MLB Network ranks Brandon Marsh 6th among all center fielders!

Despite being a platoon player, Marsh’s ranking places him among the elite center fielders in baseball.

Most Phillies fans would consider Brandon Marsh’s 2024 campaign a bit of a disappointment.

After a season in which he played 133 games, hit .277/.372/.458 with an OPS of .829 and an fWAR of 3.5, Marsh played most of his games in left field last year and saw all his offensive numbers drop. In the same number of games and plate appearances, he lost 28 points off his batting average (.249), 44 points from his on-base percentage (.328) and 39 points off his slugging percentage (.419). His walk rate fell from 12.5% to 10.5% and his strikeout rate ticked up to 32.4%, an increase from a-still-too-high 30.5% in ‘23.

As a result, he was worth 2.4 fWAR a season ago. Worse, he failed to improve in any way against left-handed pitching, batting an anemic .192/.270/.282 (.552 OPS) with an insanely high 36.7% strikeout rate against southpaws. Against righties, he was a borderline All-Star, hitting .262/.342/.450 against them, but did most of that work manning left field last season.

So it was interesting, to say the least, to see the MLB Network name Marsh as the 6th-best center fielder in baseball.

Here are MLB.com’s full rankings:

1. Julio Rodríguez, SEA (Last year’s rank: No. 2)
2. Jackson Merrill, SD (NR)
3. Byron Buxton, MIN (7)
4. Michael Harris II, ATL (5)
5. Mike Trout, LAA (4)
6. Brandon Marsh, PHI (10)
7. Daulton Varsho, TOR (NR)
8. Garrett Mitchell, MIL (NR)
9. Oneil Cruz, PIT (NR)
10. Luis Robert Jr., CWS (3)

Last year, Marsh ranked 10th among MLB center fielders, so how on earth did he move UP four spots after having a season in which he not only failed to replicate his outstanding 2023, but actually hit worse and only played 48 games in center?

In short, there is an epidemic of quality center fielders in Major League Baseball.

There are some factors in play here. First, the most valuable center fielder, Aaron Judge, will reportedly transition back to right field, with MLB Pipeline’s No. 14 overall prospect Jasson Dominguez set to potentially take over as soon as Opening Day. Trent Grisham would be their other alternative. Last year, Oneil Cruz played shortstop, but he’s slated to switch to center in 2025. And after playing the majority of his games in left, Marsh will play mostly center with the addition of Max Kepler.

There was a time when center field was a premier position in baseball. Twenty years ago, you had Andruw Jones, Jim Edmonds, Grady Sizemore, Kenny Lofton, Ken Griffey Jr., Vernon Wells, Johnny Damon, Torii Hunter, Carlos Beltran and Curtis Granderson all playing center.

***Weird statistical note: in 2005, the Phillies had TWO center fielders ranked in the top eight in fWAR: Kenny Lofton (3.8 fWAR in 92 games) and Jason Michaels (3.5 fWAR in 71 games)! Only the Braves, with a potential Hall of Famer in Jones (7.9 fWAR) finished with more WAR among center fielders (6.9) than the Phillies!***

Outside of Julio Rodriguez, Jackson Merrill, and Michael Harris II, this year’s crop of center fielders are filled with question marks.

Byron Buxton was wildly productive when healthy in 2024, but managed to play just 102 games. Happily for him, it’s the first time in his career he actually managed to play at least 100 games in a season. Trout is a future Hall of Famer, but he played just 29 games last season and has reached more than 100 games just once in the last five years. He may be moved out of center as well. Daulton Varsho has an elite glove, but put up an OBP of .293 a season ago and was a below-league average offensive player. And Luis Robert, Jr. is coming off a season in which he played just 100 games and posted a 0.5 fWAR with an abysmal .224/.278/.379 slash line. He’s the 10th-best center fielder in MLB?

Sadly, while he may not be in my top-10, he’s at least close. MLB Network’s list is mostly littered with projections. All the players listed above have the ability to be top-10 center fielders, but injury issues and a lack of offensive production make this an eyebrow-raising list.

One could argue players like Colorado’s Brenton Doyle (3.5 fWAR in 144 games), Boston’s Jarren Duran (3.5 fWAR in 104 games), and JJ Bleday (3.2 fWAR in 153 games) should all be on this list over some of the others, and all would be ranked ahead of Marsh on my list:

1. Julio Rodriguez
2. Jackson Merrill
3. Brenton Doyle
4. Michael Harris II
5. Jarren Duran
6. JJ Bleday
7. Garrett Mitchell
8. MARSH
9. Byron Buxton
10. Oneil Cruz

The lack of true center fielders in baseball has resulted in many teams doing what the Phillies have done over the last couple years — cobble together a platoon. With Marsh and Johan Rojas, the Phils’ 2.2 fWAR out of centerfielders last year was tied with Atlanta for 15th in MLB. Rojas’ 1.2 fWAR led the team in 107 games, with Marsh contributing 0.9 fWAR in the games he played center, and Christian Pache adding 0.1 fWAR in his 20 starts. Not great!

Rojas is a subpar offensive player, with a .244/.278/.324 slash line a year ago that was among the worst in the league. However, he plays an elite defensive center field, a trait that will keep him in the Majors until a better option comes along. There’s a reason he hasn’t gone away, and the hope is his bat can at least be league average this year.

Perhaps, like the Yankees, the Phils will turn to one of their own top-100 prospects, Justin Crawford, who is No. 53 on MLB Pipeline’s rankings. Here are how the two youngsters compare:

It’s highly unlikely the Phillies will jump Crawford to the Majors right out of spring training. The 21-year-old Dominguez at least has 44 games at AAA under his belt. Crawford has yet to reach AAA and piled up just 40 games at AA a season ago. However, we saw Dave Dombrowski call up Rojas straight from AA during the 2023, so an early-season call-up for Crawford isn’t out of the question.

In short, the center field position is one that vexes most Major League teams, the Phillies among them. Given that, Marsh’s inclusion among the top-10 center fielders in baseball makes sense, even if MLB Network’s ranking is a tad aggressive.