Dexter Fowler smoked a key two run double Thursday night in Cincinnati, adding two more hits to the night for his fifth multi-hit game of the month. The picture was easy to read: a well paid baseball player doing his job at the plate.
Let's be honest. Fowler wasn't signed by the St. Louis Cardinals for his defense.
When he was brought to St. Louis on a lucrative five year contract, his outfield defense would only serve as a deterrent for his skills at the plate. With ten games to go in the regular season, Fowler's promise had held true. He's hitting for power, getting on base, and giving back runs in the field. To quote the late great Dennis Great, he is who we thought he was.
The Cardinals found their replacement for Matt Holliday, the departed left fielder. The only problem is Fowler is playing center field. By putting him in a spot where he clearly isn't that good, the team is dimming the lights on an impressive season.
Fowler has been hitting since the middle of May. After a rough start to the season that saw the former Chicago Cub hit just .234 in April and .221 in May, Fowler broke out with a .990 OPS in June and has followed it up with an OPS of 1.000 plus in August and September. Fowler has went from "early bust" to setting career highs in home runs (18), RBI (61), and raising his OBP-which was the true juice in his appeal-from .305 to .363 as play opens tonight in Pittsburgh.
The real issue with Fowler has been health. The man has dealt with injuries ranging from a chronic heel disablement to knee and wrist problems. Fowler has only been able to play in 110 games and accumulate 393 at bats this season, but he's heating up at the right time.
Since returning from his latest injury on September 16, Fowler is 11-24 with three home runs, three doubles, and 9 RBI. After resembling a fine yet unfulfilled player for the first half, Fowler has turned into an avenger during the second half. While 14 of his 18 home runs were hit before the break, Fowler has hit for a .308 average with a .420 OBP and .509 slugging percentage.
What hampers that kind of surge? Defense that costs his team runs. Fowler's fWAR of 2.6 is solid for a guy who has only played in three quarters of the season, but his defensive metrics are tough to swallow. His Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) of -4.8 isn't terrible, but Fowler has cost his team 14 runs in center field.
It's not just one thing. Fowler doesn't take great routes to baseballs, lacks a strong arm, and seems to loaf to balls hit in the gap. There's an easy fix for all of this, and the move wouldn't be a far walk for Dexter.
Since Fowler is already producing like a fine Matt Holliday wine and hitting in his spot in the order these days, move him to left field. An outfielder's skills are less exposed in left field, and Fowler would make for a good left fielder. He'd complement well with Tommy Pham and whoever played right (the team has too many outfielders right now). Pham has saved three runs playing center field this year in less than 300 innings, per Fangraphs.
By moving Fowler to left field, the entire Cardinals defense would improve and the team would gain an advantage heading into the final week of the season. Let's face it-the Cardinals could use the extra supply of runs that aren't giving away during this final push.
If not this season, it should happen in 2018 in order for Fowler's contract to look its best. Pham or Harrison Bader taking center field makes the Cardinals a better team. Winning baseball shouldn't be about dollars and egos; the details should lie in wins and rings.
Dexter Fowler's health should be a concern moving forward, especially with a chronic heel problem. But his defense wouldn't be a problem moving forward if Mike Matheny and Fowler did the right thing for the team and made the switch.
Fowler doesn't need to be traded. He doesn't need to hit leadoff. He isn't a bust, at least based on expectations. As I wrote back in June, Fowler wasn't brought in to be a savior. He's merely a complimentary player that has produced.
Now, let's move him to the right position and win more games.
