Beck, your thoughts on Almora's arm? I have a lot of friends that aren't impressed and think it's average to below average. I personally think this guy is better suited for LF. What do you think?
Scouts give it a plus(60 grade). Defensive metrics suggest he's a top 5 defensive CF among qualified CF. He's 6th in DRS which is a counting stat despite having played ~140 fewer innings than most of the 1-5 guys. He's 5th in UZR/150. Those numbers have fallen slightly over the past month. Around the start of may he was probably the best defensive OF in baseball and hadn't missed any balls in his "zone."
I'm a fan of Almora's so I'm probably not the most unbiased person to ask. With that being said, the scouting on him prior to coming to the majors slightly over sold his defense IMO. The talk was he a no doubter gold glove type. I think his range is good because he has good instincts but i think his lack of top end speed ultimately is what's stopping him from being in that top 3 or so CF group defensively. Then again, if this is what he is defensively and his bat is this good I mean I don't care. He's on a 4.5 win pace. Last year there were 25 hitters with 4.5+ wins, 10 OF's and 5 CFs.
The metrics suggest happ is slightly worse overall. Happ is an interesting hitter to me but he's too 3 true outcomes right now for me. However, if he irons out his K issues he's a lot more interesting because his walk rate is fantastic and he has decent power. Given where he is I sorta prefer him in a swing zobrist-like role right now.
