Sabrmetrics give us fans many advanced stats that should be used to truly evaluate players. So which players today are undervalued based on Sabrmetrics?

Stats go hand in hand with every aspect of the game of baseball. Players are judged by them from fans, media and peers. For years we have been taught that certain stats are the best way to evaluate a player. For example : Having a batting average of .300 or better and you will be considered an elite hitter, having 100 or more RBI and you would be considered an elite run producer and smashing 40 or more home runs and you would be considered a big-time power threat.

Slanted Sabr: Sabrmetrics Reveals Three Undervalued Stars

While those stats are fine and what we all have used to measure players for years and years, they do little in telling the true story and value of a player and that players overall game, on both sides of the ball. In this article I want to highlight some of the most underrated players from 2013 and discuss how they should impact the 2014 season.

Ben Zobrist is the type of player that defines the term “flying under the radar.” Ben can, and has played every position on the diamond outside of catcher. He is a switch hitter who finished the 2011 season 1st in total WAR. I thought after that season he would finally get recognized for his contributions to the Rays, I was wrong. Zobrist is hardly ever mentioned when talking about the top players in the game, and its a shame. Ben had a down year in 2013 compared to his previous two years before that, but still managed a very respectable slash line of .275/.354/.402 and drove in 71 runs. Ben is an above average defender and posted a .993 fielding percentage for the 2013 season.

Where Zobrist gets overlooked comes from some of the secondary metrics that may not be looked at by the everybody fan, along with the little things that Ben does that can’t show up in a box score. For example , Zobrist had a 115 RC+ in 2013. RC+ (runs created plus) is a fantastic metric that values how many runs that player created for his team. Getting on base, stealing a base, and moving runners over are all components of RC+. The average major league player will finish the season with a RC+ of 90-100. Zobrist is well above that mark and proves that you should not always just judge a player based on batting average.

Ben Zobrist defines the type of player that will never be appreciated for all of the little things that he does. I mean quickly – can you name one other player in in baseball that is a switch hitting, play every where on the diamond type of player? I can’t. Zobrist will be a key piece to the 2014 Rays season and should be every bit as important to them this year as he has been the past few.

 

Josh Donaldson may have been mentioned in some MVP ballots, however most fans never really considered him as an MVP Candidate, they should have. Donaldson still has not gotten due credit for one of the best all around seasons you could have as a third sacker . Donaldson was unfortunately an afterthought in an American League that had the likes of Miguel Cabrera, Evan Longoria, Manny Machado and Adrian Beltre manning down the hot corner in 2013.

Only Mike Trout had a higher WAR in the American League. Josh belted out a 7.7 WAR and carried the Oakland Athletics towards their second straight A.L. West crown. Not only did Donaldson have a huge WAR number, but he also had a superb slash line of .301/.384/.499 and drove in 93 runs. The most telling stat in my opinion of his fantastic season was his RC+ of 148. I mentioned above how Ben Zobrist had a 115 and that was well above average, Josh posting a 148 RC+ is amazing.

It is not all about offense, and sabrmetrics are a great defensive measurable as well and Josh was near the top of the class in many metrics. Donaldson had a DRS, or defensive runs saved, of 11 runs. In comparison Evan Longoria had a DRS of 12 while Miguel Cabrera posted a -18. Donaldson also posted the 3rd highest UZR, or Ultimate Zone Rating, of any 3rd basemen with a 9.9. Longoria was slightly above that and Manny Machado was on another planet, posting a league record 33.6.

Josh Donaldson had been used as a catcher in 2012, and broke out with superb offensive and defensive metrics. Donaldson was a legit MVP contender and he should only get better going into 2014 now that he has a full year at 3rd base under his belt. Now that Miguel Cabrera has moved back to 1st base, Donaldson should get a little more love this year at his position.

 

Matt Carpenter may be the best case of regular stats undervaluing a player, and sabrmetrics coming to the rescue. You could argue that based on his overall impact on all facets of the game, Matt Carpenter was the best player in the National League. Carpenter posted a .318/.392/.481 slash line but that doesn’t even begin to do justice to his fantastic season.

BAIBP, or batting average on balls in play, is a great measurable to see how many times a player got on base on a ball in play, Carpenter had a mind numbing .359 BAIBP. Now of course that metric can be a result of bad defense from certain teams, but you also have to give credit for running hard out of the box, and credit some to just flat out skill. Carpenter also posted a 7.0 WAR, which was quite the difference from his 2012 season when he posted a 1.2 WAR.

Carpenter had a RC+ of 147 and scored 126 runs for the Cardinals. That is production we rarely see from National League second basemen. He was no slouch on defense either, as he had a .985 fielding percentage and only had 9 errors in 132 games at 2nd base. Tremendous on both sides of the ball and a perfect example of how sabrmetrics tell the true story of a player. Carpenter, like Donaldson will be going into his 2nd full season as a starter, though it is likely he will move to 3rd base and should be in for a similar, if not better season for St. Louis.  According to many observers, his defensive game is even better at third than it is at second base.

 

These three players are just some minor examples of how everyday stats can underrate a player, and why sabrmetrics should always be used when looking at a player and his total body of work.

 

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Main Photo Credit: J. Meric

Statistical information was gathered from FanGraphs.Com.