How much does Carlos Beltran have in the Tank? Plenty.
By Editorial Staff
As we sat and watched the 2011 baseball season unfold, it became easy to lose track of the San Francisco Giants. When they traded for Carlos Beltran on July 27th, the Giants were sitting on a four game lead in the NL West. Their newly acquired switch-hitting outfielder struggled out of the gates for his new team, and San Francisco’s lead evaporated within a week. This may have led some fans in Northern California to think, “Is it too late to ask for Zach Wheeler back?”
After two straight years of finding difficulties staying on the diamond, it might have been safe to assume the 34-year-old Beltran was getting old. But in the first half of 2011, Beltran looked fresh, and was swinging the bat really well. So well that the Giants thought it was worth it to ship a top prospect to the Mets in order to land him at the deadline.
But like I said before, San Francisco was out of it by late August, and many observers of the game may of missed the fact that Beltran was actually one of the hottest hitters in baseball the last month and a half of the season.
Just for fun take a look at what Carlos did in Sept/Oct. He hit .378/.434/.700 with six home runs. These aren’t the kind of numbers you’d expect from an aging outfielder during the home stretch of a baseball season. He was the benefactor of an outrageous BABIP that was pushing .400 during this time frame, but there’s a couple reasons that would support the claim it wasn’t crazy luck. For one, Beltran is still an impressive physical specimen, who still has the strength to crush the baseball. And two, this guy still has such incredible balance in the box combined with uncanny plate discipline. His 14.7% K-rate in 2011 ranked 13th among all qualifying MLB outfielders.
For a guy who has grinded out 13 years of service time, the legs look pretty healthy. Giants fans watched him zoom around the outfield and around the base paths legging out extra-base hits in his half a season in San Francisco.
The power is still there as well. Beltran hit 22 homers in total for the 2011 season while slugging .525. Some of his home runs had quite a bit of distance on them. You will also notice he still has the ability to fish out breaking balls down in the zone and muscle them into the seats. His flat level swing still puts a lot of backspin on the ball which causes it to carry nicely.
Beltran’s all-star worthy season in 2011 was good enough to net 4.7 WAR, which basically puts him in a class of outfielders like Hunter Pence, Chris Young, Cameron Maybin and Mike Stanton. This is indeed solid company to be in for a 34-year-old.
So Carlos Beltran can clearly still bring nice value to whoever lands him this winter. It will be intriguing to see how teams factor in his less than optimal 2009-10 seasons in conjuncture with last season. For instance, he was only able to muster .8 WAR in 2010. It’s going to have to factor in a little bit. I think someone will give him two years somewhere in the ballpark of $20-25 million. If two teams get real serious maybe that number could creep a tick higher.
As for where he lands, rumors are swirling that the Rockies, Blue Jays and Cardinals are very interested. Mitch Williams made a good point on MLB Network last night that staying clear of Toronto may be a good idea. Playing on astro-turf isn’t the ideal situation for an aging outfielder with leg/knee problems. The Rockies got the cash to get it done, but Beltran has plenty of money. I see Carlos going to St. Louis. They still have a great club even with out Albert Pujols and should be the favorites in the NL Central by the time 2012 gets going. Plus with the money they didn’t spend on King Albert, Beltran could wind up seeing a nice little chunk of it.
If Beltran’s first week in San Francisco tricked you into thinking his good years were behind him, do yourself a favor and don’t be fooled. Odds are there are at least a couple real good years left for no. 15.
You can follow Mickey Brignall along on twitter – @mickey_baseball