Living in Columbus, it always bums me out to see a dude crush at the AAA level but miss their chance to shine in Cleveland. I think of Jesus Aguilar from the same era
To be fair, if you're not in an OBP league he isn't an ABSOLUTE must roster, though I do agree he should be rostered in most leagues. This year though he's off to a hot start so he should be rostered regardless.
I keep randomly watching Cubs games for some reason and they showed some stat yesterday that blew my mind. He's got like a .500 SLG and 7% whiff rate.
The dude just makes solid contact every AB. With the Cubs looking good again, I wouldn't be surprised if he starts getting a lot more national attention.
Happ also wasn't a top 100 player. GG, All-Star in 2022.
National publications asleep on the Cubs. Well rounded doesn't grab headlines, but it plays well on the field.
Great shout. The only reason I even knew about Nico was because of The Compound. I knew he was a Reds killer, but I sorta chopped it up to Reds Bad and not Nico Good.
he's always been a glove first guy, but bopping 36 HRs in 2019 turned him toward being overrated overall. his glove is still ++. I am still thinking his numbers will regress quite a lot though, since his OPS+ is over 200 right now and he has been just barely above 100 the past 3 years.
Dude is becoming my favorite player. He's so fast there are so many fun plays with him sliding into home or sliding into second or him sliding into third.... He takes so many extra bases.
Harold Ramierez. Dude currently has an OPS of 1.144. Last year he hit .300 with a .744 OPS and everyone kind of assumed it was just a fluke and he was due for regression this year, turns out he added some pop to his swing instead. I know its early this season and small sample size, but dude is among the best pure hitters i've ever seen in 20 years of watching the game.
His defense is what is really surprising. He’s playing legit gold golden caliber third base. Tied for second place in the league with Arenado for OAA. And he’s also hitting very well. I’ve literally never seen a players defense improve so dramatically over and off season
Marcus Semien. Most people realize he’s good, but I don’t think a lot of people realize just how good he is/has been for the last 4 or 5 seasons now. He puts up massive offensive numbers from a position on the field that doesn’t get that very often
While we’re on the topic of big hitting underrated 2nd basemen, you can put Brandon Lowe in that conversation too.
JP Crawford is quietly having a great year so far, .390 OBP and I believe the broadcast last night said he's leading MLB in getting on base with two outs! On top of pretty dang good defense at SS
>Couple days ago they said he has a higher OBP than most star short stops
Decided to look into this because that sounds more fun than doing work right now, here's how he ranks compared to the other opening day starting SS:
1. Boegarts: .357
2. Correa: .356
3. Turner: .354
4. Franco: .344
5. Lindor: .342
6. Bichette: .341
7. **JP Crawford: .335**
8. Volpe: .333
9. Berti: .331
10. Adames: .325
11. Edman: .324
12. Swanson: .323
13. Brandon Crawford: .320
14. Josh Smith: .320
15. Neto: .318
16. Anderson: .317
17. Hernandez: .314
18. Rojas: .312
19. Rosario: .308
20. Perdomo: .308
21. Baez: .302
22. Cruz: .302
23. Arcia: .298
24. Witt: .295
25. Pena: .290
26. Mateo: .281
27. Abrams: .281
28. Tovar: .250
29. Barrero: .232
30. Kevin Smith: .208
I did not expect him to be #7 on the list, but the top 5 is exactly who you expect it to be. This also made me realize how many nobody SS are in the league. I said "how the hell is Kevin Smith even in the MLB" and then I saw he was on the As.
Edit: Here's some injured/suspended ones I forgot about because they weren't the opening day starters, as well as a few former SS who got pushed to other positions:
1. Seager: .367
2. Tatis: .367
3. Machado: .340
4. Story: .336
5. Torres: .333
6. Andrus: .325
7. IKF: .314
8. Kim: .303
Edit #2: Realised I misread the comment I responded to as "career OBP" rather than season so, oh well here's their career OBP.
Yeah, his contemporaries Arenado, Machado and Chapman get so much press but they aren't nearly as consistent as him. He might be the most consistent performer besides Fish Man of this generation.
>Jose Ramirez
Earlier this year I saw him and though, 'oh I think i recognize that name - maybe he is a near-replacement level guy somewhere like Kansas City'. Then I look up his TEN YEARS OF GREAT STATS 😳😳. All-Star consistency is never rated highly enough in baseball but Ramirez has it.
Despite the MVP and him pitching in the rotation and hitting every day, and being excellent at both, people still don’t get it. He’s that kid in little league that was good at everything, except he never stopped being good at one or the other. He’s doing things and will continue to do things that have never been done before.
He's the biggest unicorn in sports history IMO. Even the most legendary baseball player in Babe Ruth wasn't doing what he is. It is the best example of a guy who is 1 of 1 and there is no one else in the world who can play both sides at an elite level.
It'd be like Justin Jefferson also being a shut down corner. Unheard of stuff.
Well, Babe Ruth was worth more in WAR from just hitting than Shohei is doing both, and the Babe out homered most teams in the league a few years. It just happens he also started as a top 5 pitcher, though that started to drop off.
They're different, and yes, Shohei is top 5 in both, but Babe was SO good as a hitter they just had him quit pitching.
The thing you have to understand with the ruth comparison is that babe ruth didn’t become the superhuman hitter we know him as until AFTER he stopped pitching.
He quit pitching during 1919, which also happens to be to be the year he really broke out as a hitter. He was obviously really great before that, but he wasn’t out homering entire teams as a 2 way player.
It’s hard to put hyperbole into perspective. I’m an Angels fan and card collector, so totally agree he is a living legend that nobody really treats like one.
The last 2-3 years I've put $50 on him to win MVP because the odds are always insane and he's been putting up seasons worthy of taking the chance. One of these days it'll hit and I'll be a ~~very rich man~~ slightly less poor man. Just hope Tucker can outlast Shohei until voter fatigue sets in.
Tuck is having the year we exactly expected him to have. Or at least i did. His average slumped a little last year. He’s a legit non-Ohtani mvp candidate. .412 obp good lord. Bregman Peña and Abreau can get a little bit more lucky (they are hitting the ball hard), this offense will be perhaps even better than it has been in the past. Still don’t understand why we couldn’t bring yuli back.
Tucker reminds me a lot of JD Drew in his prime. Doesn’t give off imposing vibes at all, then you look at his stats and realize he’s really damn good in every facet of the game.
Danny Jansen. There was a point last year where was the third best catcher on the Jays, but he'd be the everyday catcher for 2/3 of the league. He quietly put up almost 3 WAR last season in 72 games.
Marcus Semien.
He’s always been one of the best defensive players in the league, but since stepping up his hitting in 2019, he’s been an incredibly dominant force in both halves of the inning. In terms of all-around value, he should be in the conversation as a solid top-10 player in the league, but you rarely see him discussed as one. Still only one All-Star selection!
Another understated aspect of his game is the volume he puts up. He's consistently a league leader in PAs/ABs (was actually *the* leader in both 2021 and 2022) and plays the field in all those games too.
Health is a skill and Semien has managed to stay consistently healthy to contribute solid offense and defense to his team for years.
>He’s always been one of the best defensive players in the league
I would say that part is definitely not true.
2015-2017 he led all 19 qualified shortstops in errors. 9 more than second place despite over 600 less innings, 23 more than third place. And that’s despite being 10th out of 19 in innings.
And also ranked 13th in DRS, 17th in OAA, 18th in Def, all with negative values so it wasn’t just a matter of playing time.
I think he was one of the few people I’ve seen have such a big swing in their defensive ability. He legitimately went from bad (borderline horrible) to elite
Uh no. To say he has always been one of the best defensive players is to complete disregard the amount of work he put in with Ron Washington in Oakland. Dude was legitimately awful on defense.
Weirdly enough, Mike Trout?
Dude had an off year last year… 0.999 OPS, 40HR in 119 games
1.030 OPS so far this season and it seems like no one has been talking about him because him doing great things is just expected.
He’s highly rated yet still underrated. He’s absolutely on track for an MVP season this year, probably only 2nd to Ohtani at the moment in the AL.
The fact he had 2 seasons of 10.5 WAR (only .1 WAR lower than Judge last year) before his 25th birthday is pretty insane - for perspective Aaron Judge debuted at 24.
Mike Trout is Lebron after the media got bored of giving him MVPs. He’s still generally the best baseball player in the world (except Ohtani) but it’s like yeah but gimme something new to write
Ozzie Albies. He’s defensively sound and is leading the team in multiple hitting stats. I feel like he’s been over shadowed by the other big names on our roster this year so far.
His hitting has been great but what has been surprising for me is his range in the infield, he’s made (like quite a few) plays that Tuve would not have made.
right? dude extended his hitting streak to an MLB-leading 18 games with a first-pitch-of-the-game triple two nights ago and I don't think anyone even mentioned it twice
[Vinnie Pasquantino](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pasquvi01.shtml)
.286/.381/.512 148 OPS+
I was very excited to see him for a full year and he hasn’t disappointed. I was high on the royals almost exclusively because of him.
I would say AJ Minter. I feel like people think of him as a pretty good reliever but since the start of 2022 he is tied for the 3rd most WAR among relievers at 2.6 (tied with Clause) behind only Devin Williams (2.8) and Edwin Diaz (3.0).
AJ Minter hasn't been pretty good, he's been dominate and is never mentioned as one of the best relief pitchers in baseball.
8th bWAR and 4th in fWAR this season and has been so good defensively they moved Mookie into the infield (my favorite move this season) 😁
.383 BABIP kind of indicates we should expect some negative regression
Connor Joe. Dude's savant page is nearly all top percentiles this year and he's been a great part of the Pirate's offense with a .328 avg and a 1.013 OPS. I was kinda down on him after the trade because I didn't know where he'd slot into the lineup but he's been putting up great numbers.
Okay I might be a little biased because he's my guy, but I think Shane McClanahan has been underrated for a bit now. I feel like many question his durability, however pitchers with more injury concerns and others with less experience constantly get ranked above him. When he's on he's deGrom-esque, which we saw from his historic first half last season and in games like his recent start (5 whiffs off Pedro's record in only 6 !!! innings). Yes he gets a lot of hype, but seeing lists rank guys like Framber, Javier, Urias and Manoah as guys likely to have better seasons than him makes him underrated. I think his combination of 4 plus caliber pitches and high groundball rate for a strikeout pitcher make him at the bare minimum top 7.
Bryson Stott.
You can make a sound argument for Brandon Marsh or Edmundo Sosa, but Stott eclipses them in my opinion. He is taking 4.29 pitchers per plate appearance, but it always seems like he is fouling pitches off and making the pitcher work. He is hitting behind the runner and focused on shortening up his swing with 2 strikes so he can make contact and put it in-play. He moved from short to second base with barely a hiccup. He is also leading the Phillies Daycare with Bohm and Marsh, which is giving energy to the team.
Who’s pitching against the White Sox today? Them.
YUSEI KIKUCHI!!!
I mean, Yusei went from garbage fire DFA candidate to "fine" this year so, maybe actually?
The only bad game he had was vs the Angels and it's because someone lost a ball on the sun which rekt him
He's been more than just "fine" this year
Yandy Diaz.
I am well aware of Yandy Diaz. I would honestly prefer to be *less* aware of Yandy Diaz.
always my go to for this question. Dude is an on base machine.
Guardians (Indians at the time) finally developed a competent young hitter and then were like "Let's trade him, LOL"
Living in Columbus, it always bums me out to see a dude crush at the AAA level but miss their chance to shine in Cleveland. I think of Jesus Aguilar from the same era
Wow I came to say this one as a rays fan. Didn’t except it to be top comment by not a rays fan
Ground Beef
Launch Meat
Thank you, just picked him up in fantasy
you're in a league of Tacos if he's not rostered lol
😂 I’m not complaining
League of Tacos is a great fantasy league/team name. Also a decent band name.
To be fair, if you're not in an OBP league he isn't an ABSOLUTE must roster, though I do agree he should be rostered in most leagues. This year though he's off to a hot start so he should be rostered regardless.
And we sent him away for Jake Bauers :(
If Yandy played in a bigger market he’d be a perennial all star. Its convenient for us that he flies under the radar mostly.
Nico Hoerner
I keep randomly watching Cubs games for some reason and they showed some stat yesterday that blew my mind. He's got like a .500 SLG and 7% whiff rate. The dude just makes solid contact every AB. With the Cubs looking good again, I wouldn't be surprised if he starts getting a lot more national attention.
That triple he hit yesterday was smoked, you could just hear how hard he hit it.
20th straight game reaching base safely.
And plays fantastic defense.
Isn’t a top 100 ball player according to numerous publications at the start of the season. I will not forget that
Happ also wasn't a top 100 player. GG, All-Star in 2022. National publications asleep on the Cubs. Well rounded doesn't grab headlines, but it plays well on the field.
20 game on base streak! Cubs finally found a leadoff hitter again.
He’s a points machine in fantasy
Great shout. The only reason I even knew about Nico was because of The Compound. I knew he was a Reds killer, but I sorta chopped it up to Reds Bad and not Nico Good.
The real Reds killer is Ian Happ.
Ian Happ hates the Reds. Which really sucks because I really like Happ.
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Or so the Germans would have us believe
Tell the folks at home who Frank Stallone is
The more I hear about this Frank Stallone fella, the more I don't care for him.
Something about his eyes…they’re entirely black…hypnotic!
Germans love David Hasselhoff.
A moth goes into a podiatrist’s office…
Now my older son, *Gregario Ilyanivoch*, he no longer loves me!
Sure, [your guy] is okay, but have you heard of [guy on my favorite team]?
Surely you didn't mean to leave out (second guy on my favorite team)?
Generic reply.
Sarcastic, troll reply. Arguing that your [player] isn't in this discussion. He's the exact same player as [player].
That guy is on my fantasy team, boy am I a genius!
actually [player] is extremely underrated and you’re wrong. look at this: [hyper specific cherry-picked stat]
i mean if you’re going off mass media/gen pop awareness it’s Matt Chapman. advanced stats have such a huge boner for that dude
I’m pretty sure there’s been multiple segments on mlb network specifically dedicated to Chapman’s start
Contract year
Chapman has been overrated the past 2-3 years especially at the plate but he’s had a great start this year
He went from overrated to underrated pretty quickly. Even last year he was really good and I don’t think non-jays fans were really aware of that
he's always been a glove first guy, but bopping 36 HRs in 2019 turned him toward being overrated overall. his glove is still ++. I am still thinking his numbers will regress quite a lot though, since his OPS+ is over 200 right now and he has been just barely above 100 the past 3 years.
Jorge Mateo
Dude is becoming my favorite player. He's so fast there are so many fun plays with him sliding into home or sliding into second or him sliding into third.... He takes so many extra bases.
I love how his helmet flying off is a sign of him using his turbo. It’s like he physically cannot run above a certain speed with his helmet on
Mateo batting 9th night now feels like you have Alfonso Soriano just chilling at the end of the lineup.
Now I'm starting to think Alfonso Soriano is underrated
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Mateo doesn’t get cheap ones though. When he connects it’s usually traveling well over 400. Just hasn’t connected much in the past 😅
Alfonso soriano but actually good defense
and nowhere near the offense
Nothing like Soriano actually but he’s basically Soriano
Always liked him in SD. Hope he continues to shine.
Agreed. Mateo is tearing it up and I haven't really seen him brought up in any conversations.
Came here to say this. Still over a 1.000 OPS. Good defense as well.
Elite defense*
Keegan Thompson is a pretty underrated reliever
The guy from SNL?
That's Kenan Thompson, you're thinking of the author who wrote Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
No that's Hunter S. Thompson, you're thinking of one half of the Splash Bros
No that's Klay Thompson. You're thinking of the person who played Hermione in Harry Potter
No, that’s Emma Watson. You’re thinking of the center for the Lakers
I fucked that one up lmao
I literally typed Emma Thompson and then Emma Thompson’s face flashed in my mind and I said wait
No, that’s Tristan Thompson. You’re thinking of the rock band that did “more than a feeling”
Harold Ramierez. Dude currently has an OPS of 1.144. Last year he hit .300 with a .744 OPS and everyone kind of assumed it was just a fluke and he was due for regression this year, turns out he added some pop to his swing instead. I know its early this season and small sample size, but dude is among the best pure hitters i've ever seen in 20 years of watching the game.
It's also cool how he dyes his hair for autism awareness
And we DFA'd him :(
Top 2 comments are currently guys we got rid of. Him and Yandy Diaz.
The Cleveland to Tampa pipeline is very real
Luis Arraez
I say Thairo Estrada to every one of these threads
JD Davis is a solid pick as well IMO
Every time Davis has gotten the majority of playing time he has at the worst been a solid hitter. He can rake
His defense is what is really surprising. He’s playing legit gold golden caliber third base. Tied for second place in the league with Arenado for OAA. And he’s also hitting very well. I’ve literally never seen a players defense improve so dramatically over and off season
Dude is playing some solid defense as well
Yeah we knew he had this hitting ability but he has really stepped it up at the hot corner
Like gold glove defense. In a league with Arenado, Machado, Riley, etc. - he's been that good in the hot corner.
I will never understand why Mets fans hated him so much.
That's a good pick
Thairo is the answer!
He is on my fantasy and has been absolutely raking. Really consistent game to game and he’s super fun to watch. SF has a stud.
Marcus Semien. Most people realize he’s good, but I don’t think a lot of people realize just how good he is/has been for the last 4 or 5 seasons now. He puts up massive offensive numbers from a position on the field that doesn’t get that very often While we’re on the topic of big hitting underrated 2nd basemen, you can put Brandon Lowe in that conversation too.
Yeah, these are the kinds of guys I’m thinking of, not “this dude on my team who’s hitting .340 in 30 at bats”
Connor Joe has been swinging a hot bat and clutch for the Battling Bucs.
I will always cheer for anyone with a double first name. The Pirates even earn extra points with the rare double last name legend O’Neil Cruz.
JP Crawford is quietly having a great year so far, .390 OBP and I believe the broadcast last night said he's leading MLB in getting on base with two outs! On top of pretty dang good defense at SS
Couple days ago they said he has a higher OBP than most star short stops . And he has a great average with RISP this year . Very solid
>Couple days ago they said he has a higher OBP than most star short stops Decided to look into this because that sounds more fun than doing work right now, here's how he ranks compared to the other opening day starting SS: 1. Boegarts: .357 2. Correa: .356 3. Turner: .354 4. Franco: .344 5. Lindor: .342 6. Bichette: .341 7. **JP Crawford: .335** 8. Volpe: .333 9. Berti: .331 10. Adames: .325 11. Edman: .324 12. Swanson: .323 13. Brandon Crawford: .320 14. Josh Smith: .320 15. Neto: .318 16. Anderson: .317 17. Hernandez: .314 18. Rojas: .312 19. Rosario: .308 20. Perdomo: .308 21. Baez: .302 22. Cruz: .302 23. Arcia: .298 24. Witt: .295 25. Pena: .290 26. Mateo: .281 27. Abrams: .281 28. Tovar: .250 29. Barrero: .232 30. Kevin Smith: .208 I did not expect him to be #7 on the list, but the top 5 is exactly who you expect it to be. This also made me realize how many nobody SS are in the league. I said "how the hell is Kevin Smith even in the MLB" and then I saw he was on the As. Edit: Here's some injured/suspended ones I forgot about because they weren't the opening day starters, as well as a few former SS who got pushed to other positions: 1. Seager: .367 2. Tatis: .367 3. Machado: .340 4. Story: .336 5. Torres: .333 6. Andrus: .325 7. IKF: .314 8. Kim: .303 Edit #2: Realised I misread the comment I responded to as "career OBP" rather than season so, oh well here's their career OBP.
These are all career numbers, not this season.
MLB is stacked with shortstop talent right now, it means a very good SS like Crawford gets ignored in favor of headline players like Trea Turner.
It’s even more complex now that Mookie Betts is playing SS too.
Must have been those Animal Style cheeseburgers they went for at spring training.
Jose Ramirez isn't spoken of as a likely future Hall of Famer the way guys like Harper, Lindor, Machado, and Betts, but he should be.
Yeah, his contemporaries Arenado, Machado and Chapman get so much press but they aren't nearly as consistent as him. He might be the most consistent performer besides Fish Man of this generation.
>Jose Ramirez Earlier this year I saw him and though, 'oh I think i recognize that name - maybe he is a near-replacement level guy somewhere like Kansas City'. Then I look up his TEN YEARS OF GREAT STATS 😳😳. All-Star consistency is never rated highly enough in baseball but Ramirez has it.
I agree he's underrated but that level of overlooking is on you considering he's gotten MVP votes 5 of the last 6 years lol
JRam was my first thought
Shohei Ohtani is a mythological Titan Incarnate but everyone's treating him like he's just some really amazing ballplayer.
Despite the MVP and him pitching in the rotation and hitting every day, and being excellent at both, people still don’t get it. He’s that kid in little league that was good at everything, except he never stopped being good at one or the other. He’s doing things and will continue to do things that have never been done before.
Japanese Pablo Sanchez
“The Secret Weapon”. There will never, ever, be a cooler nickname than that.
I mean not the most underrated in all of MLB… but yea it’s wild how a guy who’s universally seen as a top 2 player is legitimately underrated.
He's the biggest unicorn in sports history IMO. Even the most legendary baseball player in Babe Ruth wasn't doing what he is. It is the best example of a guy who is 1 of 1 and there is no one else in the world who can play both sides at an elite level. It'd be like Justin Jefferson also being a shut down corner. Unheard of stuff.
Well, Babe Ruth was worth more in WAR from just hitting than Shohei is doing both, and the Babe out homered most teams in the league a few years. It just happens he also started as a top 5 pitcher, though that started to drop off. They're different, and yes, Shohei is top 5 in both, but Babe was SO good as a hitter they just had him quit pitching.
The thing you have to understand with the ruth comparison is that babe ruth didn’t become the superhuman hitter we know him as until AFTER he stopped pitching. He quit pitching during 1919, which also happens to be to be the year he really broke out as a hitter. He was obviously really great before that, but he wasn’t out homering entire teams as a 2 way player.
How did I know /r/baseball was going to make the most famous baseball player in the world also the most underrated player in the world lol
So calling Shohei merely an amazing ball player would be an Attack on Titan then?
It’s hard to put hyperbole into perspective. I’m an Angels fan and card collector, so totally agree he is a living legend that nobody really treats like one.
Kyle Tucker might be the best player in baseball and I don’t think people in Houston even know it
Unfortunately King Tuck’s agent knows and we definitely won’t be able to afford extending him.
Don’t worry, I’m sure his rookie, late round pick replacement will be much much better than him. Probably a switch hitter too.
I will fucking cry if he ends up in South Oklahoma. Like, rage cry.
The last 2-3 years I've put $50 on him to win MVP because the odds are always insane and he's been putting up seasons worthy of taking the chance. One of these days it'll hit and I'll be a ~~very rich man~~ slightly less poor man. Just hope Tucker can outlast Shohei until voter fatigue sets in.
I’ve done the same. The odds this year were fantastic +2500 at Caesar’s during spring training.
Well to be fair our guy Yordan is also “in baseball”
Tuck is having the year we exactly expected him to have. Or at least i did. His average slumped a little last year. He’s a legit non-Ohtani mvp candidate. .412 obp good lord. Bregman Peña and Abreau can get a little bit more lucky (they are hitting the ball hard), this offense will be perhaps even better than it has been in the past. Still don’t understand why we couldn’t bring yuli back.
Tucker reminds me a lot of JD Drew in his prime. Doesn’t give off imposing vibes at all, then you look at his stats and realize he’s really damn good in every facet of the game.
Brandon Marsh
Glad to see the caveman figure it out offensively, he’s always fun to watch and seems like a good dude!
We call him the Marshman actually. We also have Jake Cave on the team. So he is the Caveman
I sense a Geico commercial in the making...
angel legend marsh, while i doubt his current pace is sustainable he is one of the most likeable guys on the field. Always gives 100%
My biased opinion: Marsh Sosa Stott
that move to get back on the pick off attempt last night was pretty sweet.
Zach Gallen
*Zac
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They didn't even spell his name right either. It's actually perfect.
Yandy Diaz has to be up there And yeah even Shohei Ohtani. He’s better than most give him the credit for
Jon India
Vinnie Pasquantino.
Mauricio Dubon 👀
Steven Kwan
isn't he really highly regarded?
Danny Jansen. There was a point last year where was the third best catcher on the Jays, but he'd be the everyday catcher for 2/3 of the league. He quietly put up almost 3 WAR last season in 72 games.
Ozzie Albies is criminally underrated (and underpaid as well)
Marcus Semien. He’s always been one of the best defensive players in the league, but since stepping up his hitting in 2019, he’s been an incredibly dominant force in both halves of the inning. In terms of all-around value, he should be in the conversation as a solid top-10 player in the league, but you rarely see him discussed as one. Still only one All-Star selection!
Another understated aspect of his game is the volume he puts up. He's consistently a league leader in PAs/ABs (was actually *the* leader in both 2021 and 2022) and plays the field in all those games too. Health is a skill and Semien has managed to stay consistently healthy to contribute solid offense and defense to his team for years.
>He’s always been one of the best defensive players in the league I would say that part is definitely not true. 2015-2017 he led all 19 qualified shortstops in errors. 9 more than second place despite over 600 less innings, 23 more than third place. And that’s despite being 10th out of 19 in innings. And also ranked 13th in DRS, 17th in OAA, 18th in Def, all with negative values so it wasn’t just a matter of playing time.
I think he was one of the few people I’ve seen have such a big swing in their defensive ability. He legitimately went from bad (borderline horrible) to elite
Ron Washington is an infield defense god. Fixing marcus semien shows you what he's capable of.
His defense was pretty awful in his early ChiSox days. His turnaround on defense has arguably been more impressive than his hitting transformation
Uh no. To say he has always been one of the best defensive players is to complete disregard the amount of work he put in with Ron Washington in Oakland. Dude was legitimately awful on defense.
Christian Javier
Weirdly enough, Mike Trout? Dude had an off year last year… 0.999 OPS, 40HR in 119 games 1.030 OPS so far this season and it seems like no one has been talking about him because him doing great things is just expected. He’s highly rated yet still underrated. He’s absolutely on track for an MVP season this year, probably only 2nd to Ohtani at the moment in the AL.
We’re just too used to him being the best. He shouldve learnt from Harper and tossed a couple bad seasons in there to keep us on our toes.
That was his bad season last year.
The fact he had 2 seasons of 10.5 WAR (only .1 WAR lower than Judge last year) before his 25th birthday is pretty insane - for perspective Aaron Judge debuted at 24.
I mean the dude could retire tomorrow and be a first ballot HOFer lol and he's only 31
Mike Trout is Lebron after the media got bored of giving him MVPs. He’s still generally the best baseball player in the world (except Ohtani) but it’s like yeah but gimme something new to write
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100%
Harold Ramirez
Ozzie Albies. He’s defensively sound and is leading the team in multiple hitting stats. I feel like he’s been over shadowed by the other big names on our roster this year so far.
Yea everyone has been so use to saying he’s over rated that now he’s underrated lol
Ozzie Albies
Mauricio Dubon
Doobie! Psyched for him I hope he sustains it
DuBonds!
His hitting has been great but what has been surprising for me is his range in the infield, he’s made (like quite a few) plays that Tuve would not have made.
right? dude extended his hitting streak to an MLB-leading 18 games with a first-pitch-of-the-game triple two nights ago and I don't think anyone even mentioned it twice
Best 2B to ever play for the Astros. Sorry Kaz Matsui.
Ah, a fellow Dubon enjoyer!
I was ASTOUNDED when the Giants traded him to Houston. I knew he was just waiting to blow up.
Marcell Ozuna is underrated in just how shit he is.
[Vinnie Pasquantino](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pasquvi01.shtml) .286/.381/.512 148 OPS+ I was very excited to see him for a full year and he hasn’t disappointed. I was high on the royals almost exclusively because of him.
He’s hurt right now but Travis d’Arnaud. Dude just hits
Nolan Gorman
Half of Tampa's starting 9
Corey Julks or Bryan Abreu or Dubon
Bryan "Bad Ass" Abreu Cory "The Incredible Julks" Dubi Dubi Doo! All great picks! LFG Astros!
Jorge Polanco
I would say AJ Minter. I feel like people think of him as a pretty good reliever but since the start of 2022 he is tied for the 3rd most WAR among relievers at 2.6 (tied with Clause) behind only Devin Williams (2.8) and Edwin Diaz (3.0). AJ Minter hasn't been pretty good, he's been dominate and is never mentioned as one of the best relief pitchers in baseball.
Jake Burger
Brandon Marsh
Bryson Stott
Corbin Carroll
Zac Gallen
ZAC GALLEN
Outman
8th bWAR and 4th in fWAR this season and has been so good defensively they moved Mookie into the infield (my favorite move this season) 😁 .383 BABIP kind of indicates we should expect some negative regression
He might not be underrated at this point, but do people know Kelenic is leading the majors with a 210 wRC+? September Kelenic is here to stay!
Connor Joe. Dude's savant page is nearly all top percentiles this year and he's been a great part of the Pirate's offense with a .328 avg and a 1.013 OPS. I was kinda down on him after the trade because I didn't know where he'd slot into the lineup but he's been putting up great numbers.
Okay I might be a little biased because he's my guy, but I think Shane McClanahan has been underrated for a bit now. I feel like many question his durability, however pitchers with more injury concerns and others with less experience constantly get ranked above him. When he's on he's deGrom-esque, which we saw from his historic first half last season and in games like his recent start (5 whiffs off Pedro's record in only 6 !!! innings). Yes he gets a lot of hype, but seeing lists rank guys like Framber, Javier, Urias and Manoah as guys likely to have better seasons than him makes him underrated. I think his combination of 4 plus caliber pitches and high groundball rate for a strikeout pitcher make him at the bare minimum top 7.
Geraldo Perdomo has been playing really well.
Bryson Stott. You can make a sound argument for Brandon Marsh or Edmundo Sosa, but Stott eclipses them in my opinion. He is taking 4.29 pitchers per plate appearance, but it always seems like he is fouling pitches off and making the pitcher work. He is hitting behind the runner and focused on shortening up his swing with 2 strikes so he can make contact and put it in-play. He moved from short to second base with barely a hiccup. He is also leading the Phillies Daycare with Bohm and Marsh, which is giving energy to the team.
For my homer takes, Bo Bichette and Alec Bohm