0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Third Base: Ryan ZimmermanIf you're a regular FanGraphs reader -- and we should probably start imposing heavy fines on anybody out there who isn't -- you know exactly where this item is going. If you're not, have some smelling salts handy. You're in for a big shock as we lay out FanGraphs' top four players in the major leagues last year in Wins Above Replacement:Josh Hamilton (8.0), Joey Votto (7.4), Pujols (7.3) and (drumroll, please) Zimmerman (7.2).So … do we have your attention yet? Thought so. If those WAR rankings are any judge (and clearly, they're onto something), it means Zimmerman had a better year -- if you factor in his bat and his top-of-the-charts third-base acrobatics -- than Miguel Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Evan Longoria, Troy Tulowitzki and, well, essentially everybody else. That was an excellent boost for his underratedness.Add in that Zimmerman did all this in Washington -- remember that 80 percent of all Americans are pretty sure that no one other than Stephen Strasburg played in Washington last season -- and he was pretty much a lock for this team. Don't you think?"For me, he's the best third baseman in the league right now," one scout said. "He's so much better than David Wright at this stage; it isn't even all that close."
First Base: Adam DunnAny time a guy can claim to be a famous human trivia answer, I find it dramatically increases his chances of making these prestigious All-Underrated lineups. So how 'bout this little trivia classic: Name the only player in baseball who has whomped at least 20 homers before the All-Star break in eight straight seasons.Sorry. Time's up. That answer would be Dunn, naturally. OK, then how many All-Star teams has he made in those eight seasons? Unbelievably, that answer would be zero. And anybody who could pull that off has to be massively underrated, right?"He's a lot better player than people think," one longtime scout said. "People think of him as a big clod, and he's not. He's not real good at first base, obviously. But he's not the only one. And the thing is, he doesn't just have power. He's got scary power."One more emergency trivia bulletin: Who leads all major leaguers not named Albert Pujols in home runs since 2004? Right you are. Dunn (with 294). And only four guys are even within 50 of him. So clearly, this man is getting more underrated with every sentence.
Starlin Castro might be the most ridiculous one on there. Pretty sure he was on ESPN every day for about 3 months.
Nothing is more ridiculous than Braun.
He's the most overlooked Jewish outfielder playing in Wisconsin.
i hope that's a joke? Braun is one of my favorite players in baseball and gets the respect he deserves. When you think Brewers it's Braun and Fielder.
How many Jewish outfielders play for the Brewers?
only because Gabe Kapler left town.
Someone is actually trying to say he's underrated?!?!
Except this sadly seems true.
Maybe his point is that coastal folks don't pay attention to him. Was he selected as an OF for the All Star game or did the fans vote him in? That may be part of it. MVP votes are not from fans.
he's been to the last 3 all-star games and was rookie of the year in 2007 and finished in 3rd in mvp voting in 08. he gets enough love.
How did Joba not make this list?
