I haven’t talked nearly enough about Franklin Gutierrez this season, but he’s been nothing short of phenomenal since joining the Mariners.

His defense has been as advertised.  He takes some of the best routes you’re going to see and has above average speed to boot.  Watching the games, you can’t help feeling like he’s going to catch anything hit remotely in his direction.  And not only does he get to just about everything, but he is able to push his own limits by making the flashy plays as well.

Gutierrez, who had Bob Ferguson’s nickname “Death to Flying Things” recycled upon him by Hall of Fame broadcaster Dave Neihaus in a moment of surprise and excitement following Gutierrez’s diving catch on a seemingly impossible ball at the Metrodome, is so visibly great that you don’t really need to consult the stat sheets to know he’s among the best in the game, but upon checking he indeed leads all center fielders in UZR, RZR and OOZ.

That would be more than enough to cement him as an every day center fielder, but he has defied everyone’s expectations with the bat as well.

I was a Gutierrez fan before he came to the Mariners and when we acquired him I predicted a breakout season for him offensively, but he’s blowing away even my lofty predictions by producing a slash line of .297/.360/.450.  This is huge considering most would have been more than happy with his preseason ZIPs projections of .258/.321/.400.

This season he’s been more selective than in the past and has made better contact and is starting to harness the power scouts predicted he’d have when he was a top prospect for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  A lot of this has to do with subtle mechanical adjustments and experience, but Gutierrez has also gotten much stronger this season.  I heard them talking on one broadcast about how this is the first season he’s started weightlifting, and the results are visible and have helped him hit the ball a long way.  According to Hit Tracker Online, the only Mariners hitting longer home runs on average are Russell Branyan, who is a given, and Wladimir Balentien, who only has three.

The top notch defense and surprsing offense have made Gutz an extremely valuable commodity.  Pulling up the WAR leaders for this season, Gutierrez is situated between Ryan Braun and Kevin Youkalis, and is ahead of Justin Morneau, Miguel Cabrera, and a host of other MVP caliber ballplayers.  Among center fielders Gutierrez is the second most valuable by WAR, second to only freak of nature Matt Kemp.

Gutierrez has been worth 3 WAR so far this season.  That’s more than his entire 2008 and almost double Adam Jones’ 2009 mark.  If he keeps this up he could bea  5.5+ WAR player at seasons end.  Last season there were only two pure center fielders who ended up with a 5.5 WAR or higher– Grady Sizemore and Carlos Beltran– and just 20 position players in all of baseball with a score that high.

GM Jack Zduriencik didn’t just find an undervalued defender in Franklin Gutierrez, he found a diamond in the rought.  Gutierrez has had an All Star caliber first half only no one outside of Seattle knows it.  This guy is a star already, and is just now entering his physical prime.

Death to Flying Things, please never leave us!