New York Mets Player Evaluations: Center Fielder Jake Marisnick

The New York Mets brought in Jake Marisnick before the 2020 season as a defensive specialist to replace Juan Lagares. Marisnick also brought in more power than Lagares, but injuries limited him to only 33 at-bats over the short 60 game season.

The Mets also brought in Marisnick as a good bat to start against left-handed pitching. Despite his career average being slightly higher versus lefties, his career slugging percentage is 50 points higher against southpaws. Marisnick also missed plenty of time throughout the season while battling a hamstring injury, which kept him out on two different occasions.

Lefty Specialist

Marisnick played in 16 games but only started 8 times. In those starts, he was very productive slashing, .385./.407/.731 with two home runs and five doubles. Overall, he also batted .375/.412/.688 against left-handed pitching but was very respectable with a .294 average and .529 slugging against righties.

All of this was done in a small sample size, but his 30.4% line drive rate would have been the highest of his career. Marisnick also had the lowest launch angle (7.8) and highest pull rate (60.9%) in his career, which usually does not bode well for someone with below-average exit velocity.

His defense also tailed off a little, and it likely had to do with his leg issues. Marisnick had a negative defensive runs saved and had zero outs above average, the lowest of his career. With a whole offseason to recover, those numbers should return the gold glove level they were in prior years.

Marisnick heads into free agency with a significantly lower value than he should. The Mets do not have any better defensive options in center field, and giving Marisnick another opportunity should benefit the overall team defense. On the year, Marisnick batted .333 (11-for-33) with two home runs and five RBIs. Though the average likely falls in a full season, he is still a quality depth piece.

2020 Grades On 20-80 Scale (2021 Projection)

Hitting: 80 (30), Marsinick is a career .220 hitter, so anything near .300 is a reach.

Power: 55 (40), Good power but 15 home runs is likely his ceiling.

Run: 60 (60), Top 5% in baseball with a 29.2 ft/sec sprint speed.

Arm: 45 (40), Arm has declined in center over the last few years, would translate better in the corner spots.

Field: 45 (70), If he can get healthy, he will return to his top tier glove work.

Overall: 55 (50), It was a good season with the bat; it will regress over a full season, but his glove makes him a major league level player.