Jacob Young, Bonafide MLB'er?

[welch]

Name one good fielding first baseman that switched from the outfield at the major league level. Being a good outfielder doesn’t automatically translate to the infield.

Roy Sievers. Rookie of the year OF, fine hitter for the Browns, Then wrecked his shoulder. Bill Veeck believed in Roy, and worked him out. Hit grounder after grounder, Luckily for the Nats, the Browns' new ownership did not believe, and traded Sievers for Gil Coan.

[blue911]

Now. Stop making me have to bash Harper, who I really like.

[blue911]

Rpy Sievers. Rookie of the year OF, fine hitter for the Browns, Then wrecked his shoulder. Bill Veeck believed in Roy, and worked him out. Hit grounder after grounder, Luckily for the Nats, the Browns' new ownership did not believe, and traded Sievers for Gil Coan.

Thanks Welch! Any others spring to mind? When I think of good fielding firstbasemen, I think Don Mattingly.


Keith Hernandez wasn’t merely good, he was great.

[blue911]

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders-legacy.aspx?pos=1b&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=6&season=2024&month=0&season1=2024&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2024-01-01&enddate=2024-12-31&sort=8,d

Sorting on this he was fourth defensively last year per fangraphs.

Hey, I just reran this and changed the eligibility from qualified to 250 AB and Bryce fell to 10th

[welch]

Thanks Welch! Any others spring to mind? When I think of good fielding firstbasemen, I think Don Mattingly.


Keith Hernandez wasn’t merely good, he was great.

Apologies for using your question as a chance to remind Nats fans of "The sweetest right-handed swing in the American League", the first Washington player since Buck Freeman to lead a league in homers, Roy Sievers. My all-time hero.

However, I think that a 1B should play like another infielder. Like a converted 3B (maybe Yoyo in the future?), or like Mattingly or Keith Hernadez. They played as if they had grown up as left-handed shortstops. Those two were superb, and it was fun to compare them, back in the late '80s.

[Natsinpwc]

Hey, I just reran this and changed the eligibility from qualified to 250 AB and Bryce fell to 10th

I’m
Not sure what at bats have to do with defense or really how UZR is calculated.  So it’s still showing he is perfectly adequate defense. Apparently if you’re not Keith Hernandez or Don Mattingly your defense sucks.  We all know Harper is adequate defensively at 1B which was the original point. 

How about Pete Rose?

[Slateman]

Its defense at 1B. Why do we care?

Jacob Young's only value is CF. Most of Crews' value is going to be CF defense. If anyone's moving to 1B, it's Lile

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Name one good fielding first baseman that switched from the outfield at the major league level. Being a good outfielder doesn’t automatically translate to the infield.

Carl Yastrzemski

[blue911]

Carl Yastrzemski

Was Carl that good in left or just good at playing the wall? Anyway 20 hours after posing the question we have exactly 2,or 3 if you want to include Harper, in the past 70 years.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Was Carl that good in left or just good at playing the wall? Anyway 20 hours after posing the question we have exactly 2,or 3 if you want to include Harper, in the past 70 years.

There's the catch against the Yankees to preserve Billy Rohr's attempt at a no hitter in April "67.

IIRC, when I played stratomatic, he was a 1 or a 2 in left and a 2 at first. Good arm. I think he would have been a CF now were it not for Reggie Smith and few others that he overlapped with.

[Smithian]

Name one good fielding first baseman that switched from the outfield at the major league level. Being a good outfielder doesn’t automatically translate to the infield.

Adam Dunn and Michael Morse were never good at First, but the Nats were much better getting them out of the OF.

But James Wood is not in that place right now. His defense this years is less bad than last season. Not good, but improved. No rush to move him yet.

[blue911]

Adam Dunn and Michael Morse were never good at First, but the Nats were much better getting them out of the OF.

But James Wood is not in that place right now. His defense this years is less bad than last season. Not good, but improved. No rush to move him yet.

Only it wasn’t about Wood it was about Crews. Wood should be move just to avoid the Mike Staunton disease.

[Smithian]

Only it wasn’t about Wood it was about Crews. Wood should be move just to avoid the Mike Staunton disease.

I assumed wrong.

I somehow missed the suggestion we move Dylan Crews, which I can only assume was parody since Dylan Crews can hold up in CF, not just the corners.

[blue911]

I assumed wrong.

I somehow missed the suggestion we move Dylan Crews, which I can only assume was parody since Dylan Crews can hold up in CF, not just the corners.

Yeah, I didn’t think it was well thought out.

[Slateman]

Why is a "good fielding" outfielder moving to 1B? If they can field the outfield well, why would you move them?

[welch]

The ultimate Nats 1B, Joe Judge, was playing SS in sandlot or HS ball when his postman told him to switch to 1B. Clutch hitter and always fielded like a SS. TSame as Hernandez and Mattingly. Maybe that's Yoyo. And, sadly, maybe that will be Holiday for somebofy else

[Slateman]

Pretty sure Ryan Zimmerman is the ultimate Nats 1B

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Pretty sure Ryan Zimmerman is the ultimate Nats 1B

Adam LaRoche (nah)

[nobleisthyname]

Why is a "good fielding" outfielder moving to 1B? If they can field the outfield well, why would you move them?

Yeah that's the main challenge of the question. 1B is where you put bad fielders. Heck, even Harper only went there because of injuries and it just worked out well enough that they never moved him back.

[IdahoNat]

No. Another poster stated that Dylan Crews would be good at first base because he was a good outfielder.

I couldn’t come up with an example so I threw out to the board. Fixating only on Bryce makes me think that the conversion isn’t that easy and there’s no correlation to support that theory. I mean if it was, all of us could name a half dozen off the top of our heads.

I have a name ya know

[Elvir Ovcina]

Yeah that's the main challenge of the question. 1B is where you put bad fielders. Heck, even Harper only went there because of injuries and it just worked out well enough that they never moved him back.

This is different now with the DH being universal.  DH is where you put bad fielders.  The defensive standards at 1B are much higher than they were even a decade ago.

1B is where you put a big MF who can field grounders and throws but either can't run or can't throw.  Harper went there because that team already had 2 other DHs, but that probably wouldn't have worked if he didn't have catching experience.  It's hard as hell to each 30 year olds who have never played IF to play 1B.  Some guys just cannot field ground balls.

[welch]

Need to field like Joe Judge and Ryan Zimmerman, or Don Mattingly and Keith Hernandez. Charge ground balls like an infielder. Maybe Yoyo, or maybe Petry, except that Petry is described as a big, slow-moving OF. That does not sound like a good 1B, unfortunately.

[Elvir Ovcina]

Need to field like Joe Judge and Ryan Zimmerman, or Don Mattingly and Keith Hernandez. Charge ground balls like an infielder. Maybe Yoyo, or maybe Petry, except that Petry is described as a big, slow-moving OF. That does not sound like a good 1B, unfortunately.

Morales will be quite good at 1B defensively.  It's his bat that's the question.

[welch]

Morales will be quite good at 1B defensively.  It's his bat that's the question.

Yoyo is hitting about .235 right now. Not showing much power.

https://www.milb.com/gameday/red-wings-vs-ironpigs/2025/07/19/781115/final/box

[JCA-CrystalCity]

discusses Young and the race for bunt single leadership in MLB.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/five-second-half-storylines/

Currently Young is tied for 1st with 7. Other leaders are Kyle Isbel and TJ Friedl. He also leads with 19 in-play bunts.