I know from experience that a B/A fielding third basemen can perform well enough at second base. But what about if he also has a secondary rating at SS of D-/D- - will that be relevant?

in others words, when WIS applies the out of position penalty, is it factored off only the primary rating or so secondary ratings have an effect?

thanks for any fast responses - relevant for a draft!

Only the primary rating matters.

1984 Johnny Ray is a B/C+ at second base. If I put him at First Base I am wondering how will he perform? If I am understanding the FAQ's explanation, he will be an above average fielding first baseman? Any input would be appreciated.

From contrarian23's pinned threads, an explanation of Bill James' defensive spectrum analysis...

https://www.whatifsports.com/forums/Posts.aspx?topicID=376099

Anytime a player is put in a position he didn't play that season, his fielding percentage is mapped to the new position (maintaininig the same level of play). Then he is assigned a 2% penalty to his fielding percentage. Each shift along the spectrum results in an additional 4% hit. The likelihood of turning double plays for out of position players also decreases. Putting a non-catcher behind the plate will result in many successful steals along with a ton of passed balls. Catchers are a special case, so we assign shift penalties based on the position they will be playing.

Besides his fielding percentage, does moving a player to a position he does not play affect his range? Will an A 2B who didn't play 2B that year be an A CF?

Range works the same way with different penalty values. 10% hit for being out of position, and a 15% hit for each shift on the spectrum (in the more difficult direction).

Posted by DoctorKz on 9/4/2019 5:31:00 AM (view original):
From contrarian23's pinned threads, an explanation of Bill James' defensive spectrum analysis...

https://www.whatifsports.com/forums/Posts.aspx?topicID=376099

Anytime a player is put in a position he didn't play that season, his fielding percentage is mapped to the new position (maintaininig the same level of play). Then he is assigned a 2% penalty to his fielding percentage. Each shift along the spectrum results in an additional 4% hit. The likelihood of turning double plays for out of position players also decreases. Putting a non-catcher behind the plate will result in many successful steals along with a ton of passed balls. Catchers are a special case, so we assign shift penalties based on the position they will be playing.

Besides his fielding percentage, does moving a player to a position he does not play affect his range? Will an A 2B who didn't play 2B that year be an A CF?

Range works the same way with different penalty values. 10% hit for being out of position, and a 15% hit for each shift on the spectrum (in the more difficult direction).

Does this mean that an A range at SS would be A range at any other defensive position with no penalty because SS is the left-most position on the defensive spectrum?

No. Being out of position gets an automatic penalty (2% to fielding, 10% to range).

Then, if the player is going the wrong way on the spectrum, the additional penalties kick in (4%/15% per slot on the spectrum).

Now checking to make sure I am understanding this correctly.
Johnny Ray's Fielding Percentage at Second Base is .984, so at First Base his Fielding Percentage would be .886, a 10% decrease because he is out of position. There would no 2% penalty because first base is the easiest position to field based on the Bill James defensive spectrum.
His range factor is 5.23 so it would drop to 4.71, a 10% decrease because he is out of position. There would be no 15% penalty because first base is the easiest position to field based on the Bill James defensive spectrum.

Thank You for the Input.