percentage in the National League despite a .266 batting average. This was aided by the fact that he led all of baseball with 28 hit-by-pitches and maintained a deliberate and thoughtful approach to each plate appearance, engaging in prolonged at-bats that often resulted in walks or base hits.

Canha didn’t showcase much power until later in the year when he turned it on during a scorching August, recording a .979 OPS for the entire month. In all, though, Canha hit just 13 home runs with a .403 slugging percentage for the year, his lowest totals over full seasons in his career.

Canha is not a plus-defender in left field, but he doesn’t present a liability either. He ended 2022 with -4 DRS and 0 OAA, and his arm strength ranked in the 31st percentile. The Mets’ defense features several great defenders, including Brandon Nimmo to Canha’s left, so it’s not cause for concern that Canha himself isn’t a prolific fielder.

Most projections have Canha taking a step back in 2023. ZiPS, Fangraphs, and Steamer all have Canha’s batting average dipping into the low .240s and his OPS dropping below .750. Even if he does show some regression in 2023, Canha is still one of the better left fielders in the NL East.

1. Kyle Schwarber, PHI

Mets fans know better than just about anyone how dangerous of a hitter Kyle Schwarber is. His best trait is crushing baseballs which he did at an elite level in his first season with the Phillies, hitting a National League-leading 46 home runs en route to his second consecutive All-Star nod and his first Silver Slugger Award.

He’s not just a masher at the plate though. He is extremely disciplined and takes walks when given to him, as he ranked in the 94th percentile for walk rate and the 87th percentile for chase rate in 2022. His .323 on-base percentage despite a .218 batting average is further evidence of his patience at the plate. His only offensive weakness is that he swings and misses often, which resulted in an MLB-leading 200 strikeouts last year. But when he makes contact, he’s as dangerous as anybody else in the league.

Schwarber’s biggest downside, as it has been his whole career, is his defense. Schwarber was simply horrendous as a fielder in 2022 with -14 DRS and -13 OAA, though that can be overlooked given the offensive threat that he is. Even with his poor defensive play, he still posted a 2.6 fWAR in 2022. As long as he can continue to be an elite power threat and an elite on-base threat, the Phillies will ignore his defensive struggles.

Schwarber will be 30 at the beginning of the 2023 season, but he has showed no signs of slowing down offensively. Among this group of NL East left fielders, Schwarber is far and away the most productive offensive player and that alone gives him the credibility to be ranked first on this list.