High expectations for Dubón in center
Giants looking for more power and consistency
As a high school kid in Sacramento, Mauricio Dubón attended Giants games wearing a Brandon Crawford jersey, dreaming of one day playing infield at the Third and King ballpark.
The next best thing was pretty cool, in retrospect.
“I’m an outfielder,” Dubón said as the 2020 season was coming to a close. “I keep telling people I don’t need to bring my infield glove anymore. It’s fun out there. I really enjoy it. I keep telling people I’m an outfielder now. Infield for me is just a thing of the past.”
His transition from infield prospect to starting center fielder was one of the Giants’ major stories of the year. Dubón made a difference both with his glove and bat and produced at a higher level as the season progressed.
Manager Gabe Kapler said he envisions Dubón playing center field next year — according to Statcast, Dubón ranks highly at the position — but also “a little bit more time on the dirt,” meaning shortstop and second base, his roots.
A reason Dubón became a fulltime outfielder was because there was no room on the infield after shortstop Brandon Crawford started playing regularly again and Donovan Solano won the everyday job at second.
With Billy Hamilton traded Aug. 2 and Mike Yastrzemski finding his groove in right, the Giants turned to Dubón to play center, an experiment that passed most every test, according to Kapler.
“I thought he got relatively good jumps,” Kapler said. “I thought he took good angles to the ball. I think there were times when he was excellent around the wall and really had good judgment with the timing of his leaps and others that we saw a work in progress.”
Dubón, 26, brought a high level of energy and passion to the dugout but struck out too much early in the season and made poor decisions on the bases and with his throws. Over time, the improvement and maturity were noticeable.
Dubón batted .274 with a .337 onbase percentage and .389 slugging percentage and gained better strikezone awareness in the final weeks. His No. 1 highlight was the threerun homer that pushed the Giants past Colorado on Sept. 23.
Expectations from management are greater in 2021, including an upgrade in the power department. Dubón had just nine extrabase hits ( including four homers) in 177 plate appearances and was instructed to engage in an offseason strength program that could help those warning track flies clear the wall — he already has put on some muscle.
“At the beginning of the season, I think there was a little bit more chase,” Kapler said. “I think there was a little less hard contact. As the season moved on, he started to get more balls in the air. He started to lay off pitches he couldn’t drive.”
Regarding Dubón’s offseason training program, Kapler said, “I think that strength will help him stabilize his lower half. I think some of those balls he’s hitting in the air will travel a little bit deeper in the outfield with more consistency.
“I think if everything comes together, he’s going to see a lot of playing time next year and be successful.”
Kapler made Dubón the starting center fielder Aug. 16, and there was no more need for an infielder’s glove. He started 31 of the final 37 games in center and didn’t play an inning anywhere else, and perhaps the comfort of playing a single position settled him at the plate — from Aug. 16, he slashed .298/. 383/. 433.
While waiting for Heliot Ramos, the possible center fielder of the future, there’s certainly a chance the Giants will acquire someone in a trade or the open market, though it doesn’t appear they’d pay big money for freeagent George Springer. Among the other free agents: Jackie Bradley Jr. and old friend Kevin Pillar.
Statcast’s defensive metric Outs Above Average, a range-based cumulative metric that weighs the number of plays and their difficulty, ranked Dubón among the top eight center fielders in the majors and trailing only Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers and Trent Grisham of the Padres in the National League.
And to think, back when Dubón was learning the position in February, he misplaced his outfielder’s glove before his first spring training exhibition as a center fielder and had to borrow a teammate’s.
It’s all part of the Dubón narrative. He exudes confidence with his style, swagger and joyful exuberance, all refreshing traits, and he’s not afraid to tell you he’s good and then try to back it up.
“Every day, he shows up with a smile and is super passionate on the field,” Kapler said. “Sometimes, he shows some frustration on the field as well, and it’s all out of his extremely competitive, fiery nature.”
Back in his playing days, Kapler was known as extremely competitive as well. Asked whether he was anything like Dubón, Kapler laughed.
“We’re different personalities,” he said. “From an intensity standpoint, yes, we have similar intensity levels. I actually think he smiles on a baseball field way more than I ever did. He celebrates on a baseball field more than I ever did. I’m kind of envious of the joy he plays with.”