Leaguewide Stat Update

Hey Everybody!


I thought that it would be nice to analyze the league's real stats as we head into the season. Hopefully, this gives you a good idea where your players' real stats should be in order to be competitive. Batters will come first, I will do pitchers later in the week. Enjoy!


Catchers:

Top 5 (OPS):
1) Ashton Slay (LAA) - .990
2) Crandall Richter (PHI) - .952
3) Leandro Pena (TOR) - .945
4) Gabrielle Castro (ATL) - .919
5) Andrew Whalen (BOS) - .917

Top 5 (AVG):
1) Ashton Slay (LAA) - .322
2) Dean Cain (WAS) - .317
3) Gabrielle Castro (ATL) - .315
4) Marcos Comer (SEO) - .303
5) Andrew Whalen (BOS) - .296

Top 5 (OBP):
1) Ashton Slay (LAA) - .428
2) Chucky Trenton Jr. (TEX) - .415
3) Gabrielle Castro (ATL) - .381
3) Marcos Comer (SEO) - .381
5) Dean Cain (WAS) - .372

Top 5 (SLG):
1) Crandall Richter (PHI) - .624
2) Leandro Pena (TOR) - .578
3) Ashton Slay (LAA) - .562
4) Roscoe Ivory (FREE AGENT) - .554
5) Andrew Whalen (BOS) - .550



Analysis:
To be clear, Crandall Richter barely counts as a catcher. He is such a disaster behind the plate that he is essentially a career DH. Ashton Slay is clearly the best catcher in the game currently, and is overall one of the best offensive bats in the league. Gabrielle Castro and Andrew Whalen are steadily in the Top 5 of almost every category, so they shouldn't be discounted either. Marcos Comer has consistency at the plate, but nor the pure power of the rest of the top group.

Most Promising Prospect:
Surprisingly, this isn't the #1 Overall Pick, Chucky Trenton Jr. It falls to #2 Pick Dean Cain, who enters the league with the second highest batting average of any catcher, and is already a Top 5 OBP guy at the position. This is only a slight advantage over Trenton, who debuts with the second highest OBP of any catcher, and is one of only a few hitters with an OBP over .400. However, Cain is two years younger, so the edge has to go to him.






1st Basemen:

Top 5 (OPS):
1) Ervin Gore (WAS) - 1.008
2) Paul Wooten (LAA) - 1.004
3) Jannero Lozano (SFG) - .999
4) Sether Hogan (ATL) - .995
5) Jon Arryn (BAL) - .948

Top 5 (AVG):
1) Hallvard Ebbe (TKY) - .334
2) Ervin Gore (WAS) - .332
3) Sether Hogan (ATL) - .330
4) Jon Arryn (BAL) - .327
5) Jannero Lozano (SFG) - .320

Top 5 (OBP):
1) Kerry Thayer (TEX) - .394
2) Ervin Gore (WAS) - .391
3) Sether Hogan (ATL) - .390
3) Jannero Lozano (SFG) - .390
5) Paul Wooten (LAA) - .389

Top 5 (SLG):
1) Ervin Gore (WAS) - .617
2) Paul Wooten (LAA) - .615
3) Jannero Lozano (SFG) - .609
4) Sether Hogan (ATL) - .605
5) Willey McAvoy (PHI) - .575


Analysis:
Pretty much the same 4 or 5 guys across the board. Gore and Wooten are above the vaunted 1.000 OPS threshold, and Lozano is only .001 away. Ebbe, Tokyo's 1st Rounder, doesn't really count as a long term asset, as he is a flat progression player, but grabbing the top average player at arguably the deepest offensive position in the league so late in the 1st round is a steal in any world.

Most Promising Prospect:
As previously stated, Hallvard Ebbe is not a prospect to rank on this list due to his progression potential, so this may be a controversial choice. Salsa Fresca, a late pick by the Detroit Tigers, has an intriguing mix of elite speed for a 1B, Gold Glove-caliber fielding ability, and offensive potential. He will take a few years to contribute offensively, and he doesn't have elite level range, but this is a sneaky-good pick for the Tigers.



2nd Basemen:

Top 5 (OPS):
1) Kenzo Yokoyama (CHC) - . 942
2) Joe McKee (FREE AGENT) - .931
3) Bobby Lee (BAL) - .930
4) Conrad Briggs (LAA) - .919
5) Roberto Maradona (MIN) - .912

Top 5 (AVG):
1) Ignacio Aja (HOU) - .340
2) Ahn Nguyen (FREE AGENT) - .322
3) Bobby Lee (BAL) - .319
4) Joe McKee (FREE AGENT) - .314
5) Vasily Petrov (FREE AGENT) - .310

Top 5 (OBP):
1) Ignacio Aja (HOU) - .408
2) Ambrose Quillin (SFG) - .403
3) Iman Baskin (TEX) - .399
4) Kevin Bernard (LAD) - .395
5) Mercury House (BOS) - .388
5) Tater Langdon (SEA) - .388

Top 5 (SLG):
1) Kenzo Yokoyama (CHC) - .581
2) Joe McKee (FREE AGENT) - .569
3) Bobby Lee (BAL) - .561
4) Conrad Briggs (LAA) - .547
4) Roberto Maradona (MIN) - .547


Analysis:
It is a tale of two stories at 2nd. There are two completely different groups of players in the power and on-base percentage categories. Unsurprisingly, Ignacio Aja is the clear leader in batting average and OBP, whereas the Cubs' Kenzo Yokoyama is the leading slugging second baseman. The real story, however, is the number of top 2B that are free agents this offseason. Joe McKee, Ahn Nguyen, and Vasily Petrov all hit the open market this year, so look for them to rake in the big bucks.

Most Promising Prospect:
This is a difficult call as well. There really are no marquee second baseman prospects in the game currently. The Angels' Karem Neyland wins this contest based solely on his superstar potential. He currently does not offer any immediate impact for Los Angeles.





3rd Basemen:

Top 5 (OPS):
1) Tran Minh (BKY) - .985
2) Hector Alejandro Jr. (PHI) - .981
3) Bastian Schweinsteiger (WAS) - .965
4) Gabriel Lowry (TEX) - .929
4) Manlius Howard (NYM) - .929

Top 5 (AVG):
1) Tyler Drake (VAN) - .331
2) Gabriel Lowry (TEX) - .322
3) Carl Jackson (TKY)  - .313
4) Bastian Schweinsteiger (WAS) - .312
5) Yong Gi (LAA) - .311

Top 5 (OBP):
1) Tran Minh (BKY) - .412
2) Momaw Nadan (TOR) - .399
3) Shin-Lu Kaede (PHI) - .392
4) Danilo Medina (SEO) - .388
5) Tyler Drake (VAN) - .387

Top 5 (SLG):
1) Hector Alejandro Jr. (PHI) - .613
2) Bastian Schweinsteiger (WAS) - .591
3) Gabriel Lowry (TEX) - .577
4) Tran Minh (BKY) - .573
5) Manlius Howard (NYM) - .559


Analysis:
Former #1 Overall Pick Hector Alejandro Jr. has carved out an excellent career, and has been the staple of the third base position league wide for almost a decade. Youngsters Bastian Schweinsteiger, Tran Minh, and Tyler Drake are developing into a three-headed monster at 3rd moving forward, and look for them to dominate offensively for at least the next 5 seasons.

Most Promising Prospect:
Robert Casillas has the superstar potential, but his advanced age really doesn't give him an excellent chance of being a long term prospect. The Dodgers' Roger Wu has is an excellent hot corner glove, and has enough offensive upside at age 20 to supplant Casillas for this distinction.



Shortstop:

Top 5 (OPS):
1) Fabian Torres (VAN) - .994
2) Ross Morris (PHI) - .949
3) Anton Hiller (FREE AGENT) - .944
4) Ridell Foster (SFG) - .911
5) Christiano Vasquez (NYY) - .900

Top 5 (AVG):
1) Mario Andres (CIN) - .325
2) Dahneel Volkmuth (FREE AGENT) - .318
3) Christiano Vasquez (NYY) - .317
4) John Stephenson (TKY) - .312
5) Fabian Torres (VAN) - .310
5) Ridell Foster (SFG) - .310

Top 5 (OBP):
1) Fabian Torres (VAN) - .394
2) Mario Andres (CIN) - ..387
3) Anton Hiller (FREE AGENT) - .380
4) Ross Morris (PHI) - .379
5) Ridell Foster (SFG) - .377


Top 5 (SLG):
1) Fabian Torres (VAN) - .600
2) James Roberts (CIN) - .582
3) Ross Morris (PHI) - .570
4) Anton Hiller (FREE AGENT) - .564
5) Veljko Bulajic (FREE AGENT) - .554

Analysis:
Any questions who the best shortstop in the game is? Not after this. Vancouver's Fabian Torres is the leader in 3 of the 4 categories, and is Top 5 in the 4th. Also notable is that Cincinnati curiously has two different shortstops listed, Mario Andres and James Roberts. Dahneel Volkmuth, Anton Hiller, and Veljko Bulajic all hit free agency this offseason, so they are marquee pickups for most any team.

Most Promising Prospect:
Shanghai's Blaine Savage is the most impactful rookie at the position, and should be for quite some time. He doesn't do one thing exceptionally well, but he is solid all the way around, and can hit for power.



Outfielders:

Top 5 (OPS):
1) Brandon Gilster Jr. (MTL) - 1.052
2) Eli Palmiero (ARZ) - 1.014
3) Saturo Kishino (CHC) - 1.013
4) Alec Gilfillan Jr. (SEA) - 1.001
5) Amir Atkins (ARZ) - .995

Top 5 (AVG):
1) Delmon Prato-Paulista (NYM) - .334
2) Deval Paige-Carter (FREE AGENT) - .326
3) Saturo Kishino (CHC) - .323
4) Brandon Gilster Jr. (MTL) - .322
5) Roberto Sojo (FREE AGENT) - .319

Top 5 (OBP):
1) Hershel Yakov (CIN) - .411
2) Amir Atkins (ARI) - .408
3) Emilio Murphy (MIN) - .407
4) Brandon Gilster Jr. (MTL) - .402
5) Aries Matterhorn (PHI) - .397

Top 5 (SLG):
1) Saturo Kishino (CHC) - .665
2) Brandon Gilster Jr. (MTL) - .650
3) Alec Gilfillan Jr. (SEA) - .642
4) Eli Palmiero (ARZ) - .622
5) Centauri Shafer (ARZ) - .609



Analysis:
What can we learn from this position group? Don't mess with Arizona. I count three different Diamondbacks that appear somewhere in this section, with Eli Palmiero and Amir Atkins each appearing in two separate categories. Former #2 Overall Pick Brandon Gilster Jr. (whom if you remember, was infamously passed over after an entire season of being touted as the surefire top pick) is a strong candidate for the top outfield bat in the league, and at only 25, he is easily going to be for at least the next decade. The Cubs' Saturo Kishino is the only one who threatens that crown this season, as he appears in 3 of the 4 categories, as opposed to Gilster's all 4. Seattle also boasts a multi-category player, in the guise of slugging master Alec Gilfillan Jr. The interesting story here is that Gilfillan is 29, and is scheduled to hit free agency at the end of the season. He will then likely be in the same position as superstars Deval Paige-Carter and Roberto Sojo, two players to appear in this section who are on the open market at this very moment.

Most Promising Prospect:
This is a difficult decision between the 6th and 12th Overall Picks this past year. The Dodgers' Cameron Jujinho, possessing the superstar potential and an OPS already above .800, is a stout option for this distinction. He could truly be a steal at #6, something that is extremely difficult to find, and yet we are accustomed to seeing rxk192 spin his mystical arts to find. At #12, Seattle found Bomani Crittenton, who is two years Jujinho's elder, and lacks the superstar potential trait, but is an incredibly impactful bat from Day 1 to find that late in the first round. Ultimately, I think that Jujinho's quicker development will enable him to ultimately pass Crittenton's real statistics, and that is barely enough to earn him this distinction, but it truly is a battle too close to call.



Stay Tuned for a Pitching Edition later this week!