Now that he’s got over 50 MLB plate appearances under his belt, I thought it would be good to show Jake’s numbers compared to the rest of the Rays (and, in some cases, rest of MLB), just to see how he’s performing.
The TLDR version - he’s doing way more than enough at the plate, on the basepaths, and in the field to stay up in the show, as of right now, and is excelling or holding his own in every area except slugging % (which his career history shows can and likely will get better).
I always thought that if given a shot, Jake could definitely be a .275-.300 hitter in MLB, and a .700-.750 OPS player at the MLB level as well. Guys that can do that year over year and against LHP and RHP aren’t necessarily All-Stars, but they absolutely do play every day.
Now for the stats:
1) OPS (most important “bottom line” offensive stat)
Rays as a team are 6th in all of MLB in OPS at .765. Jake’s OPS is .741. Not much to complain about here, his OPS is right in the neighborhood of the team as a whole, and he’s doing that for what has been one of the better MLB hitting teams in the early going.
2) Batting average
Rays as a team are 3rd in MLB with a .272 average. Jake is s very big part of that….hitting .327. That’s 3rd on the team of guys that have at least 40 AB’s. This is a known strength for him obviously….but so far its carrying over to the big stage just as it did at every other level that he advanced.
3) On base percentage
Rays as a team are 6th in MLB with a .336 team OBP. Jake is even better at .353. 4th on the team out of guys with at least 40 AB’s. Holding his own here.
4) Slugging percentage
Rays are 7th in MLB with a .429 team SLG %. Jake is at .388. This is his weakest area overall. However, there’s a lot to indicate that he can improve here, and it doesn’t involve him hitting a bunch of HR’s, either. Just needs to hit a few more doubles, and a triple or HR here and there. In 4 years of SEC play, he slugged .457. In 2 years of AA ball, he slugged .440. In 3 years of AAA ball, he slugged .438. That’s about as consistent as it gets over 8 years of advancing through different tiers of high level baseball. Everything else he does has translated to MLB so far. I’d expect him to settle in at a SLG % of sonewhere in the .410-.430 range over a long enough period of time. And he’s still ahead of or right in line with 3 or 4 other regulars for the Rays even now.
5) K rate
Rays as a team do not strike out a ton. I didn’t check where they rank in MLB in K rate, but overall they have a 21.2% K rate as a team. Jake is killing it here so far….only 9.8% K rate. So he’s holding his own, and doing what he’s always done here….continuously putting pressure on the pitcher and defense.
6) BB rate
Rays don’t walk a ton as a team either. 8.6% team BB rate. Again, not sure where that ranks in MLB. Jake’s even lower at 3.92% here. Don’t think anyone expects the tiger to change his stripes on this one. He’s got a unique approach that works for him, and that involves him putting the ball in play whenever he can. At least he’s in an organization that suits his strengths.
7) Stolen bases
Perhaps the most impressive stat of all. Rays are tied for 5th in MLB with 23 SB’s. Jake is leading the team and is tied for 2nd in all of MLB with 7 stolen bases, and he has yet to be thrown out. This is a big deal. Was not really a strength of his at MSU even though he always had the speed. But it’s very clear that this is an area where he’s worked hard to improve his game over the years as far as getting better leads / jumps, and picking up on the pitcher’s motion to the plate. If he is to become a full time fixture in MLB, this element of his game might be the catalyst.
8) Advanced Stats - Runs Created and Wins Above Replacement
Jake is 4th overall on the Rays in Runs Created, and 3rd overall in RC/27 amongst guys with at least 40 AB’s.
Jake is tied with the two shortstops Walls and Caballero with a WAR of 0.5 - they are in a 3-way tie for 3rd on the team.
He’s doing very well in both of these areas.
The TLDR version - he’s doing way more than enough at the plate, on the basepaths, and in the field to stay up in the show, as of right now, and is excelling or holding his own in every area except slugging % (which his career history shows can and likely will get better).
I always thought that if given a shot, Jake could definitely be a .275-.300 hitter in MLB, and a .700-.750 OPS player at the MLB level as well. Guys that can do that year over year and against LHP and RHP aren’t necessarily All-Stars, but they absolutely do play every day.
Now for the stats:
1) OPS (most important “bottom line” offensive stat)
Rays as a team are 6th in all of MLB in OPS at .765. Jake’s OPS is .741. Not much to complain about here, his OPS is right in the neighborhood of the team as a whole, and he’s doing that for what has been one of the better MLB hitting teams in the early going.
2) Batting average
Rays as a team are 3rd in MLB with a .272 average. Jake is s very big part of that….hitting .327. That’s 3rd on the team of guys that have at least 40 AB’s. This is a known strength for him obviously….but so far its carrying over to the big stage just as it did at every other level that he advanced.
3) On base percentage
Rays as a team are 6th in MLB with a .336 team OBP. Jake is even better at .353. 4th on the team out of guys with at least 40 AB’s. Holding his own here.
4) Slugging percentage
Rays are 7th in MLB with a .429 team SLG %. Jake is at .388. This is his weakest area overall. However, there’s a lot to indicate that he can improve here, and it doesn’t involve him hitting a bunch of HR’s, either. Just needs to hit a few more doubles, and a triple or HR here and there. In 4 years of SEC play, he slugged .457. In 2 years of AA ball, he slugged .440. In 3 years of AAA ball, he slugged .438. That’s about as consistent as it gets over 8 years of advancing through different tiers of high level baseball. Everything else he does has translated to MLB so far. I’d expect him to settle in at a SLG % of sonewhere in the .410-.430 range over a long enough period of time. And he’s still ahead of or right in line with 3 or 4 other regulars for the Rays even now.
5) K rate
Rays as a team do not strike out a ton. I didn’t check where they rank in MLB in K rate, but overall they have a 21.2% K rate as a team. Jake is killing it here so far….only 9.8% K rate. So he’s holding his own, and doing what he’s always done here….continuously putting pressure on the pitcher and defense.
6) BB rate
Rays don’t walk a ton as a team either. 8.6% team BB rate. Again, not sure where that ranks in MLB. Jake’s even lower at 3.92% here. Don’t think anyone expects the tiger to change his stripes on this one. He’s got a unique approach that works for him, and that involves him putting the ball in play whenever he can. At least he’s in an organization that suits his strengths.
7) Stolen bases
Perhaps the most impressive stat of all. Rays are tied for 5th in MLB with 23 SB’s. Jake is leading the team and is tied for 2nd in all of MLB with 7 stolen bases, and he has yet to be thrown out. This is a big deal. Was not really a strength of his at MSU even though he always had the speed. But it’s very clear that this is an area where he’s worked hard to improve his game over the years as far as getting better leads / jumps, and picking up on the pitcher’s motion to the plate. If he is to become a full time fixture in MLB, this element of his game might be the catalyst.
8) Advanced Stats - Runs Created and Wins Above Replacement
Jake is 4th overall on the Rays in Runs Created, and 3rd overall in RC/27 amongst guys with at least 40 AB’s.
Jake is tied with the two shortstops Walls and Caballero with a WAR of 0.5 - they are in a 3-way tie for 3rd on the team.
He’s doing very well in both of these areas.
