10. J.D. Pettyjohn: The 10th spot was certainly difficult to fill; few candidates really stuck out as deserving. In the end, Pettyjohn's balanced skill set separated himself from the rest of the pack. Pettyjohn's isolated discipline of .091 (OBP-BA) is very good, and the rest of the package at the plate (good contact skills, decent power) is solid as well. As a catcher, his greatest asset is a strong, accurate throwing arm. He's thrown out 26.2% of steal attempts against him, above average in Gleeman World. He's also a good pitch caller, and able to play almost every day. If there's a knock against Pettyjohn, he doesn't really hit for average (.266 lifetime), and he's a bit of a health risk. Still, a nice player to have on your team.
9. Tomas Alvarado: If his arm were better, Alvarado would be comfortably higher than Pettyjohn. As it stands, there's little separating them, if anything at all. Alvarado's bat profiles a bit like Ray Durham or Johnny Damon, in that he hits for a solid average, draws his share of walks, and hits the occasional long ball. Of course, he's a stocky, slow catcher, so the comparisons end there. Alvarado caught only 10.6% of would-be base thieves last season, albeit in a career-worst season. His pitch calling is adequate, but nothing special, and he's only able to play in about 130 games per season. Still, he's a serviceable catcher that's an asset at the plate. There's definitely value in that.
8. Olmedo Park: Despite an off-year offensively for Park, scouts insist that last year was just a fluke. Even so, he was still better than your average catcher at the plate, which gives you an idea of what kind of hitter Park is. Park doesn't have much raw power, and doesn't have particularly good bat control, but he has an uncanny ability to drive the ball into the gaps (and even over the fence) against right-handed pitchers, while still hitting fairly well against lefties. He also has a very good batting eye. Park's glove, however, isn't on par with his bat. He does have a decent arm, but his mechanics are poor, leading to errant throws that tend to tail away from his target. His pitch-calling is good enough where he's not going to be moved off of the position, but he's not always on the same page as the pitching staff. Still, the overall package makes him a player you want on your team.
7. Ernest Crawford: Crawford is a bright spot in a lineup that struggles to score runs. He's an excellent line drive hitter that makes consistent contact, capable of hitting around .300 every season. He's also a legitimate power threat, slugging .453 in 1913 career at bats in a park that suppresses home runs. He's popular with his pitchers, and has a solid arm (although a tad inaccurate at times). While not a star, he'll produce enough to start on a championship-caliber team.
6. Bernie Guerrero: Guerrero's an ideal switch hitter, in that his approach is equally excellent from both the right and left sides. He's got a discriminating eye at the plate, and has good power as well. His arm strength is slipping a bit, but the overall package ranks Guerrero as roughly average at the position. Guerrero surprisingly won his first Gold Glove last season; don't expect it to happen again. A very balanced player; not a star, but a guy who can contribute in many different ways.
5. Derek Reynolds: Reynolds doesn't have the track record of the other players on this list. He's just 23 years old, and has less than 200 major league games under his belt. As a hitter, however, this ranking might actually underrate him. His power is on par with anyone else at the position, and his pitch recognition is terrific. He does have a significant platoon split, faring better against southpaws. His defense could still use some work, although it's not all that bad. His arm is mediocre, but not terrible, and still improving, and his pitch calling is playable. He's not quite in elite territory yet, but as the youngest player on the list, he'll almost certainly move up as he continues to improve.
4. Derek Page: Page's skills behind the dish are ordinary; his arm strength and accuracy are both fair, and his pitch calling skills are solid, but nothing special. Page's bat, however, profiles more like a first baseman; he has very good power, hits laser beams against both lefties and righties, doesn't strike out a lot, and shows solid discipline at the plate. Page doesn't have quite enough power or plate discipline to become a superstar, but his well-rounded skill set should age fairly well. Expect more of the same for a few more seasons.
3. Josh Wagner: Wagner's best asset defensively is definitely his arm; he has a quick release and great arm action, as well as sound footwork, resulting in consistently strong, accurate throws. He's caught nearly 30% (29.7) of would-be stealers, a rate that compares favorably to the vast majority of Gleeman World's catchers. His hitting is even better; his .387 career OBP is better than any other catcher in the league still in his prime (sorry, Stan Lennon) save for the guys ranked ahead of him on this list. Wagner also possesses excellent power; for his career, he's homered once every 16.4 at-bats, which translates to a bit over 33 homers per 550 at bats. Unfortunately, Wagner's never approached that total; his career high in at-bats is 421. Better durability would make Wagner a perennial All-Star. For now, he'll settle for being an underrated weapon.
2. Richard Maxwell: Last year's #1, and with his bat, it wasn't close. Maxwell is a lifetime .320/.393/.650 hitter. He rarely strikes out, has monstrous power, crushes righties, and possesses a good, if not great batting eye. He's also a solid defensive player; his arm is strong and very accurate, and his pitch calling is at least adequate. His sole weakness is his durability; Maxwell wears down easily. He's good for about 350 at-bats or so before fatigue gets the better of him. Still, Maxwell is clearly superior compared to anyone else preceding him on this list. However...
1. Edwin Hogan: The new #1 is arguably the best pure hitter in the World. Hogan's glovework, especially now, is questionable. His arm is accurate, but no longer has the zip it once had, and his pitch calling is okay, but nothing to write home about. Where he truly shines isn't behind the plate, but at the plate. Hogan's an excellent contact hitter with very good power, but he's taken his raw tools to another level entirely; he spatters line drives indiscriminately against both lefties and righties, and swings at bad pitches as often as Barry Bonds. His swing is flawless. He's a .371/.466/.653 lifetime hitter, making a run at .400 last year before falling just short (.397). You could discount his numbers a bit for playing in Albuquerque, but who cares? He's still Michelangelo with the bat, adequate with the glove, and unlike Maxwell, able to play almost every day. That's plenty enough to make him the top catcher in the world.
Showing posts with label position rankings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label position rankings. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Updated: Top 5 Designated Hitters
I figured I'd pick this series up where Ben left off, since it hadn't been updated in a while. Without further ado, here goes:
*Note: Prospects aren't included, since I have no idea which ones will play this year.
5. Thumper Neagle: After slugging over .650 in both Seasons 4 and 5, Neagle's power has gone south; his SLG% of .530 and .510 in Seasons 6 and 7 are respectable, but well under his career .582 mark. Scouts say the power is still there, but it might be time to wonder whether this is an anomaly, or Neagle's true talent level. Neagle's calling card is his prodigious power and excellent bat control; he strikes out in less than 16% of his at-bats despite his tendency to hack at just about everything. As a result, Neagle doesn't walk very much; his .352 OBP is a bit low for a DH. Still 29, there's a decent chance that Neagle returns to his perch near the top of the HR leaderboard.
4. Charlie Stevens: After spending two seasons as a terrible 1B for the defensively challenged Devil Rays (now the Rincons), Stevens was mercifully traded this past season to an AL team with a vacancy at DH. Predictably, he kept on mashing, hitting .363/.434/.539 in Dodger Stadium. His credentials match up favorably with almost any hitter in Gleeman World, but he only ranks 4th on this list because there's been whispers that Stevens is clearly past his prime. Scouts have noticed that his bat is certainly slowing down, and he's no longer as patient as he was in the past. Stevens is 35 years old and has drawn negative reviews from coaches for his makeup. He's also no longer able to handle everyday duties as a DH. Despite all of this, he's still enough of a hitter to make this list.
3. Hector Soto: Soto has been remarkably consistent, posting OPSes of .951, .947, and .929 in the last 3 seasons. He's a very well-rounded hitter, with good contact skills, very good power, and a discriminating batting eye. He's a notorious lefty killer as well, his OPS is almost 200 points higher against southpaws (1.054) than against righties (.865). He's fairly durable, averaging over 600 plate appearances every season in the majors. His lack of weaknesses as a hitter place him on the list, but his lack of any extraordinary skill keep him from ranking higher.
2. Matthew McCovey: He possesses almost an identical skill set as Soto (above), but there are a few subtle differences that set them apart. While Soto is slightly better at making contact, McCovey possesses more power. McCovey also doesn't have as much of a platoon split as Soto does. McCovey also has a slightly better batting eye. Other than that, they're almost identical; they're the exact same age (27), they're equally durable, they both have makeup issues, and are both failed catchers. You can expect a bit more from McCovey going forward, but the difference is minute, unlike the difference between McCovey/Soto and #1...
1. Jumbo Rijo: The top spot was once inhabited by All-World hitter Edwin Hogan, but a combination of Ned Hammond's decline and McCovey's emergence led to Hogan's move to catcher. That leaves Rijo, the pride of the Fatboys. Playfully nicknamed "Jumbo" by his teammates (we won't ask why, since at 6'2'' and 193 lbs, he's not particularly big for an athlete), Rijo's prodigious power earned him Rookie of the Year honors in Season 5, and top 5 finishes in MVP voting in each of his 3 ML seasons. His career .635 SLG easily trumps anyone else on this list, and his .369 OBP is nothing to sneeze at, either. The only thing that jeopardizes his spot as the top DH is his own catching skill; unlike the other players on this list, Rijo is actually a decent defensive player, able to hold his own as a catcher. If the Fatboys decide to jettison Bernie Guerrero, Rijo would become the starter. Until that happens, "Jumbo" will remain as Gleeman World's premier DH.
*Note: Prospects aren't included, since I have no idea which ones will play this year.
5. Thumper Neagle: After slugging over .650 in both Seasons 4 and 5, Neagle's power has gone south; his SLG% of .530 and .510 in Seasons 6 and 7 are respectable, but well under his career .582 mark. Scouts say the power is still there, but it might be time to wonder whether this is an anomaly, or Neagle's true talent level. Neagle's calling card is his prodigious power and excellent bat control; he strikes out in less than 16% of his at-bats despite his tendency to hack at just about everything. As a result, Neagle doesn't walk very much; his .352 OBP is a bit low for a DH. Still 29, there's a decent chance that Neagle returns to his perch near the top of the HR leaderboard.
4. Charlie Stevens: After spending two seasons as a terrible 1B for the defensively challenged Devil Rays (now the Rincons), Stevens was mercifully traded this past season to an AL team with a vacancy at DH. Predictably, he kept on mashing, hitting .363/.434/.539 in Dodger Stadium. His credentials match up favorably with almost any hitter in Gleeman World, but he only ranks 4th on this list because there's been whispers that Stevens is clearly past his prime. Scouts have noticed that his bat is certainly slowing down, and he's no longer as patient as he was in the past. Stevens is 35 years old and has drawn negative reviews from coaches for his makeup. He's also no longer able to handle everyday duties as a DH. Despite all of this, he's still enough of a hitter to make this list.
3. Hector Soto: Soto has been remarkably consistent, posting OPSes of .951, .947, and .929 in the last 3 seasons. He's a very well-rounded hitter, with good contact skills, very good power, and a discriminating batting eye. He's a notorious lefty killer as well, his OPS is almost 200 points higher against southpaws (1.054) than against righties (.865). He's fairly durable, averaging over 600 plate appearances every season in the majors. His lack of weaknesses as a hitter place him on the list, but his lack of any extraordinary skill keep him from ranking higher.
2. Matthew McCovey: He possesses almost an identical skill set as Soto (above), but there are a few subtle differences that set them apart. While Soto is slightly better at making contact, McCovey possesses more power. McCovey also doesn't have as much of a platoon split as Soto does. McCovey also has a slightly better batting eye. Other than that, they're almost identical; they're the exact same age (27), they're equally durable, they both have makeup issues, and are both failed catchers. You can expect a bit more from McCovey going forward, but the difference is minute, unlike the difference between McCovey/Soto and #1...
1. Jumbo Rijo: The top spot was once inhabited by All-World hitter Edwin Hogan, but a combination of Ned Hammond's decline and McCovey's emergence led to Hogan's move to catcher. That leaves Rijo, the pride of the Fatboys. Playfully nicknamed "Jumbo" by his teammates (we won't ask why, since at 6'2'' and 193 lbs, he's not particularly big for an athlete), Rijo's prodigious power earned him Rookie of the Year honors in Season 5, and top 5 finishes in MVP voting in each of his 3 ML seasons. His career .635 SLG easily trumps anyone else on this list, and his .369 OBP is nothing to sneeze at, either. The only thing that jeopardizes his spot as the top DH is his own catching skill; unlike the other players on this list, Rijo is actually a decent defensive player, able to hold his own as a catcher. If the Fatboys decide to jettison Bernie Guerrero, Rijo would become the starter. Until that happens, "Jumbo" will remain as Gleeman World's premier DH.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Top 10 Third Basemen
The series looking at the top players in the league at each position continues:
10. Bono Hughes, Minnesota Fatboys: After an ill-advised promotion to the majors in season 1, Hughes went back to the minors for two seasons before returning as a significantly better player. Despite that terrible early stint, he has his career line up around .275/.345/.445 thanks to very solid campaigns in seasons 4 and 5, and he's right around his career numbers this season. Hughes has mediocre contact skills, but he's good (although not great) in all four other areas on offense.
Defensively, Hughes is around average across the board, a little bit above in range and arm accuracy and a little below in arm strength. Hughes certainly isn't a star fielder, but his performance in the field the last 2.5 seasons has definitely been adequate.
9. John Hardy, New York Metropolitans: Hardy isn't a great hitter, as his career line is around .280/.350/.440. He's been better than that so far this season, posting very respectable numbers for his position. Hardy's contact and power are both so-so or worse, but he has a good batting eye and good ability against both righties and lefties.
Defensively, Hardy has an amazingly sound glove and a very accurate arm and his range is a bit above average, but his arm strength is well below average. He won the season 5 Gold Glove award with excellent numbers that included 11 + plays and 0 - plays. And while he hasn't been that strong in + plays this season, he's still done nice work with the leather.
8. Tony Cortes, Chicago Jayhawks: Cortes is struggling with the bat this season, but he's been solid throughout his career with a line around .300/.360/.470 and he's coming off consecutive seasons with a .380-plus OBP. Cortes has good contact ability, but his power and batting eye are both so-so. He's solid against lefties and very good against righties.
Cortes is well above average in all areas on defense, particularly his outstanding glove, which is to be expected of a converted middle infielder. In his first season at third base, he has a 2/0 +/- total and is playing solid defense overall.
7. Don Monroe, New York Yankees: Monroe's a very solid hitter, posting a career line around .290/.355/.500, although his power has been down a bit so far this season. Monroe has very good contact, so-so power and a solid batting eye. He's solid against righties, a bit worse against lefties.
Defensively, Monroe is above average everywhere except his arm strength, which has taken a big hit. His arm was an asset before he suffered forearm nerve irritation last season. His fielding stats have fluctuated from season to season, but he's generally at least been acceptable with the glove.
Monroe's biggest problem is his health. He's been on the DL five times in 5.5 seasons, and there's always the concern that he'll go out for an extended period and force you to scramble to find a replacement.
6. Chris Kirkland, Sioux Falls Gunslingers: Kirkland sometimes struggles to reach base a lot, but there's no doubting his power. He has a career line around .275/.330/.550 and he's been better than that so far this season. Kirkland's contact skills are mediocre, but he has very good power and a decent batting eye. He's solid against righties and pretty good against lefties.
Defensively, he's almost exactly average across the board. For some reason, however, he's really cut down on his errors the past 2.5 seasons despite the fact that his defensive skills haven't changed much and he has a solid 10/3 total for +/- plays in his career.
5. Brandon Sheffield, Vancouver Vigilantes: Sheffield is another player who doesn't have great on-base ability but has nice power. His career line is around .285/.335/.520 and he's been even better this season. Sheffield doesn't have a single weakness on offense, but he doesn't have a tremendous strength either. Just a nice, well-rounded hitter.
Defensively, Sheffield's glove and arm accuracy are still recovering from spending season 3 with the worst fielding instructor in the world. His range is above average and his arm strength is nearly average. He is having his best season with the glove, as he's made just three errors and his fielding percentage for this season is about 60 points higher than his career fielding percentage.
4. Sid Fleming, Montreal Grand Orange: Fleming's struggling a bit this seasons, but he's coming off two very nice offensive seasons and has a career line around .295/.340/.535. Fleming's batting eye is poor, but he has a very good contact/power combination. He's solid against lefties and good against righties.
Defensively, Fleming is above average across the board, well above in range, glove and arm accuracy. He's played all over the field in the majors, but he's been very good on defense when he's played third base.
3. Sting Berger, Syracuse Fightin' Boeheims: Berger made his big league debut in season 5, hitting .299/.355/.561 in 79 games. He's been unable to come close to matching that so far this season, but there's no reason to expect that he won't start hitting again any day. Berger's contact skills are mediocre, but he has great power, a good batting eye and he's good against both righties and lefties.
Defensively, his range is above average, his arm strength is about average and his glove and arm accuracy are both below average. He's cut down on the errors this season from his season 5 debut, and he's generally been an acceptable fielder, though certainly not great.
2. Darron Jenkins, Boston Red Sox: As with many third baseman this season, Jenkins is struggling at the plate a bit. Still, he has a career line around .310/.360/.550 and he's coming off back-to-back seasons with a .940-plus OPS. Jenkins has so-so contact and patience, but he has very good power and he's very good against righties and great against lefties.
Defensively, Jenkins has below average arm accuracy and he's above average everywhere else. He's been a fine fielder in his career, but he's not likely to ever win a Gold Glove award.
1. Ronald Garcia, Santa Cruz Amigos: Garcia is having the best season of his career at the plate, which is saying something for a player with a career line around .295/.360/.555. He has mediocre contact, but very good power and a solid batting eye. He's very good against righties and great against lefties.
Defensively, Garcia's range is a bit below average, but his arm accuracy is solid and his glove and arm strength are both above average. He's only made nine errors since the start of season 5, for a nice .980 fielding percentage during that time. His +/- total of 5/4 in his career is pretty much a wash.
10. Bono Hughes, Minnesota Fatboys: After an ill-advised promotion to the majors in season 1, Hughes went back to the minors for two seasons before returning as a significantly better player. Despite that terrible early stint, he has his career line up around .275/.345/.445 thanks to very solid campaigns in seasons 4 and 5, and he's right around his career numbers this season. Hughes has mediocre contact skills, but he's good (although not great) in all four other areas on offense.
Defensively, Hughes is around average across the board, a little bit above in range and arm accuracy and a little below in arm strength. Hughes certainly isn't a star fielder, but his performance in the field the last 2.5 seasons has definitely been adequate.
9. John Hardy, New York Metropolitans: Hardy isn't a great hitter, as his career line is around .280/.350/.440. He's been better than that so far this season, posting very respectable numbers for his position. Hardy's contact and power are both so-so or worse, but he has a good batting eye and good ability against both righties and lefties.
Defensively, Hardy has an amazingly sound glove and a very accurate arm and his range is a bit above average, but his arm strength is well below average. He won the season 5 Gold Glove award with excellent numbers that included 11 + plays and 0 - plays. And while he hasn't been that strong in + plays this season, he's still done nice work with the leather.
8. Tony Cortes, Chicago Jayhawks: Cortes is struggling with the bat this season, but he's been solid throughout his career with a line around .300/.360/.470 and he's coming off consecutive seasons with a .380-plus OBP. Cortes has good contact ability, but his power and batting eye are both so-so. He's solid against lefties and very good against righties.
Cortes is well above average in all areas on defense, particularly his outstanding glove, which is to be expected of a converted middle infielder. In his first season at third base, he has a 2/0 +/- total and is playing solid defense overall.
7. Don Monroe, New York Yankees: Monroe's a very solid hitter, posting a career line around .290/.355/.500, although his power has been down a bit so far this season. Monroe has very good contact, so-so power and a solid batting eye. He's solid against righties, a bit worse against lefties.
Defensively, Monroe is above average everywhere except his arm strength, which has taken a big hit. His arm was an asset before he suffered forearm nerve irritation last season. His fielding stats have fluctuated from season to season, but he's generally at least been acceptable with the glove.
Monroe's biggest problem is his health. He's been on the DL five times in 5.5 seasons, and there's always the concern that he'll go out for an extended period and force you to scramble to find a replacement.
6. Chris Kirkland, Sioux Falls Gunslingers: Kirkland sometimes struggles to reach base a lot, but there's no doubting his power. He has a career line around .275/.330/.550 and he's been better than that so far this season. Kirkland's contact skills are mediocre, but he has very good power and a decent batting eye. He's solid against righties and pretty good against lefties.
Defensively, he's almost exactly average across the board. For some reason, however, he's really cut down on his errors the past 2.5 seasons despite the fact that his defensive skills haven't changed much and he has a solid 10/3 total for +/- plays in his career.
5. Brandon Sheffield, Vancouver Vigilantes: Sheffield is another player who doesn't have great on-base ability but has nice power. His career line is around .285/.335/.520 and he's been even better this season. Sheffield doesn't have a single weakness on offense, but he doesn't have a tremendous strength either. Just a nice, well-rounded hitter.
Defensively, Sheffield's glove and arm accuracy are still recovering from spending season 3 with the worst fielding instructor in the world. His range is above average and his arm strength is nearly average. He is having his best season with the glove, as he's made just three errors and his fielding percentage for this season is about 60 points higher than his career fielding percentage.
4. Sid Fleming, Montreal Grand Orange: Fleming's struggling a bit this seasons, but he's coming off two very nice offensive seasons and has a career line around .295/.340/.535. Fleming's batting eye is poor, but he has a very good contact/power combination. He's solid against lefties and good against righties.
Defensively, Fleming is above average across the board, well above in range, glove and arm accuracy. He's played all over the field in the majors, but he's been very good on defense when he's played third base.
3. Sting Berger, Syracuse Fightin' Boeheims: Berger made his big league debut in season 5, hitting .299/.355/.561 in 79 games. He's been unable to come close to matching that so far this season, but there's no reason to expect that he won't start hitting again any day. Berger's contact skills are mediocre, but he has great power, a good batting eye and he's good against both righties and lefties.
Defensively, his range is above average, his arm strength is about average and his glove and arm accuracy are both below average. He's cut down on the errors this season from his season 5 debut, and he's generally been an acceptable fielder, though certainly not great.
2. Darron Jenkins, Boston Red Sox: As with many third baseman this season, Jenkins is struggling at the plate a bit. Still, he has a career line around .310/.360/.550 and he's coming off back-to-back seasons with a .940-plus OPS. Jenkins has so-so contact and patience, but he has very good power and he's very good against righties and great against lefties.
Defensively, Jenkins has below average arm accuracy and he's above average everywhere else. He's been a fine fielder in his career, but he's not likely to ever win a Gold Glove award.
1. Ronald Garcia, Santa Cruz Amigos: Garcia is having the best season of his career at the plate, which is saying something for a player with a career line around .295/.360/.555. He has mediocre contact, but very good power and a solid batting eye. He's very good against righties and great against lefties.
Defensively, Garcia's range is a bit below average, but his arm accuracy is solid and his glove and arm strength are both above average. He's only made nine errors since the start of season 5, for a nice .980 fielding percentage during that time. His +/- total of 5/4 in his career is pretty much a wash.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Top 10 Second Basemen
The series looking at the best players at each position continues.
10. Mikey Houston, Pittsburgh Pug Dogs: Houston had a fine rookie campaign in season 5, hitting .293/.358/.463, and he's been even better with the bat so far this season. Houston's best offensive skills are solid contact and patience. He's also equally skilled against righties and lefties, although he doesn't have very much power.
Defense is another story for Houston. His arm is poor, even for a second baseman, and his glove isn't nearly good enough yet. His range is OK, but it's certainly below average. In all, he looks like one of the worse defenders at second base, although his numbers haven't been terrible so far in the majors.
9. Javier Vizquel, Cheyenne Tackleberries: Vizquel put up very solid numbers on offense his first two seasons, but he slumped a bit in season 4 and then missed nearly all of season 5 with a torn hamstring. He's hitting OK so far in season 6, and his career line is right around .290/.345/.470, which is fine for a middle infielder. Vizquel has exceptional contact skills and he's solid everywhere else on offense except for his mediocre batting eye.
Defensively, Vizquel has a very strong arm for second because he's a failed shortstop. While his range and glove aren't good enough for shortstop, they're decent for the other side of the bag. His fielding has steadily improved since a brutal rookie season, and he's now probably right around average for the position.
8. Clarence Hampton, San Antonio Sting: Hampton struggled in his rookie year in season 2, but since then he's been good for at least an .800 OPS each season, and his career line is around .290/.350/.465. He's having the best season of his career so far in season 6. Hampton has good contact ability and he's a deadly hitter against lefties. His power and patience are both solid, and he's not terrible against righties.
Defensively, Hampton's pretty close to average. Since the beginning of season 4, when his defensive skills appear to have maxed out, he's made relatively few errors and he has a +/- total of 4/3. Hampton's biggest problem is actually his durability, which has limited him to a career high of 137 games in a season.
7. Alejandro Javier, Syracuse Fightin' Boeheims: Javier is struggling a bit to start this season, but even so he has a career line of around .280/.360/.510, so there's no reason to think he won't end up with very solid numbers yet again this season. The key to Javier's offensive production is good power and very good patience. His contact isn't good and he doesn't hit lefties well, but he is good against righties.
Javier isn't good on defense, but he isn't terrible either. He put up some brutal defensive numbers in seasons 2 and 3, but he's been solid since then. He may not be acceptable defensively much longer, though, as his range and arm strength are already slipping.
6. Byung-Hyun Yosida, Boston Red Sox: Yosida put up excellent numbers when he first reached the majors at the end of season 4, and while he hasn't been quite that good since, he's still a quality offensive player. For his career, Yosida has about a .300/.350/.510 line, and he's been slightly better than that so far this season. His offensive skills don't jump out at you, but his solid power and patience and great ability against lefties makes up for his mediocre contact.
Defensively, Yosida's range and glove are excellent, while his arm is merely average for the position. He'll likely never be a top-five second baseman, as he's expected to move to center field in season 7.
5. Trent Gordon, New York Metropolitans: Gordon was an excellent hitter in seasons 4 and 5, posting nearly identical seasons of .303/.385/.501 and .301/.373/.502, but he's struggled mightily so far in season 6. After failing to get above the .700 OPS mark in 41 games with Anaheim, he was traded to the Mets and has at least gotten on base at a good clip through his first couple games. Gordon's contact and batting eye are both very good and he has solid power. He's also equally good against righties and lefties.
Gordon's not so good on defense, as his range and glove are both below average and his arm is just decent. He may actually have to move to left field soon as his defense is only going to get worse as he moves past age 30.
4. Charlie Ratliff, Iowa City Comics: Ratliff was a solid hitter in three of his first four seasons, then he hit .293/.387/.500 in season 5. He's not hitting so well to start this season, but he's still got a career line around .285/.360/.450. Ratliff's success on offense comes from a good batting eye and a very good approach against both righties and lefties. His contact is decent, but he doesn't have much power.
Defensively, Ratliff's glove and range don't look great, but he has a very good arm for second base and he's fielded the position very well over the years. His career +/- total of 17/8 is very solid.
3. Mikey Bennett, Minnesota Fatboys: Bennett's not going to light things up on offense, but he gets on base at a good clip and is definitely an above average hitter for the position. In his two-plus seasons, he's put up a line around .300/.360/.450, and he's exceeding that level so far this season. Bennett has good contact, decent power and good patience, and he's equally solid against righties and lefties.
Bennett really shines on defense, where his range is good, his glove is average and his arm is great for second base. He won the Gold Glove in season 5 and while he hasn't been quite as good in the field this season, he's still an excellent defender.
2. Darron Kirkland, New York Yankees: Kirkland has moved all over the field in his career, but he's seeing most of his time at second base right now. His offense has been inconsistent, as season 3 was really the only time he lived up to expectations with the bat until this season. For his career, he's hitting around .290/.340/.520, but he has the potential to be much better. Kirkland has a very good mix of contact and power and his batting eye is decent. He's also equally good against righties and lefties.
Kirkland's range and glove are fine for second base and, as a converted shortstop, his arm is well above average for the position. While he's significantly below average when he plays shortstop, his defense is very solid at second base.
1. Bill Cameron, Albuquerque Isotopes: A no-brainer, at least until some of the elite second base prospects establish themselves in the majors. Cameron posted a .952 OPS to win the Rookie of the Year award in season 4 and he was even better with a 1.020 OPS in season 5. He's struggled to get on base this season, but he still sports a career line around .300/.360/.600. Cameron has good contact and great power, which helps him overcome a mediocre batting eye. He's also solid against both righties and lefties.
Cameron's not great on defense, as his glove and arm accuracy are both below average and his range and arm strength aren't tremendous. His only other issue is that his durability and health have limited his ability to play a full season thus far.
10. Mikey Houston, Pittsburgh Pug Dogs: Houston had a fine rookie campaign in season 5, hitting .293/.358/.463, and he's been even better with the bat so far this season. Houston's best offensive skills are solid contact and patience. He's also equally skilled against righties and lefties, although he doesn't have very much power.
Defense is another story for Houston. His arm is poor, even for a second baseman, and his glove isn't nearly good enough yet. His range is OK, but it's certainly below average. In all, he looks like one of the worse defenders at second base, although his numbers haven't been terrible so far in the majors.
9. Javier Vizquel, Cheyenne Tackleberries: Vizquel put up very solid numbers on offense his first two seasons, but he slumped a bit in season 4 and then missed nearly all of season 5 with a torn hamstring. He's hitting OK so far in season 6, and his career line is right around .290/.345/.470, which is fine for a middle infielder. Vizquel has exceptional contact skills and he's solid everywhere else on offense except for his mediocre batting eye.
Defensively, Vizquel has a very strong arm for second because he's a failed shortstop. While his range and glove aren't good enough for shortstop, they're decent for the other side of the bag. His fielding has steadily improved since a brutal rookie season, and he's now probably right around average for the position.
8. Clarence Hampton, San Antonio Sting: Hampton struggled in his rookie year in season 2, but since then he's been good for at least an .800 OPS each season, and his career line is around .290/.350/.465. He's having the best season of his career so far in season 6. Hampton has good contact ability and he's a deadly hitter against lefties. His power and patience are both solid, and he's not terrible against righties.
Defensively, Hampton's pretty close to average. Since the beginning of season 4, when his defensive skills appear to have maxed out, he's made relatively few errors and he has a +/- total of 4/3. Hampton's biggest problem is actually his durability, which has limited him to a career high of 137 games in a season.
7. Alejandro Javier, Syracuse Fightin' Boeheims: Javier is struggling a bit to start this season, but even so he has a career line of around .280/.360/.510, so there's no reason to think he won't end up with very solid numbers yet again this season. The key to Javier's offensive production is good power and very good patience. His contact isn't good and he doesn't hit lefties well, but he is good against righties.
Javier isn't good on defense, but he isn't terrible either. He put up some brutal defensive numbers in seasons 2 and 3, but he's been solid since then. He may not be acceptable defensively much longer, though, as his range and arm strength are already slipping.
6. Byung-Hyun Yosida, Boston Red Sox: Yosida put up excellent numbers when he first reached the majors at the end of season 4, and while he hasn't been quite that good since, he's still a quality offensive player. For his career, Yosida has about a .300/.350/.510 line, and he's been slightly better than that so far this season. His offensive skills don't jump out at you, but his solid power and patience and great ability against lefties makes up for his mediocre contact.
Defensively, Yosida's range and glove are excellent, while his arm is merely average for the position. He'll likely never be a top-five second baseman, as he's expected to move to center field in season 7.
5. Trent Gordon, New York Metropolitans: Gordon was an excellent hitter in seasons 4 and 5, posting nearly identical seasons of .303/.385/.501 and .301/.373/.502, but he's struggled mightily so far in season 6. After failing to get above the .700 OPS mark in 41 games with Anaheim, he was traded to the Mets and has at least gotten on base at a good clip through his first couple games. Gordon's contact and batting eye are both very good and he has solid power. He's also equally good against righties and lefties.
Gordon's not so good on defense, as his range and glove are both below average and his arm is just decent. He may actually have to move to left field soon as his defense is only going to get worse as he moves past age 30.
4. Charlie Ratliff, Iowa City Comics: Ratliff was a solid hitter in three of his first four seasons, then he hit .293/.387/.500 in season 5. He's not hitting so well to start this season, but he's still got a career line around .285/.360/.450. Ratliff's success on offense comes from a good batting eye and a very good approach against both righties and lefties. His contact is decent, but he doesn't have much power.
Defensively, Ratliff's glove and range don't look great, but he has a very good arm for second base and he's fielded the position very well over the years. His career +/- total of 17/8 is very solid.
3. Mikey Bennett, Minnesota Fatboys: Bennett's not going to light things up on offense, but he gets on base at a good clip and is definitely an above average hitter for the position. In his two-plus seasons, he's put up a line around .300/.360/.450, and he's exceeding that level so far this season. Bennett has good contact, decent power and good patience, and he's equally solid against righties and lefties.
Bennett really shines on defense, where his range is good, his glove is average and his arm is great for second base. He won the Gold Glove in season 5 and while he hasn't been quite as good in the field this season, he's still an excellent defender.
2. Darron Kirkland, New York Yankees: Kirkland has moved all over the field in his career, but he's seeing most of his time at second base right now. His offense has been inconsistent, as season 3 was really the only time he lived up to expectations with the bat until this season. For his career, he's hitting around .290/.340/.520, but he has the potential to be much better. Kirkland has a very good mix of contact and power and his batting eye is decent. He's also equally good against righties and lefties.
Kirkland's range and glove are fine for second base and, as a converted shortstop, his arm is well above average for the position. While he's significantly below average when he plays shortstop, his defense is very solid at second base.
1. Bill Cameron, Albuquerque Isotopes: A no-brainer, at least until some of the elite second base prospects establish themselves in the majors. Cameron posted a .952 OPS to win the Rookie of the Year award in season 4 and he was even better with a 1.020 OPS in season 5. He's struggled to get on base this season, but he still sports a career line around .300/.360/.600. Cameron has good contact and great power, which helps him overcome a mediocre batting eye. He's also solid against both righties and lefties.
Cameron's not great on defense, as his glove and arm accuracy are both below average and his range and arm strength aren't tremendous. His only other issue is that his durability and health have limited his ability to play a full season thus far.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Top 10 First Basemen
Here's the next installment in the series looking at the best players at each position.
10. Lee Roundtree, Philadelphia Phenomenauts: Roundtree has been something of an unheralded player throughout his career, but he's definitely a good hitter. He hit .306/.371/.588 in season 5, which is almost exactly in line with his career averages. Roundtree has excellent contact and very good power and patience. He's not very good against righties, but he's solid against lefties.
While defense isn't terribly important at first base, Roundtree is above average across the board in the field. In fact, his biggest weakness as a player is his durability, as he's only good for about 140 games in a season.
9. Wiki Perez, Nashville Twang: Early in his career, there were a lot of disagreements over just how good a hitter Perez is. There's no doubting his ability now, though. In the past three seasons, he's posted a .900-plus OPS each year while missing a total of just four games. He hit .277/.380/.574 with a career-high 52 homers in season 5. Perez gets his value from very good power and outstanding patience, a combination that allows him to overcome mediocre ability everywhere else.
Perez is a slightly below average defensive first baseman, but he's not so bad that you'd ever have to consider moving him to DH. Perez also benefits from having great durability, which allows you to keep his bat in the lineup just about every game.
8. Jesus Reynoso, Albuquerque Isotopes: Reynoso's only shown great power once, but he's still been a very accomplished hitter. His .382 OBP and .540 SLG from season 5 are right in line with his career averages, and he's off to a nice start this season. Reynoso's rates well across the board offensively, and his best attributes are his excellent contact and very good batting eye.
Reynoso's arm is below average even for first base and his range isn't very good, but he has a reliable glove and is probably only slightly below average defensively overall. He also has very good durability, which allows him to play nearly every game as long as he avoids injury.
7. Richard Stocker, New York Metropolitans: Stocker burst onto the scene with an excellent half-season in season 4. He wasn't quite as good in his first full year in season 5, but he still posted a .300/.356/.596 line and he's hitting even better so far this season. Stocker's only weakness is his ability against lefties, but he's very good everwhere else on offense.
Stocker's defense is above average everywhere except his poor arm accuracy. Stocker doesn't have great durability, but the Mets proved last year that just about anybody can play almost every game if you don't care how tired they get. And making Stocker play when he's fatigued probably isn't as big a risk as it would be for some players because he has excellent health.
6. Charlie Stevens, Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Stevens is getting a little bit old, but he's still an excellent hitter. He had the best season of his career in season 5, posting a .347/.444/.573 line. He's not likely to be quite that good this season, but his OBP has topped .390 every season and his lowest SLG is .505. Stevens doesn't have great contact or power, but his batting eye is terrific. He's also very good against lefties and outstanding against righties.
Defensively, Stevens is out of position at first base. Ideally, he'd be a DH, but in the NL it's worth the sacrifice on defense to get his bat into the lineup. His durability isn't great, but he can still play 145-plus games without any problems.
5. Rickey Dixon, Chicago Jayhawks: Dixon was merely good in season 5, hitting .283/.402/.527. That was the second time in five seasons he's posted an OPS under .930, but he cleared the 1.000 mark in each of the other three seasons, going over 1.070 twice. Dixon has very good contact and power combined with a tremendous batting eye. He's only decent against righties and good against lefties, but that's been plenty for him to excel thus far.
Dixon's range has declined to the point where it's well below average, but the rest of his defensive skills are above average. Aside from an injury-plagued season 2, Dixon's durability has allowed him to average 155 games a season.
4. Bernard Rhodes, New York Yankees: Rhodes is coming off his best season, when he hit .379/.453/.643 while splitting time between the Pug Dogs and Yankees. While Rhodes has posted a .950-plus OPS every season, that was the first time he went over the 1.000 OPS mark in his career, and he's well over that mark again so far this season. Rhodes rates very well across the board on offense, and his contact and ability to hit righties are both excellent.
Rhodes is above average defensively at first base, and he's actually playing exclusively in left field for the Yankees this season after splitting time between left and first for them last season. Rhodes' combination of good durability and excellent health has allowed him to play at least 148 games every season.
3. Toby Joseph, Minnesota Fatboys: After hitting very well in seasons 1 and 2, Joseph has kicked it up a notch in the past three seasons, posting at least a .400 OBP in each. In season 5, he hit .326/.413/.601. Joseph doesn't have elite power, but he has tremendous contact and patience and is a dynamic hitter against righties. He's also good, though not great, against lefties. It's funny that his worst offensive season is the one that brought him his MVP award.
Joseph's defense is excellent, as his season 2 Gold Glove attests. He's above average across the board and his glove is particularly good for a first baseman. Joseph's also a true ironman, as he's played more than 160 games in four of his five seasons.
2. Matt Governale, Boston Red Sox: For the third time in the past four seasons, Governale posted an OPS above 1.070 in season 5 to win his second MVP award. This time, he hit .337/.417/.678. Governale combines very good contact and patience with elite power (which allowed him to set the single-season record with 77 homers in season 2), and that's more than enough to overcome the fact that he doesn't have a great advantage against either righties or lefties.
Governale's not a good defensive player, as his terrible glove drags him down despite the fact that he's slightly above average everywhere else, but his poor fielding is a minor price to pay for his bat. And that bat's only missed three games total over the last four seasons thanks to his excellent durability.
1. Chipper Velandia, Iowa City Comics: Velandia is one of only three hitters in the world to top the 1.000 OPS mark in each of the first five seasons, and he actually topped 1.150 for the second time in his career to win the season 5 NL MVP award. Velandia's second-best season of his career checked in with a .334/.399/.759 line. He also became just the third player to hit 70-plus homers in a season with his 72 longballs and he set a single-season record with 181 RBIs. Few players can match Velandia's combination of contact and power, and he backs that up with a very good batting eye. He's not great against lefties, but he's an absolute terror for right-handed pitchers.
Velandia's defense is just about average, maybe slightly above average because his arm is solid for a first baseman. The only real problem with Velandia is that he's not the most durable player, so he's only played 150-plus games once.
10. Lee Roundtree, Philadelphia Phenomenauts: Roundtree has been something of an unheralded player throughout his career, but he's definitely a good hitter. He hit .306/.371/.588 in season 5, which is almost exactly in line with his career averages. Roundtree has excellent contact and very good power and patience. He's not very good against righties, but he's solid against lefties.
While defense isn't terribly important at first base, Roundtree is above average across the board in the field. In fact, his biggest weakness as a player is his durability, as he's only good for about 140 games in a season.
9. Wiki Perez, Nashville Twang: Early in his career, there were a lot of disagreements over just how good a hitter Perez is. There's no doubting his ability now, though. In the past three seasons, he's posted a .900-plus OPS each year while missing a total of just four games. He hit .277/.380/.574 with a career-high 52 homers in season 5. Perez gets his value from very good power and outstanding patience, a combination that allows him to overcome mediocre ability everywhere else.
Perez is a slightly below average defensive first baseman, but he's not so bad that you'd ever have to consider moving him to DH. Perez also benefits from having great durability, which allows you to keep his bat in the lineup just about every game.
8. Jesus Reynoso, Albuquerque Isotopes: Reynoso's only shown great power once, but he's still been a very accomplished hitter. His .382 OBP and .540 SLG from season 5 are right in line with his career averages, and he's off to a nice start this season. Reynoso's rates well across the board offensively, and his best attributes are his excellent contact and very good batting eye.
Reynoso's arm is below average even for first base and his range isn't very good, but he has a reliable glove and is probably only slightly below average defensively overall. He also has very good durability, which allows him to play nearly every game as long as he avoids injury.
7. Richard Stocker, New York Metropolitans: Stocker burst onto the scene with an excellent half-season in season 4. He wasn't quite as good in his first full year in season 5, but he still posted a .300/.356/.596 line and he's hitting even better so far this season. Stocker's only weakness is his ability against lefties, but he's very good everwhere else on offense.
Stocker's defense is above average everywhere except his poor arm accuracy. Stocker doesn't have great durability, but the Mets proved last year that just about anybody can play almost every game if you don't care how tired they get. And making Stocker play when he's fatigued probably isn't as big a risk as it would be for some players because he has excellent health.
6. Charlie Stevens, Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Stevens is getting a little bit old, but he's still an excellent hitter. He had the best season of his career in season 5, posting a .347/.444/.573 line. He's not likely to be quite that good this season, but his OBP has topped .390 every season and his lowest SLG is .505. Stevens doesn't have great contact or power, but his batting eye is terrific. He's also very good against lefties and outstanding against righties.
Defensively, Stevens is out of position at first base. Ideally, he'd be a DH, but in the NL it's worth the sacrifice on defense to get his bat into the lineup. His durability isn't great, but he can still play 145-plus games without any problems.
5. Rickey Dixon, Chicago Jayhawks: Dixon was merely good in season 5, hitting .283/.402/.527. That was the second time in five seasons he's posted an OPS under .930, but he cleared the 1.000 mark in each of the other three seasons, going over 1.070 twice. Dixon has very good contact and power combined with a tremendous batting eye. He's only decent against righties and good against lefties, but that's been plenty for him to excel thus far.
Dixon's range has declined to the point where it's well below average, but the rest of his defensive skills are above average. Aside from an injury-plagued season 2, Dixon's durability has allowed him to average 155 games a season.
4. Bernard Rhodes, New York Yankees: Rhodes is coming off his best season, when he hit .379/.453/.643 while splitting time between the Pug Dogs and Yankees. While Rhodes has posted a .950-plus OPS every season, that was the first time he went over the 1.000 OPS mark in his career, and he's well over that mark again so far this season. Rhodes rates very well across the board on offense, and his contact and ability to hit righties are both excellent.
Rhodes is above average defensively at first base, and he's actually playing exclusively in left field for the Yankees this season after splitting time between left and first for them last season. Rhodes' combination of good durability and excellent health has allowed him to play at least 148 games every season.
3. Toby Joseph, Minnesota Fatboys: After hitting very well in seasons 1 and 2, Joseph has kicked it up a notch in the past three seasons, posting at least a .400 OBP in each. In season 5, he hit .326/.413/.601. Joseph doesn't have elite power, but he has tremendous contact and patience and is a dynamic hitter against righties. He's also good, though not great, against lefties. It's funny that his worst offensive season is the one that brought him his MVP award.
Joseph's defense is excellent, as his season 2 Gold Glove attests. He's above average across the board and his glove is particularly good for a first baseman. Joseph's also a true ironman, as he's played more than 160 games in four of his five seasons.
2. Matt Governale, Boston Red Sox: For the third time in the past four seasons, Governale posted an OPS above 1.070 in season 5 to win his second MVP award. This time, he hit .337/.417/.678. Governale combines very good contact and patience with elite power (which allowed him to set the single-season record with 77 homers in season 2), and that's more than enough to overcome the fact that he doesn't have a great advantage against either righties or lefties.
Governale's not a good defensive player, as his terrible glove drags him down despite the fact that he's slightly above average everywhere else, but his poor fielding is a minor price to pay for his bat. And that bat's only missed three games total over the last four seasons thanks to his excellent durability.
1. Chipper Velandia, Iowa City Comics: Velandia is one of only three hitters in the world to top the 1.000 OPS mark in each of the first five seasons, and he actually topped 1.150 for the second time in his career to win the season 5 NL MVP award. Velandia's second-best season of his career checked in with a .334/.399/.759 line. He also became just the third player to hit 70-plus homers in a season with his 72 longballs and he set a single-season record with 181 RBIs. Few players can match Velandia's combination of contact and power, and he backs that up with a very good batting eye. He's not great against lefties, but he's an absolute terror for right-handed pitchers.
Velandia's defense is just about average, maybe slightly above average because his arm is solid for a first baseman. The only real problem with Velandia is that he's not the most durable player, so he's only played 150-plus games once.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Top 10 Catchers
Here's the next installment in the series looking at the best players at each position.
10. Ernest Crawford, Florida Cottonmouths: Iowa City's Giomar Mercado just misses the list this season because he's too big a risk at this point. The best-case scenario is that he gives you 120 quality games. But with such poor health, there's a very real chance that he'll suffer a major injury at some point and really mess up your catching situation.
Crawford's not a great catcher, but he's solid and safe. He posted a .352 OBP in each of his first two seasons in the majors, but he significantly increased his power from a .388 SLG in season 4 to a .477 SLG in season 5. He rates well across the board offensively, and there's no reason to think his offensive surge in season 5 was a fluke.
Defensively, he calls a good game and has a fairly strong arm, although it's not always on target. He's definitely at least average when it comes to overall defense compared to the rest of the league's starting catchers.
9. Lewis Stephens, San Antonio Sting: Stephens is a good hitter, but the reason he's not higher on this list is that he's not really a catcher. He plays behind the plate almost exclusively, but he's a terrible pitch caller and his throwing arm has gotten very weak.
Still, he does have a career OBP around .390 and a SLG around .490. Even in somewhat off years in seasons 4 and 5, he still put up OPS marks near .800, and he's absolutely killing the ball so far this season. He doesn't have much power, but his contact is excellent, his batting eye is solid and he destroys right-handed pitching.
8. Bernie Guerrero, Minnesota Fatboys: Guerrero might be higher on this list if not for a terrible .667 OPS in season 5. Now he has to prove that was a one-year aberration, and he's off to an excellent start. Even with the terrible output last season, Guerrero still has a career OBP of .350 and a career SLG of .480. His contact isn't that good, but he has nice power, is very good against both righties and lefties and has an excellent batting eye.
Guerrero is solid across the board defensively, with better ratings than many starting catchers in every category. His durability isn't great, but it's good enough that he can play up to 135-140 games if pushed.
7. Derek Page, Boston Red Sox: Although he wasn't quite as bad as Guerrero, Page also needs to prove he can bounce back from an down season after posting a .740 OPS in season 5. Before that he had back-to-back seasons with an OPS above .950 and three in a row above .900. Page has solid contact and a good batting eye to go with very good power, and he's very good against both righties and lefties.
Page doesn't have much range and his glove is slightly below average, but he's a solid signal caller and his arm is decent. He's also developed into a workhorse capable of catching 140-150 games without getting too fatigued.
6. Brian Wilson, Anaheim Anteaters: Wilson would have fared much better on this list before age began robbing him of much of his ability. In season 5, he posted or tied career lows in games (143), at-bats (434), runs (64), hits (131), doubles (17), homers (18), RBIs (61), walks (53), batting average (.302), OBP (.381), SLG (.475) and OPS (.856), and it's been a steady decline since season 1 in many of those categories.
Wilson still has very good contact and patience, but his power has disappeared almost entirely. He's still good against righties, and he was never particularly strong against lefties. Wilson's throwing arm has also become pretty weak, and his durability and health have declined significantly.
In fact, depending on how much more he declines before season 7 begins, this may be the last season he's even qualified to be a starting catcher.
5. Joey Robinson, Boise Mashers: Robinson has gotten on base just over 37 percent of the time each of the last two seasons while posting SLGs of .490 and .484. He doesn't have any real weak spots on offense, and his contact and ability to hit lefties are both very good.
Robinson is a good but not elite hitter, and the same can be said for his defense. He has very nice range, a solid arm and decent pitch-calling skills. Combine good but not great offense, good but not great defense and the durability to play 150-plus games a season, and you have a top-three overall catcher.
4. Jerome Perkins, Kansas City Monarchs: Perkins has improved as a hitter every season since his major league debut in season 2, culminating in his .363/.413/.497 line in season 5. He's not likely to hit .363 again, but there's no reason Perkins can't hit .330/.390/.460 or something similar, making him a very valuable hitter. Perkins has excellent contact and dominates against lefties, and he has a solid batting eye. He doesn't have much power and he struggles some against righties.
Defensively, Perkins is a mediocre pitch caller, but he has a very strong and fairly accurate arm (he's thrown out 30 percent of runners trying to steal on him in his career, which is quite good in this league). He's also durable enough to play 140-150 games without issue.
3. Josh Wagner, Montreal Grand Orange: Wagner has been an excellent hitter in four of his five seasons. Season 5 was actually the worst of those four, and he posted a .303/.393/.507 line. For his career, he has an OBP around .390 and a SLG around .525. Wagner's offensive value comes from very good power and a near-perfect batting eye.
Defensively, Wagner has a good throwing arm, but his pitch calling isn't anything special. And his biggest problem is that his durability limits him to 120-130 games a season.
2. Stan Lennon, New York Metropolitans: Lennon's offensive value comes from his perfect batting eye, which has helped him post an OBP of at least .415 every season (he was at .432 in season 5). With that kind of on-base ability, it doesn't really matter that he has almost no power, hitting just 53 homers in nearly 2,000 career at-bats. Lennon has good contact and while he struggles some against righties, he's deadly against lefties.
The biggest concern for Lennon is his throwing arm, which is very weak. Base runners have already been successful on 14 of 16 attempts against him. He does call a good game, and he's still durable enough that he can catch 140-plus games without wearing down.
1. Richard Maxwell, Tampa Bay Devil Rays: If Maxwell had average durability, he'd not only be the best catcher in the league, he'd be one of the five best position players in the league. Except when Edwin Hogan catches, Maxwell is far and away the best offensive catcher in the league. And Hogan's advantage with the bat isn't even as pronounced as it first appears since Maxwell plays in a neutral park while Hogan plays half his games in the league's best hitters park.
Maxwell's .296/.361/.621 line was the worst of his career, as he put up OPS marks around 1.060 in both seasons 3 and 4 (and he's already tearing the cover off the ball in season 6). Maxwell has a good batting eye, but the key is his amazing combination of contact and power. And while he's only decent against lefties, he's a monster against righties.
Defensively, Maxwell is solid with his range and glove and he has a strong and accurate arm. He also calls a decent game. The only issue is the durability, which limits him to no more than 120 games in a season unless you really push him.
Still, I'd rather use my backup catcher an extra 20 or so times a season and have the catcher with easily the most ability in the league playing the rest of the time. And if you're a playoff team, Maxwell's value is even higher because his durability isn't nearly as big an issue with the extra off days built in.
10. Ernest Crawford, Florida Cottonmouths: Iowa City's Giomar Mercado just misses the list this season because he's too big a risk at this point. The best-case scenario is that he gives you 120 quality games. But with such poor health, there's a very real chance that he'll suffer a major injury at some point and really mess up your catching situation.
Crawford's not a great catcher, but he's solid and safe. He posted a .352 OBP in each of his first two seasons in the majors, but he significantly increased his power from a .388 SLG in season 4 to a .477 SLG in season 5. He rates well across the board offensively, and there's no reason to think his offensive surge in season 5 was a fluke.
Defensively, he calls a good game and has a fairly strong arm, although it's not always on target. He's definitely at least average when it comes to overall defense compared to the rest of the league's starting catchers.
9. Lewis Stephens, San Antonio Sting: Stephens is a good hitter, but the reason he's not higher on this list is that he's not really a catcher. He plays behind the plate almost exclusively, but he's a terrible pitch caller and his throwing arm has gotten very weak.
Still, he does have a career OBP around .390 and a SLG around .490. Even in somewhat off years in seasons 4 and 5, he still put up OPS marks near .800, and he's absolutely killing the ball so far this season. He doesn't have much power, but his contact is excellent, his batting eye is solid and he destroys right-handed pitching.
8. Bernie Guerrero, Minnesota Fatboys: Guerrero might be higher on this list if not for a terrible .667 OPS in season 5. Now he has to prove that was a one-year aberration, and he's off to an excellent start. Even with the terrible output last season, Guerrero still has a career OBP of .350 and a career SLG of .480. His contact isn't that good, but he has nice power, is very good against both righties and lefties and has an excellent batting eye.
Guerrero is solid across the board defensively, with better ratings than many starting catchers in every category. His durability isn't great, but it's good enough that he can play up to 135-140 games if pushed.
7. Derek Page, Boston Red Sox: Although he wasn't quite as bad as Guerrero, Page also needs to prove he can bounce back from an down season after posting a .740 OPS in season 5. Before that he had back-to-back seasons with an OPS above .950 and three in a row above .900. Page has solid contact and a good batting eye to go with very good power, and he's very good against both righties and lefties.
Page doesn't have much range and his glove is slightly below average, but he's a solid signal caller and his arm is decent. He's also developed into a workhorse capable of catching 140-150 games without getting too fatigued.
6. Brian Wilson, Anaheim Anteaters: Wilson would have fared much better on this list before age began robbing him of much of his ability. In season 5, he posted or tied career lows in games (143), at-bats (434), runs (64), hits (131), doubles (17), homers (18), RBIs (61), walks (53), batting average (.302), OBP (.381), SLG (.475) and OPS (.856), and it's been a steady decline since season 1 in many of those categories.
Wilson still has very good contact and patience, but his power has disappeared almost entirely. He's still good against righties, and he was never particularly strong against lefties. Wilson's throwing arm has also become pretty weak, and his durability and health have declined significantly.
In fact, depending on how much more he declines before season 7 begins, this may be the last season he's even qualified to be a starting catcher.
5. Joey Robinson, Boise Mashers: Robinson has gotten on base just over 37 percent of the time each of the last two seasons while posting SLGs of .490 and .484. He doesn't have any real weak spots on offense, and his contact and ability to hit lefties are both very good.
Robinson is a good but not elite hitter, and the same can be said for his defense. He has very nice range, a solid arm and decent pitch-calling skills. Combine good but not great offense, good but not great defense and the durability to play 150-plus games a season, and you have a top-three overall catcher.
4. Jerome Perkins, Kansas City Monarchs: Perkins has improved as a hitter every season since his major league debut in season 2, culminating in his .363/.413/.497 line in season 5. He's not likely to hit .363 again, but there's no reason Perkins can't hit .330/.390/.460 or something similar, making him a very valuable hitter. Perkins has excellent contact and dominates against lefties, and he has a solid batting eye. He doesn't have much power and he struggles some against righties.
Defensively, Perkins is a mediocre pitch caller, but he has a very strong and fairly accurate arm (he's thrown out 30 percent of runners trying to steal on him in his career, which is quite good in this league). He's also durable enough to play 140-150 games without issue.
3. Josh Wagner, Montreal Grand Orange: Wagner has been an excellent hitter in four of his five seasons. Season 5 was actually the worst of those four, and he posted a .303/.393/.507 line. For his career, he has an OBP around .390 and a SLG around .525. Wagner's offensive value comes from very good power and a near-perfect batting eye.
Defensively, Wagner has a good throwing arm, but his pitch calling isn't anything special. And his biggest problem is that his durability limits him to 120-130 games a season.
2. Stan Lennon, New York Metropolitans: Lennon's offensive value comes from his perfect batting eye, which has helped him post an OBP of at least .415 every season (he was at .432 in season 5). With that kind of on-base ability, it doesn't really matter that he has almost no power, hitting just 53 homers in nearly 2,000 career at-bats. Lennon has good contact and while he struggles some against righties, he's deadly against lefties.
The biggest concern for Lennon is his throwing arm, which is very weak. Base runners have already been successful on 14 of 16 attempts against him. He does call a good game, and he's still durable enough that he can catch 140-plus games without wearing down.
1. Richard Maxwell, Tampa Bay Devil Rays: If Maxwell had average durability, he'd not only be the best catcher in the league, he'd be one of the five best position players in the league. Except when Edwin Hogan catches, Maxwell is far and away the best offensive catcher in the league. And Hogan's advantage with the bat isn't even as pronounced as it first appears since Maxwell plays in a neutral park while Hogan plays half his games in the league's best hitters park.
Maxwell's .296/.361/.621 line was the worst of his career, as he put up OPS marks around 1.060 in both seasons 3 and 4 (and he's already tearing the cover off the ball in season 6). Maxwell has a good batting eye, but the key is his amazing combination of contact and power. And while he's only decent against lefties, he's a monster against righties.
Defensively, Maxwell is solid with his range and glove and he has a strong and accurate arm. He also calls a decent game. The only issue is the durability, which limits him to no more than 120 games in a season unless you really push him.
Still, I'd rather use my backup catcher an extra 20 or so times a season and have the catcher with easily the most ability in the league playing the rest of the time. And if you're a playoff team, Maxwell's value is even higher because his durability isn't nearly as big an issue with the extra off days built in.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Top Five Designated Hitters
This is the first in a series looking at the best players at each position in Gleeman World. I'm starting with designated hitters because it's the easiest, since it only includes half the league.
Throughout the series, I'll be looking at who is the best player right now, not who has had the best career. Essentially, if you had to pick one player to play this position for your team for this season and this season only, who would it be? That's what these rankings will be about.
5. Daryle Petrick, Syracuse Fightin' Boeheims: This was a tough choice between Petrick and Buffalo's Raymond Speaker, but Petrick definitely has the edge. Petrick's offense is based on great contact and a perfect batting eye. He posted a .942 OPS in season 5, but that overlooks how valuable he really was because you can't tell from that number that he reached base 43 percent of the time.
In his career, Petrick has drawn 400 walks while only striking out 175 times, an astounding ratio. He doesn't have a great deal of power, but he doesn't need it with his on-base skills. The only thing that hurts him is a durability that limits him to 130-140 games a season.
4. Thumper Neagle, Cheyenne Tackleberries: You could make a case for putting the next three guys on this list in any order, but Neagle lands in the No. 4 spot just because of his health. It doesn't appear to have caught up with him so far, but it will some season. Even if you assume Neagle's a better hitter than the next two on the list, which is no sure thing, why would you take a greatly increased risk of injury for a very slight increase in production?
Neagle was solid his first 1.5 seasons in the major leagues, but he didn't show his true ability until season 4. He blasted 58 homers and posted a 1.055 OPS that season, and then he followed it up with a 65-homer, 1.005 OPS campaign in season 5.
Neagle's a little more inconsistent than the other hitters on this list because he has a poor batting eye -- the only one of the five, in fact, who doesn't have a very good batting eye. He makes up for it by being very good or excellent everywhere else.
3. Hector Soto, Boston Red Sox: Soto made a quick ascension to the majors, signing as an international prospect midway through season 2 and making his big league debut late in season 3. He posted a .951 OPS in season 5, and that was actually a good bit below his output in season 4, when he was AL Rookie of the Year runner-up. In each of his two full seasons, he's topped 40 homers, 115 runs, 115 RBIs, a .310 batting average, a .370 OBP and a .575 SLG.
Soto doesn't have elite ability in any area on offense, although he is excellent against lefties, but he doesn't have a real weakness either. He could be better against righties, but he hits for good contact and has very good power and patience.
2. Jumbo Rijo, Minnesota Fatboys: Rijo may end up being primarily a catcher down the road, but he spends most of his time at DH right now, and he's a darn good one. After destroying minor league pitching for 3.5 seasons, Rijo broke into the majors for 36 games in season 4 and posted a .962 OPS. He was nearly as good in season 5, putting up a .942 OPS to win the Rookie of the Year award.
Rijo's very good across the board offensively, and he's better than very good in a couple places. He's excellent against left-handed pitchers and he has immense power, as shown by his 50-homer rookie season.
1. Edwin Hogan, Albuquerque Isotopes: Hogan has caught all four games this season, but he hasn't been a full-time catcher since season 3 and he's played 394 games at DH and 265 at catcher in his career, so we're listing him as a DH this season. Whatever position he's listed at, there's no doubting his hitting ability. Hogan's .342 batting average in season 5 was the worst of his career, but he still won his fifth consecutive AL batting title. And he posted a 1.098 OPS, giving him five consecutive seasons with an OPS above 1.085 (and five straight with an OBP above .440).
Hogan has very good contact and power, but the real strength of his game comes from his near-perfect batting eye and the fact that he's turned himself into a flawless hitter against both righties and lefties. If Gleeman World is ever going to see a .400 hitter, it's probably going to be Hogan.
Throughout the series, I'll be looking at who is the best player right now, not who has had the best career. Essentially, if you had to pick one player to play this position for your team for this season and this season only, who would it be? That's what these rankings will be about.
5. Daryle Petrick, Syracuse Fightin' Boeheims: This was a tough choice between Petrick and Buffalo's Raymond Speaker, but Petrick definitely has the edge. Petrick's offense is based on great contact and a perfect batting eye. He posted a .942 OPS in season 5, but that overlooks how valuable he really was because you can't tell from that number that he reached base 43 percent of the time.
In his career, Petrick has drawn 400 walks while only striking out 175 times, an astounding ratio. He doesn't have a great deal of power, but he doesn't need it with his on-base skills. The only thing that hurts him is a durability that limits him to 130-140 games a season.
4. Thumper Neagle, Cheyenne Tackleberries: You could make a case for putting the next three guys on this list in any order, but Neagle lands in the No. 4 spot just because of his health. It doesn't appear to have caught up with him so far, but it will some season. Even if you assume Neagle's a better hitter than the next two on the list, which is no sure thing, why would you take a greatly increased risk of injury for a very slight increase in production?
Neagle was solid his first 1.5 seasons in the major leagues, but he didn't show his true ability until season 4. He blasted 58 homers and posted a 1.055 OPS that season, and then he followed it up with a 65-homer, 1.005 OPS campaign in season 5.
Neagle's a little more inconsistent than the other hitters on this list because he has a poor batting eye -- the only one of the five, in fact, who doesn't have a very good batting eye. He makes up for it by being very good or excellent everywhere else.
3. Hector Soto, Boston Red Sox: Soto made a quick ascension to the majors, signing as an international prospect midway through season 2 and making his big league debut late in season 3. He posted a .951 OPS in season 5, and that was actually a good bit below his output in season 4, when he was AL Rookie of the Year runner-up. In each of his two full seasons, he's topped 40 homers, 115 runs, 115 RBIs, a .310 batting average, a .370 OBP and a .575 SLG.
Soto doesn't have elite ability in any area on offense, although he is excellent against lefties, but he doesn't have a real weakness either. He could be better against righties, but he hits for good contact and has very good power and patience.
2. Jumbo Rijo, Minnesota Fatboys: Rijo may end up being primarily a catcher down the road, but he spends most of his time at DH right now, and he's a darn good one. After destroying minor league pitching for 3.5 seasons, Rijo broke into the majors for 36 games in season 4 and posted a .962 OPS. He was nearly as good in season 5, putting up a .942 OPS to win the Rookie of the Year award.
Rijo's very good across the board offensively, and he's better than very good in a couple places. He's excellent against left-handed pitchers and he has immense power, as shown by his 50-homer rookie season.
1. Edwin Hogan, Albuquerque Isotopes: Hogan has caught all four games this season, but he hasn't been a full-time catcher since season 3 and he's played 394 games at DH and 265 at catcher in his career, so we're listing him as a DH this season. Whatever position he's listed at, there's no doubting his hitting ability. Hogan's .342 batting average in season 5 was the worst of his career, but he still won his fifth consecutive AL batting title. And he posted a 1.098 OPS, giving him five consecutive seasons with an OPS above 1.085 (and five straight with an OBP above .440).
Hogan has very good contact and power, but the real strength of his game comes from his near-perfect batting eye and the fact that he's turned himself into a flawless hitter against both righties and lefties. If Gleeman World is ever going to see a .400 hitter, it's probably going to be Hogan.
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