Ryan Langerhans: The Good

by Jeff Sullivan on Jun 29, 2009 1:43 PM PDT in Seattle Mariners Stats

Defense. UZR likes him. PMR likes him. Plus/minus likes him. RZR likes him. Scouting reports like him. Nobody has a single bad thing to say about Langerhans' glovework, and when you have a situation like this where all the authorities share a common opinion, then I think we can say with relative certainty that, much like Endy Chavez, Langerhans is an asset in the field. And while some people downplayed the impact Chavez could have before the season, I think it's been made abundantly clear that players like this can make a huge difference, even if they don't hit very much. When he plays, Langerhans is going to restore the three-CF outfield that the pitching staff got so used to seeing early on. Which isn't to say that Langerhans can necessarily play very well in center, but we know he can play his ass off in left. While not blessed with blazing speed or a great arm, he covers as much ground as anyone. He'll be fun to watch.

Handedness. Lefty!

No evident platoon issue. While we have limited information about Langerhans' platoon splits in the Majors and the minors, there's no indication that he's helpless against southpaws. His power and BB/K numbers have remained pretty much intact.

Power. Allow me to list the standard distance of Langerhans' home runs that have been recorded by HitTrackerOnline:

414, 426, 395, 368, 427, 424, 401, 412, 406, 388, 422, 425, 363, 424, 392

The homers are modest in number but somewhat impressive in length. Of those 15, ten were longer than 400 feet and six topped 425. Remember the Gutierrez bomb to center in Petco? That was measured at 426 feet. Langerhans has it in him to hit the same kind of shots. He doesn't always make solid contact, but unlike Endy, he's more than capable of really punishing a mistake. Note that 44% of his hits in AAA this year have gone for extra bases.

Eye. Over his 1141 plate appearances in the Major Leagues, Langerhans has shown OSwing% and ZSwing% tendencies similar to Griffey's this year. He has a good idea of the strike zone and seldom gets himself out on pitchers' pitches. He's not a hacker. He's not even close. When he shows up, he'll immediately be one of the most disciplined hitters on the team.

Roster flexibility. Once Endy went down, we had a glaring need for a lefty 3rd/4th outfielder. Someone who can come in and play well over extended periods while also not getting upset about losing a little playing time to Wlad. Michael Saunders was one possibility, but the organization doesn't think he's ready yet, so Langerhans fits well and reduces the pressure Saunders might've felt to impress. But beyond that, let's say Saunders catches fire and starts knocking on the door. Then you can bump Langerhans elsewhere, no problem. He's no stranger to the bench or the transaction list, and with so little a commitment, there's nothing to stop the team from reducing or eliminating his role down the road. He is a stopgap in every sense of the word.

Cost. See ya, Mike. Take your fanboys with you.

1 recs | 59 comments

Comments

I hope this is a one part series.

Nate Dogg - June 29, 2009 reply

I find it weird after watching our team for so long

that Langerhans has such a good eye for the strike zone and great power, but such shitty contact numbers.

Matthew - June 29, 2009 reply

it is odd

but, Langerhans hasn’t really had the chance to play every day

JackofAllTrades - June 29, 2009 reply

Maybe if he had langerhans, he would be able to man the extra space in center field.

//obligatory

Matthew - June 29, 2009 reply

ba-dum-tish

pdb - June 29, 2009 reply

You stole Fogel's thunder.

Mariner John - June 29, 2009 reply

I think it's ironic that we have two diabetics on a team that now has a guy whose last name mocks their weakness.

abender20 - June 29, 2009 reply

Especially since

a year ago, Langerhans wasn’t a Mariner.

The Ancient Mariner - June 29, 2009 reply

This pun only works if you know how to pronounce Langerhans.

This pronunciation (“Longer-hans”) contradicts Dave Cameron’s (“Lawn-grrr-hawns”), which contradicts Churchill’s (“Langer” rhymes with hanger, “hans” rhymes with hands without the d).

csiems - June 29, 2009 reply

Dave Cameron's pronounciation really doesn't work if you try it with English verb sounds

Graham MacAree - June 29, 2009 reply

How in the world is "Longer-hans" any different than "Lawn-grrr-hawns"?

abender20 - June 30, 2009 reply

I'm guessing the "A" sound.

Kirsten Schlewitz - June 30, 2009 reply

"ng" vs. sounding the "n" and "g" separately

The Ancient Mariner - June 30, 2009 reply

Read both of those through again. Unless you stop the last name midway though, that's not really a difference.

abender20 - June 30, 2009 reply

Personally I am going to pronounce it "Lane-jer-uns" until I hear otherwise because it pleases me.

Aaron Campeau - June 30, 2009 reply

Damn it

OlSalty - June 29, 2009 reply

Isn't this the one that started it all?

Faux - June 30, 2009 reply

I can't wait to see what kind of magic GMZ has in store for third base.

InSpokane - June 29, 2009 reply

Didn't you see he traded Mike Morse for Ryan Zimmerman?

Mariner John - June 29, 2009 reply

Wow what a trick.

InSpokane - June 29, 2009 reply

Especially considering Mike Morse is a flaming queen.

Poochie - June 29, 2009 reply

Nice article, sums up why this was such a good deal.

Hope he gets called up to Seattle soon.

Heydude - June 29, 2009 reply

So the PI blog commenters hated this?

Wonder what they said….

rtang - June 29, 2009 reply

There's only one way to find out

pdb - June 29, 2009 reply

I know on Baker's blog everyone thought we were throwing away a big time commodity with Morse.

They were convinced his .300 BA over ~300 MLB at bats meant he could play shortstop.

Zwakamatsu - June 29, 2009 reply

Maybe he could bat .300. He wouldn't walk, he wouldn't hit for a ton of power, and he'd play miserable defense.

.300 though, yeah, he probably could have done that.

abender20 - June 29, 2009 reply

Yeah point being even if he did that he would still pretty much suck.

Zwakamatsu - June 29, 2009 reply

He would still very much suck.

abender20 - June 29, 2009 reply

Loving the BABIP on that guy

Jeff Sullivan - June 29, 2009 reply

So Rizzs' A-Rod comparison might have been a bit off.

Poochie - June 29, 2009 reply

From where I sit

if Saunders knocks down the door, keep Langerhans and move Wlad.

The Ancient Mariner - June 29, 2009 reply

I imagine that's what we're doing.

It would be wonderful if we could find a team that would give Wlad a chance. Seeing that Z got Langerhans for Mike Morse I would imagine he might be able to pull someone useful from somewhere for Wlad.

Zwakamatsu - June 29, 2009 reply