In late July, there were lots of trade rumors and an interesting rumor was that the Dodgers was trying to acquire Nolan Arenado from the Cardinals and in the meantime, Max Muncy might be included in the trade. Well, the trade didn’t happen. However, that makes me think about something interesting.
How about comparing these two players’ performances in the 2023 season?
Firstly, Nolan Arenado has played 126 games for the Cardinals in 2023, hitting .274/.322/.491 with 26 home runs and 87 RBI. Moreover, he has 2 stolen bases. He now leads the Cardinals in several categories such as home runs and RBI. Without doubt, Arenado is an extremely important hitter in the Cardinals lineup.
At the same time, Max Muncy missed some playing time this season due to injury. By far, he played 109 games for the Dodgers in 2023. And, he slashes .205/.336/.486 with 31 home runs and 85 RBI. Muncy’s batting average is just over .200. However, his on-base percentage is over .330.
When we look at these players’ stats this season, it seems that Nolan Arenado hits better than Max Muncy. However, Muncy has crushed more home runs. Also, looking at OBP and OPS, Muncy seems to do a better job . And, the main reason why Muncy’s OBP is higher than Arenado’s OBP is that Muncy now has drawn 72 walks and Arenado only draws 35 walks so far this season.
Now, let’s look at advanced stats. Nolan Arenado has a strikeout rate below 20%, which is lower than Muncy’s strikeout rate. Nonetheless, Max Muncy’s xwOBA is higher than Arenado’s xwOBA. Additionally, Muncy has a walk rate over 15%, which is much higher than Arenado’s walk rate of 6.6%. Moreover, looking at the plate discipline, Muncy’s chase rate is way lower than Arenado’s chase rate.
Finally, let’s take a look at the defense. Nolan Arenado is a 10-time Gold Glove award winner. He made his MLB debut in 2013 and since then, he has been a Gold Glove award winner for 10 consecutive seasons. Arenado has 7 errors now and Muncy has 8 errors. So, Arenado’s fielding percentage is higher than Muncy’s.
In the end, the trade didn’t happen. Arenado stays with the Cardinals and Muncy is still in L.A. However, it’s very interesting to review these 2 players’ performances in the 2023 season. Again, Nolan Arenado was selected to the All-Star game. As a hitter, he’s one of the most important players in the Cardinals lineup. As an infielder, he’s probably the most trustworthy third baseman in the majors. Nevertheless, when we look at the advanced stats. Max Muncy actually makes solid contact and has a higher hard-hit rate. Furthermore, Muncy doesn’t chase as much as Arenado does. Additionally, Muncy does crush more home runs than Arenado does by far this season. That’s really something worth thinking about in baseball. Muncy just turned 33 years old and Arenado is 32 years old. Arenado’s defense, without doubt, is elite. Nonetheless, looking at hitting performance, it might be required to take a little bit more time to think about these 2 players’ contribution.
No comments:
Post a Comment