This is Part Two in my series of ripping off ideas from Jason Churchill at Prospect Insider. Yesterday I took a look at the best tools in the AL East, and now I’m ranking the best overall players. There’s no set formula used to determine the rankings, I basically went on track record and how I think everyone will perform this coming season. There’s not much separation between spots four and, like, 21, so don’t get too worked up if you disagree with a ranking. This wasn’t nearly as easy as you think.
I followed Jason’s lead and included some projected stats in the rankings, although my foray into sabermetrics won’t last much longer than this post. Thanks to Jason for giving me the okay to steal his ideas; I really appreciate it. The good stuff is after the jump.
| Top 25 Players |
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| No. | Player, Team | RAB Says… | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Alex Rodriguez, NYY | The best player on the planet. Period. | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | David Ortiz, BOS | Too bad he can’t play even passable D. | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Manny Ramirez,BOS | Manny’s playing for an option. 160 RBI? | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Derek Jeter, NYY | 3.5 decent years away from 3,000 hits. | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Josh Beckett, BOS | He’s a douchebag … and a helluva pitcher. | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | BJ Upton, TB | Bossman Jr. is still only 23. Crazy, huh? | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Jon Papelbon, BOS | And he’s only getting better. Oi. | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Mariano Rivera, NYY | Declining a bit, but still one of the very best. | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Scott Kazmir, TB | Highest Kper9 in baseball since his debut. | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Roy Halladay, TOR | 266 IP in ’03, hasn’t been the same since. | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Alex Rios, TOR | He’s just starting to scratch the surface. | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Nick Markakis, BAL | The best player no one talks about. Stud. | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Carl Crawford, TB | 990 career hits, and he’s only 26. Wow. | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Jorge Posada, NYY | Unheralded greatness, year after year. | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | BJ Ryan, TOR | It’s easy to forget how dominant he can be. | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Chien-Ming Wang, NYY | Woulda won 22 in ’07 if not for hammy pull. | |||||||||||||||||
| 17 | Vernon Wells, TOR |
He couldn’t have peaked at age 27, right? | |||||||||||||||||
| 18 | Andy Pettitte, NYY | If he gets to 250 wins, is he a HOFer? | |||||||||||||||||
| 19 | Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS | Does he take that next step this year? | |||||||||||||||||
| 20 | Carlos Pena, TB | ’07 was likely a career year, but he’s still legit. | |||||||||||||||||
| 21 | Robinson Cano, NYY | 10th highest BA in baseball since his debut. | |||||||||||||||||
| 22 | Brian Roberts, BAL | How much longer will he be in the division? | |||||||||||||||||
| 23 | Scott Rolen, TOR | If he’s healthy, he could end up top 10. | |||||||||||||||||
| 24 | Bobby Abreu, NYY | Do they let him walk after the year? | |||||||||||||||||
| 25 | Mike Lowell, BOS | Was ’07 a rebound, or just a contract push? | |||||||||||||||||
| Starting Pitcher | |||||||||||||||||||
| NO. | Player, Team | 2007 FIP | James ’08 | CHONE ’08 | Marcel ’08 | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Josh Beckett, BOS | 3.04 | 3.82 | 3.74 | 3.87 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Scott Kazmir, TB | 3.41 | 3.59 | 3.43 | 3.48 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Roy Halladay, TOR | 3.51 | 3.58 | 3.84 | 3.64 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Chien-Ming Wang, NYY | 3.75 | 3.99 | 4.13 | 3.95 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Andy Pettitte, NYY | 3.83 | 3.70 | 4.24 | 3.98 | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS | 4.19 | 3.70 | 3.87 | 4.21 | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | AJ Burnett, TOR | 4.29 | 3.91 | 4.03 | 4.03 | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | Jamie Shields, TB | 3.82 | 3.65 | 3.93 | 3.98 | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | Jeremy Guthrie, BAL | 4.37 | 4.50 | 4.84 | 4.42 | ||||||||||||||
| 10 | Phil Hughes, NYY | 4.31 | – | 4.27 | 4.14 | ||||||||||||||
| Closer | |||||||||||||||||||
| NO. | PLAYER | 2007 FIP | James ’08 | CHONE ’08 | Marcel ’08 | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Jon Papelbon, BOS | 2.41 | 3.03 | 2.88 | 3.22 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Mariano Rivera, NYY | 2.61 | 2.69 | 3.20 | 3.38 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | BJ Ryan, TOR | 7.58 | 2.90 | 3.70 | 3.58 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Troy Percival, TB | 3.13 | 4.34 | 4.13 | 4.20 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | George Sherrill, BAL | 3.07 | 3.36 | 3.77 | 3.95 | ||||||||||||||
| Setup | |||||||||||||||||||
| NO. | PLAYER | 2007 FIP | James ’08 | CHONE ’08 | Marcel ’08 | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Joba Chamberlain, NYY | 1.78 | – | 3.58 | 3.47 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Hideki Okajima, BOS | 3.29 | 3.48 | 3.80 | 3.96 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Jeremy Accardo, TOR | 3.44 | 3.26 | 3.87 | 3.93 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Dan Wheeler, TB | 3.96 | 3.79 | 3.78 | 4.01 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Jamie Walker, BAL | 4.06 | 4.25 | 4.37 | 4.24 | ||||||||||||||
| Catcher | |||||||||||||||||||
| NO. | PLAYER | ’07 RC/27 | James | CHONE | Marcel | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Jorge Posada, NYY | 8.90 | 6.39 | 6.27 | 6.49 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Ramon Hernandez, BAL | 4.36 | 4.72 | 4.92 | 4.98 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Jason Varitek, BOS | 5.61 | 4.98 | 5.17 | 5.13 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Greg Zaun, TOR | 4.85 | 4.46 | 4.82 | 4.74 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Dioner Navarro, TB | 3.25 | 3.79 | 4.48 | 437 | ||||||||||||||
| First Base | |||||||||||||||||||
| NO. | PLAYER | ’07 RC/27 | James | CHONE | Marcel | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Carlos Pena, TB | 9.92 | 6.74 | 6.59 | 7.71 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Kevin Youkilis, BOS | 6.87 | 6.22 | 5.95 | 6.29 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Jason Giambi, NYY | 5.98 | 6.52 | 6.41 | 6.98 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Lyle Overbay, TOR | 4.17 | 5.86 | 5.52 | 5.43 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Aubrey Huff, BAL | 5.27 | 5.46 | 5.45 | 5.12 | ||||||||||||||
| Second Base | |||||||||||||||||||
| NO. | PLAYER | ’07 RC/27 | James | CHONE | Marcel | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Robinson Cano, NYY | 5.93 | 6.36 | 6.29 | 6.07 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Brian Roberts, BAL | 6.61 | 5.50 | 5.84 | 6.09 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Akinori Iwamura, TB | 5.63 | 5.53 | 5.16 | 5.47 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Aaron Hill, TOR | 5.09 | 5.42 | 5.38 | 5.26 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Dustin Pedroia, BOS | 6.60 | 5.85 | 6.01 | 6.09 | ||||||||||||||
| Third Base | |||||||||||||||||||
| NO. | PLAYER | ’07 RC/27 | James | CHONE | Marcel | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Alex Rodriguez, NYY | 10.49 | 8.46 | 8.59 | 8.34 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Scott Rolen, TOR | 4.42 | 6.36 | 5.67 | 5.19 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Mike Lowell, BOS | 6.88 | 5.67 | 5.89 | 5.26 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Melvin Mora, BAL | 4.55 | 5.13 | 4.97 | 4.79 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Evan Longoria, TB | – | – | – | – | ||||||||||||||
| Shortstop | |||||||||||||||||||
| NO. | PLAYER | ’07 RC/27 | James | CHONE | Marcel | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Derek Jeter, NYY | 6.34 | 6.22 | 6.02 | 6.46 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Jason Bartlett, TB | 4.69 | 4.95 | 4.52 | 4.82 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Julio Lugo, BOS | 3.66 | 4.39 | 4.73 | 4.57 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | David Eckstein, TOR | 5.17 | 4.44 | 4.55 | 4.79 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Luis Hernandez, BAL (eek) |
3.46 | 2.85 | 3.04 | 5.17 | ||||||||||||||
| Outfield | |||||||||||||||||||
| NO. | PLAYER | ’07 RC/27 | James | CHONE | Marcel | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Manny Ramirez, BOS | 6.66 | 823 | 7.52 | 7.18 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | BJ Upton, TB | 7.05 | 6.73 | 5.79 | 6.39 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Alex Rios, TOR | 6.68 | 6.03 | 5.96 | 6.01 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Nick Markakis, BAL | 6.12 | 6.90 | 6.37 | 6.13 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Carl Crawford, TB | 6.28 | 5.65 | 6.33 | 6.26 | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | Vernon Wells, TOR | 4.26 | 5.52 | 5.34 | 5.36 | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | Bobby Abreu, NYY | 6.19 | 6.63 | 5.79 | 6.62 | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | JD Drew, BOS | 5.75 | 6.45 | 6.35 | 6.32 | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | Hideki Matsui, NYY | 6.72 | 7.03 | 6.43 | 6.25 | ||||||||||||||
| 10 | Johnny Damon, NYY | 5.59 | 5.28 | 5.37 | 5.75 | ||||||||||||||
| 11 | Adam Jones, BAL | 4.30 | 5.70 | 4.63 | 4.68 | ||||||||||||||
| 12 | Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS | 8.66 | 6.88 | 5.56 | 6.58 | ||||||||||||||