Jake Meyers’ vs. Chas McCormick’s defense in CF

I made a comment about this in the game thread but I think it deserves its own post.

A lot has been made about Jake Meyers' defense being elite, often in comparison to Chas McCormick's defense, which is typically characterized as "good not great" by comparison. Jake is often also described as being significantly faster than Chas.

Here are some statistical comparisons between the two players. Stats are only for their time in CF if specifically noted.

Player A:

— 3 OAA in 76 chances in 2023 (1 per 25 chances.) 4 OAA in 75 attempts in 2021 and 7 in 134 in 2022, for a career total of 14 OAA in 285 attempts for a career 1 OAA per 20 chances in CF.

— 4% average success rate added in CF.

— Jump rates of 2.4 feet, 2.6 feet, and 0.5 feet better than average in '21, '22, and '23 respectively.

— 9th in 2023 in UZR/150, 5th in 2022.

— 1 DRS every 115 IP in CF in 2023.

— 64% success rate on 2-star and up catches in his career, 1 missed catch 3-stars and under.

— Averages roughly 28.5 ft/sec and 4.3 seconds to 1B.

Player B:

— 7 OAA in 163 chances in 2023 (1 per 23 chances.) 5 OAA in 92 attempts in 2021 and 7 in 129 in 2022, for a career total of 19 OAA in 384 attempts and a career 1 OAA per 20 chances in CF.

— 4.67% average success rate added in CF.

— Jump rates of 1.4 feet, 2.4 feet, and 2.7 feet better than average in '21, '22, and '23 respectively.

— 7th in 2023 in UZR/150, 19th in 2022.

— 1 DRS every 137 IP in CF in 2023.

— 68% success rate on 2-star and up catches in his career, 6 missed 3-star and under catches.

— Averages roughly 29.0 ft/sec and 4.33 seconds to 1B.

Obviously, these are just the publicly-available stats and the Astros have access to others that we don't that might paint a slightly different tale. I have a hard time believing that whatever magical algorithmic statistics the Astros have completely contradicts the wealth of stats that say they are essentially equal, though. I bet some people might even get who is who wrong.

At any rate, I challenge you to look at those stats and tell me that one player is significantly better defensively than the other in CF. They are much closer defensively than people on here keep saying and it's a myth I felt needed to be dispelled, especially if the organization makes the mistake of trading Chas for pitching (pitching they should have just signed in the off-season for insurance after JV left.)