This is Ernie Clement’s third season with the Jays. I think it is fair to say that he’s been a delightful surprise for us.
His defense has been Gold Glove level (at several positions), and his bat has been good:
| Age | WAR | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ | GIDP | HBP | SH | SF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 2.8 | 78 | 275 | 254 | 36 | 77 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 30 | .303 | .338 | .417 | .756 | 111 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
Baseball Reference has his WAR at 2.8. FanGraphs 2.5.
As a hitter, he’s a tale of two batters:
The lefty killer .430/.471/.722.
And the guy who should be at the bottom of the order vs. RHP, .246/.276/.280.
Usually, right-handed batters don’t have the significant splits that left-handed batters do. But not Ernie. I wonder why it is happening? Normally, right-hand batters face so many right-handed pitchers that they get used to them,
Beyond that, he hasn’t hit with the power I expected, but that’s ok, when he’s hitting .300.
He’s interesting, with low bat speed (4th percentile) and a high squared-up percentage (98th percentile). He doesn’t strike out much (10.9% of the time) and he rarely walks (5.1%, up from 2.4% last year).
On defense, he’s terrific at several positions. In total, he’s +12 (third best in baseball, one behind Nick Allen and Bobby Witt). He’s played:
- 342 innings at third base: 5 OAA.
- 156 innings at second base: 4 OAA.
- 48 innings at shortstop: 2 OAA.
- 51 innings at first base: 1 OAA.
I don’t understand using him at first, but there are many things the Jays do that I don’t understand.
He has a great range (99th percentile) and excellent sprint speed (83rd percentile). I keep thinking he could steal more, but he is 3 for 6 this season, so maybe he should stop trying.