
2010s MLB All-Underrated Team
Center Field: Lorenzo Cain
Stats for the decade: .288/.347/.413, 78 HRs, 175 SBs, 28.8 WAR
When crowning the best center fielder of the decade, there is one man that is leaps and bounds above the rest of the competition. If you’ve made it this far in the article, you probably can guess who that is. Mike Trout‘s dominance not only casts a large shadow over other center fielders in the league but over the entire league.
Thus, people often forget that there were other elite center fielders this decade. The next man up after Trout is Andrew McCutchen, who had his own streak of dominance in the national league. But after him, the competition gets increasingly thin. There were those who excelled offensively, but lacked elite defense, like George Springer and Charlie Blackmon. Then, there were others like Jackie Bradley Jr. and Kevin Kiermaier who dominated defensively but lacked consistent offensive productivity.
However, Lorenzo Cain was quietly the full package out in center field throughout the 2010s. Cain reached the peak of his fame in 2015 with the Royals, where he helped lead his team to a World Series title. He made his first all-star team and finished third in MVP voting following a stellar all-around season. However, besides one more all-star season in 2018, Cain’s performance has been largely underrated.
While he has never been a home run hitter, he has consistently gotten on base and produced runs. His mixture of speed and contact ability has made him a staple in the middle of the lineup for both the Royals and the Brewers throughout his career. Shortly put, he is an offensive catalyst when he is at his best.
His defense has perhaps been the best part of his game. Since the beginning of the decade, he has an incredible 56.6 total UZR, as well as 113 defensive runs saved. He was finally rewarded for his defensive prowess in 2019 with his first career gold glove award, which was highlighted by some of the best catches of the year.