Do Houston Astros Employ One of the Best Defensive Outfielders in MLB?

The Houston Astros are known for their bats, but could they also employ one of the best defensive outfielders in MLB?

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Chas McCormick of the Houston Astros is hands down one of the best defensive outfielders currently playing Major League Baseball.

And he has been for the last three years and counting.

Forget Aaron Judge — the New York Yankees outfielder doesn’t even come close to McCormick’s Outs Above Average (OAA), a key statistic used to determine a players defensive worth.

In fact, McCormick puts Judge, who is consistently praised for his defensive prowess, to shame.

Over the past three MLB seasons, McCormick has ranked in AT LEAST the top 13 in the OAA category in all of baseball.

In 2021, McCormick’s rookie campaign, his OAA was 12 — good enough to be ranked fourth in all of MLB.

In 2022, McCormick had an OAA of 7 (13th in MLB) and thus far in 2023, he has an OAA of 3, which ranks 10th in MLB.

For comparison purposes, in 2021 Judge had an OAA of 0 (97th in MLB), in 2022 he had an OAA of 3 (39th in MLB) and in 2023 he holds an OAA of 0 once again (64th in MLB).

The only time in his career that Judge has ended the season in the top 15 in OAA was 2019 (OAA of 8, 12th in MLB) and 2017 (OAA of 11, 9th in MLB).

McCormick, meanwhile, has been in the top 15 of OAA since his rookie season in 2021.

Numbers don’t lie, and the stats alone prove that McCormick is an incredible outfielder when it comes to robbing batters of hits and homers.

He’s been of the best defenders in baseball for many years, and he’s proving to be one of the best once again in 2023.

Too good to not run it back. pic.twitter.com/98Kn9wk5mc

— Houston Astros (@astros) May 17, 2023

Don't hit it to Chas!

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