Detroit Tigers: Inside Cameron Maybin’s Numbers

Detroit Tigers center fielder Cameron Maybin has gotten off to a terrific start this season after missing the first part of the year. Here’s a look at his numbers.

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila made a number of shrewd moves in the offseason. The Jordan Zimmermann signing has proved to be excellent, while Francisco Rodriguez and Justin Wilson have proved to be dependable bullpen pieces.

Another offseason addition who has made an impact is outfielder Cameron Maybin.

The former Tigers prospect is off to a blistering start at the plate, with a .545 batting average in his first nine games.

Maybin has come out of the gates swing, to the point that he’s raised his career batting average by .004 points. That may not sound significant, but when you consider that the 29-year-old had played in 702 games and logged 2623 plate appearances before the 2016 season started, it is all the more impressive.

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The outfielder has already put up a 1.0 WAR. As it stands, that number is his highest since the 2012 season. What’s more, Maybin has been a threat on the base paths. The veteran stole four bases in his first four games.

While he hasn’t stole any bases since his first four contests, the outfielder’s ability on the base paths has clearly sparked the offense. Maybin hit .583 when batting in the second place in the lineup. However, when the Tigers needed him to move up to the leadoff spot, the former Padre posted a .444 batting average.

In addition to the high batting average, another encouraging part of Maybin’s game so far has been his ability to draw walks and limit strikeouts. In 37 plate appearances, the batter drew three walks and only struck out four times. It’s an extremely small sample size but, regardless of where he hits in the lineup, Maybin’s ability to put the ball in play and not strikeout too much will be crucial moving forward.

Perhaps the most impressive fact about Maybin’s scolding start has been the fact that he wasn’t too productive during rehab stints with Toledo and Lakeland.

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In 27 games with the two minor league teams, the former first-round draft pick hit only .194. His .313 on-base percentage was slightly encouraging, but Maybin clearly didn’t look like a player about to embark on a nine-game demolition of Major League pitching.

In addition to being on fire at the plate, Maybin has also provided value one defense, grading out positively in a number of defensive metrics.

Last but not least, Cameron Maybin hasn’t been too selective in terms of which kinds of pitchers he obliterates. The fleet-of-foot outfielder owns a .520 batting average against right-handers and a blistering .625 batting average when facing left-handed pitchers.

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These numbers aren’t going to continue all season, but it at least shows the Tigers won’t need to rush into any platoon situations in the future—Maybin can hit both righties and lefties.