Player | G | PA | Runs | Hits | HR | RBI | BA | OBP | SLG |
Calhoun | 152 | 632 | 92 | 128 | 33 | 74 | 0.232 | 0.325 | 0.467 |
Pederson | 149 | 514 | 83 | 112 | 36 | 74 | 0.249 | 0.339 | 0.538 |
P-Diff. | -3 | -118 | -9 | -16 | 3 | 0 | 0.017 | 0.014 | 0.071 |
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P-Diff. = Differential with respect to Pederson.
Excluding Joc's rookie season, his 514 Plate Appearance (PA) is his highest in the past four years. This is because the Dodgers started platooning him and not play him against lefties. Will the Angels allow him to see 632 plate appearances or continue what the Dodgers have been doing with Pederson for the past four years and platoon? If we platoon Pederson, then 2019 is his highest PA and we can expect a similar production.
My contention is 2019 Calhoun and 2019 Pederson. Calhoun was part of the explosion on offense that produced 769 runs, the best in GM Eppler's four seasons in Anaheim by 58 runs. I can't predict what Pederson will do or how many PA's he'll have. But I can say his 2019 production replaces Calhoun's productions. Is Joc's production that much more significant? Joc is an upgrade, but not a very clear upgrade. Calhoun's WAR (B. Ref) = 2.3. Joc's WAR = 3.3. Rendon's WAR = 6.3. Rendon is a very clear upgrade over Calhoun and Joc. When you say "a very clear upgrade", I feel you don't understand what that phrase means.
We have to replace what Calhoun produced and Pederson can do that in fewer PA's, but that's also at the expense of not exposing him to lefties, which is why his PA's have been low for the past four years. This isn't like we got Joc to replace a void in the outfield. That's what I was initially thinking, going from 0.0 WAR (Hermosillo) to 3.3 WAR (Joc). It isn't.
It's a simple math problem. Here's the total runs from last year (just for simplicity sake). Remove "x" player and that total goes down. Add "y" player at that same position and that total goes up, but how much more or less? I guess some people like rhetoric and bias over actual facts. C'est la vie.