Arizona Diamondbacks: Digging into Brandon Drury’s data
By Alex Boxwell
For Brandon Drury of the Arizona Diamondbacks, home-runs and RBIs are not the most telling of stats.
For those not familiar, Brandon Drury was one of the many pieces the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired when management decided to trade away Justin Upton.
At the time of the trade between the Diamondbacks and the Atlanta Braves on Jan. 24, 2013, Drury was a solid prospect who looked like a potential major leaguer. After nearly three years in the Diamondbacks’ farm system, Drury was finally given a shot in 2015. He only appeared in 20 games in 2015 and numbers were not strong. In 56 at-bats, he recorded only 12 hits and finished with a .214 batting average.
Over the last two seasons, Drury’s batting average and other statistics have fallen into place. Here are some numbers to consider.
In terms of his WAR (wins above replacement), Drury has a net gain of +1.8 from his first two seasons to the 2017 season. With his WAR at approximately 1.3 right now, he is slowly falling into the range of a dependable starter (WAR of 2.0 or better).
More from Venom Strikes
- Happy Thanksgiving Diamondbacks Fans! We have lots to be thankful for!
- The perfect holiday gifts for the Arizona Diamondbacks fan
- Diamondbacks make some BIG 40-man roster Moves
- About time! Diamondbacks to now provide housing for Minor League players
- What is the Rule 5 Draft? How does it impact Diamondbacks?
While WAR is supposed to be the all encompassing statistic in terms of valuing a player, there are a few statistics to ascertain a better understanding of Drury and his development.
In terms of his Isolated Power (ISO, which measures the raw power of a player and how often they in fact hit for extra bases), Drury has stayed within the .160-.196 range. This falls within the “Average-Above Average range.” In terms of his raw power in 2017, this has been evident. In the first part of the season, the native of Grants Pass, Ore. started in a lull in terms of his home-run numbers. However, this certainly reflects in his recent success.
Coming into Thursday’s game with the Rockies at Coors Field, Drury is batting .304 (70-for-230), 19 doubles, eight home runs and 36 RBIs.
With more success in terms of looking at the stats, two things are important. Drury has been able to produce all while his walk percentages and strikeout percentages have decreased and increased respectively. In the classical sense, a hitter should not be producing at a medium to high level. However, Drury has seems to reverse that trend.
"Arizona Diamondbacks: Goldschmidt delivers in the clutch, shows value"