Julio Borbon or David Murphy?

After Julio Borbon‘s error in the opening inning on Opening Day vs. the Boston Red Sox, Rangers fans have shown just how quickly they are ready to jump off of Borbon’s bandwagon.

The 4th outfielder on Ron Washington’s roster is the always dependable David Murphy. Murphy is one of the best subs in baseball and has filled in admirably over the last 3 years as Borbon has struggled or Cruz and Hamilton have been injured. Due to Borbon’s error, fans have already called for David Murphy to break into Ron Washington’s lineup.

Fans are right that David Murphy is as good of a backup outfielder as there is in the majors, but Borbon’s potential far out-weights that of Murphy. Murphy’s stats from the past 4 seasons with Texas are shown below:

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/2/2011.

Murphy has averaged around 120 games played the past three seasons with slightly above 400 at-bats. For Ron Washington, he knows exactly what he can expect from Murphy offensively. He will have around a .280 average with 12-15 home runs and an on-base percentage of .330-.350.

The difference between Murphy and Borbon comes on the defensive side of the ball. Murphy is an average outfielder. While he does not make many errors, and almost always makes the routine play, he is only a corner outfielder. His speed and arm strength dictate that he would not be successful in center field. Borbon has the speed which gives him the range he needs to patrol center field in the major leagues.

Borbon’s error or lack of communication in the first inning of the opening day game was an egregious one, but as a whole, Borbon’s range factor dictates that he is a better outfielder than Murphy. Borbon is also a safety net for the reigning MVP Josh Hamilton. Manager Ron Washington has made it clear that he wants Hamilton to play left field, so playing the field is not as taxing on the oft-injured slugger’s body.

So here is the question for Ron Washington: would he rather have Murphy in the lineup in left field and Hamilton in center, and increase the risk of injury to Hamilton or would he rather take an offensive hit to have Borbon play center and Murphy serve as a backup?

Obviously the answer should be that Wash should protect his team’s most valuable asset. After all, the past three seasons, Murphy has always started the season as the 4th outfielder, but each year, he has played in at least 108 games. Murphy will get his at-bats, and his offensive ability will be very valuable off the bench late in games for Ron Washington.

If Hamilton, Borbon, and Cruz are all healthy for 162 games, fans will have no problem finding a reason to cheer for the Rangers because they will be winning. However, an injury will most likely occur at some point in the season, and Murphy will be ready when his number is called. That’s what makes him so valuable to the Rangers ball club.

Here is a look at Borbon’s stats from the past two seasons:

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/2/2011.

Borbon began the season as the Rangers everyday center fielder last year, but early struggles lost Borbon the job, and only a late season surge in batting average got his season BA to .276. His batting average on balls in play (BABIP) last season was just .313 which suggests that some of Borbon’s struggles were a result of bad luck. Believe it or not, Borbon strikes out only 12% of the time compared to Murphy’s 15%. While the difference may sound small, Borbon’s ability to put the ball in play will allow him to use his speed. Julio can be a second leadoff hitter in Ron Washington’s lineup along with Andrus.

On the other hand, Murphy draws more walks than Borbon and has shown more willingness to work the counts.

Nonetheless, right now, Borbon’s ability to play center field, his speed, and potential make him the more logical choice to be the third outfielder in Ron Washington’s lineup.

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