Okay, I know I’ve been beating this thing to a pulp about Jon Jay and Peter Bourjos. But, I just couldn’t help but revisit the situation after the last few weeks and after I read an excellent article over at Cards Conclave: http://www.cardsconclave.com/2014/06/18/true-jon-jay/

After reading the article, here were my thoughts:

The real problem is we’re overvaluing the defensive side of Bourjos. The defensive runs saved is a really nice stat, but how accurate is it when it comes to determining value? It takes 10 defensive runs saved to possibly equate to a win (according to the saber nerd stuff I’ve read). According to baseball reference Bourjos is at 6, and Jay at 0 or 1 depending on if you count all his OF work or just center. Either way that’s a difference of about a half a win?

On the other hand, we know stats like runs created are very accurate. Jay has created 22 runs this year and Bourjos 13 in pretty similar PAs. Imagine if Jay had the bulk of the reps how many more RCs he’d probably have. I don’t know about you, but that 9 extra runs he helped create could have easily helped us win games with our struggling offense.

Also, the other part of Bourjos’ game is speed and that’s effectively null and void cause he doesn’t get on base. AND, when he does, he doesn’t steal. Ellis has the same number of SBs for crying out loud. I totally agree, this is a no brainer…Jay is the starter hands down.