It's obvious that Michael Bourn has elite speed. We see it when he glides effortlessly to beat out a ground ball, or when he tracks down a fly ball deep in the outfield gaps. Where it's probably most apparent is when Michael attempts is on the basepaths. Whether it be in a steal attempt, tagging up, or simply taking the extra base, there is much more to being a good base runner than pure speed.
In 2008, Bourn led the Astros with 41 stolen bases in 51 opportunities. This is a good percentage, but for someone with the ability that Bourn has, it would be even better for the Astros if he could bump that percentage even higher. As much as we may not like to talk about it, someone like Carlos Beltran and his 88% stolen base success rate would be an ideal person to imitate. This is especially true given the advantage Bourn has over Beltran in pure speed.
In his first full season as an every day major leaguer, Michael was ranked 75th in MLB by Baseball Prospectus in baserunning, contributing 1.92 runs over what would be expected from a player in those base running situations Bourn encountered. It would be expected that Michael excelled in the stolen base portion of base running skill, as he was nearly three runs better than expected. However, he was merely average, or below average when it came to scoring on ground balls, as well as flyballs, and advancing on ground balls/fly balls. This may be due to a lack of experience, or general carelessness that plauges many a young player.
This season has seen Bourn step his game up considerably. He now ranks fourth in MLB in baserunning. The best part of his ranking is that it's the "other" parts of his baserunning- advancing on the basepaths, and scoring on batted balls that have helped him attain this high position. His stolen base numbers, 13/16 (81.25%), are slightly better thus far as compared to last season. Combine these improvements with his newfound ability to get on base, and Michael Bourn is fast becoming the kind of player..gasp!...worth building around.
0 recs | 6 comments
I like that you bring up
his speed in the outfield. I’ve always thought he was a much underrated defensive player BECAUSE of his speed. Michael always seems to make a relatively effortless catch on just about any ball – the kind of catch that would require a player with less speed a sportcenter type catch to make. Thus we never really get to see Bourn lay out for a catch because he never has to. I’ll ask you guys, when was the last time YOU saw Bourn get burned in the outfield or even look like he was making a difficult play on the ball?
Artest4Prez - May 15, 2009
Bourn has been excellent defensively so far this season...
but I am hoping he can keep up the same level of performance all season. Last year, Bourn was excellent defensively in the 1st half but tailed off toward the second half, giving up some errors (5) and mishandling a few balls. Range based defensive metrics were showing him as an elite fielder in the first half last year, but he ended up only slightly above average by the end of the year. Bourn has plenty of speed to make up for any bad jumps, but he still is learning how to play balls off the wall…it seems like he occasionally mishandles those. Last year, I felt that Bourn didn’t play shallow enough sometimes and too many balls would fall in front of him. (Some of that may have to do with Tal’s Hill.) I can’t tell if he has changed his positioning or not, but it seems to me like he has fewer flyballs falling in front of him.
clack - May 15, 2009
That's a pretty good point.
Guys like Ichiro can play the ball of the wall like a beast – that’s something Bourn could definitely use some work on.
Artest4Prez - May 15, 2009
if there's one thing
Carlos Lee does pretty well in the outfield, it’s play caroms off the wall. at least, that’s my humble observation.
i’m failing to remember which game, but Bourn had three putouts in one inning that landed him on the web gems segment of baseball tonight, at least two of them were coming in on the ball.
littlevisigoth - May 15, 2009
He's had a couple of best plays of the day appearances
where he dove going back. To me he looks a lot more comfortable in the field and at the plate than last year.
ol Pete - May 15, 2009
Much improved...
Last year was in hindsight, a tough one for Bourn. Playing under alot pressure, coming back to the home town, trade for Lidge, first full year in Majors etc….It seems he is playing a lot more “fun” this year.
I may have to eat my hat on some of the comments I made about Wade giving up so much for him….but I hear they taste pretty good with a little crow and ketchup….
jano4 - May 15, 2009
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