After a brief hiatus from combined pieces, Adam and I now move forth in our MLB, position-by-position power rankings. We continue with our third piece of this four part series. The positions that will be evaluated by Adam and myself this time are Catcher and Outfield. I personally will handle the analysis and ranking for the backstop position, while Adam will broach the outfield positions. For the sake of brevity, Adam will consider the outfield positions as one large category, instead of the three respective positions.
As mentioned in the opening statement, I myself have the honor of analyzing and recognizing the top performers at the catcher position for this 2014 MLB campaign. As you may know, catcher is debatably the most physically demanding position on the diamond. The average shelf life for a good catcher in the MLB is not great, due to the physical toll they endure. Also, a catcher who transcends as a dominant offensive and overall presence for an organization typically will either be moved to another position or split time between catcher and other positions. Most notably, Joe Mauer was moved this year from catcher to first base, as an attempt to extend the longevity of his career. Other examples of players to undergo this specific type of position transition include Victor Martinez, Mike Napoli, and Carlos Santana.
Before I delve into the analysis and explanation of the power rankings, I want to acknowledge that one of the games best catchers, Matt Wieters, suffered a season ending injury just prior to the All-Star Game. With the significant loss of playing time, Wieters does not meet the minimum criterion of 250 At-Bats, which would qualify him for the ranking. However, despite the loss of Wieters, the emergences and development of Jonathan Lucroy, Devin Mesoraco, and Derek Norris have taken the catching position by storm. Thus, I will now continue to the analysis and rankings. The following list is composed of the top 24 catchers in the MLB, in terms of At-Bats.
Name
|
OPV
|
CS %
|
dWAR
|
OPR Rank
|
dWAR Rank
|
CS % Rank
|
Total
|
Russell Martin
|
0.54
|
38.00%
|
1.5
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
7
|
Yan Gomes
|
0.422
|
34.00%
|
1.4
|
6
|
3
|
5
|
14
|
Yadier Molina
|
0.358
|
49.00%
|
1.1
|
12
|
7
|
1
|
20
|
Jonathan Lucroy
|
0.442
|
27.00%
|
1.3
|
4
|
4
|
12
|
20
|
Alex Avila*
|
0.34
|
35.00%
|
1.2
|
14
|
6
|
4
|
24
|
Salvador Perez
|
0.335
|
30.00%
|
1.9
|
15
|
1
|
8
|
24
|
Brian McCann*
|
0.318
|
43.00%
|
0.8
|
19
|
10
|
2
|
31
|
Devin Mesoraco
|
0.604
|
23.00%
|
0.5
|
1
|
14
|
16
|
31
|
Buster Posey
|
0.41
|
31.00%
|
0
|
8
|
17
|
7
|
32
|
Carlos Ruiz
|
0.344
|
29.00%
|
0.9
|
13
|
9
|
10
|
32
|
Tyler Flowers
|
0.31
|
34.00%
|
1
|
21
|
8
|
5
|
34
|
Miguel Montero*
|
0.415
|
29.00%
|
0
|
7
|
17
|
10
|
34
|
Mike Zunino
|
0.33
|
30.00%
|
0.6
|
17
|
12
|
8
|
37
|
Evan Gattis
|
0.427
|
23.00%
|
0
|
5
|
17
|
16
|
38
|
Jason Castro*
|
0.294
|
25.00%
|
1.3
|
23
|
4
|
14
|
41
|
Kurt Suzuki
|
0.363
|
23.00%
|
0.5
|
11
|
14
|
16
|
41
|
Derek Norris
|
0.496
|
15.00%
|
0.2
|
3
|
16
|
22
|
41
|
Dioner Navarro#
|
0.309
|
26.00%
|
0.6
|
22
|
12
|
13
|
47
|
Welington Castillo
|
0.269
|
25.00%
|
0.7
|
24
|
11
|
14
|
49
|
Jarrod Saltalamacchia#
|
0.379
|
20.00%
|
-0.4
|
10
|
22
|
19
|
51
|
John Jaso*
|
0.4
|
11.00%
|
-0.3
|
9
|
20
|
24
|
53
|
Wilin Rosario
|
0.332
|
19.00%
|
-0.4
|
16
|
22
|
21
|
59
|
Travis d'Arnaud
|
0.328
|
20.00%
|
-0.9
|
18
|
24
|
19
|
61
|
Yasmani Grandal#
|
0.313
|
14.00%
|
-0.3
|
20
|
20
|
23
|
63
|
As you can discern from the categories above, similarly to my previous analyses for the prior power ranking posts, I sought to determine which Catchers are the best overall. However, there is one alteration to my analysis procedure this time. This changes come in the form of the offensive statistic I considered. As you can see above, the offensive statistic I incorporated in to my calculations is the OPR, or Offensive Production Rating. The description for this statistic can be found in the Updated MLB Offensive Values (By: M. Lessard) post. For my defensive values, I utilized dWAR and Caught-Stealing Percentage. I know will progress into the analysis and ranking portion.
Best Offensive Catcher: Devin Mesoraco, Cincinnati Reds
Best Defensive Catcher: Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
Best CS %: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
2014 Catcher Top 5 Power Rankings:
1) Russell Martin, Pittsburgh Pirates- Oh Canada! Montreal native Russell Martin is the overwhelming, overall statistical leader for the catching position this season. He boasts an impressive .284/.405/.395 slashing line, along with amassing top tier defensive values. Martin is eligible for free agency this upcoming offseason, so expect him to entertain some exorbitant offers.
2) Yan Gomes, Cleveland Indians- Gomes, a Brazil native and NCAA division II product, has had the breakout season any up-and-coming player so desperately wants. With the move of Carlos Santana from the backstop position, the Indians figuratively hit gold through enabling Gomes to assume the everyday catching responsibilities. Gomes has displayed pretty good power numbers despite playing in a pitcher friendly park. You can expect Gomes to be the regular backstop for the Indians for some time to come, barring a trade.
3) Jonathan Lucroy, Milwaukee Brewers- A large reason for the Brewers success during this 2014 MLB campaign stems from the offensive production from an unexpected position. Despite manning the physically demanding duties of catching, Lucroy has debatably been the Brewers most dominant offensive presence. Due to his achievements, Lucroy was awarded the role of starting catcher for the NL All-Stars at this season Mid-Summer Classic.
4) Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals- Yadier is the definitely the best of the three famous Molina MLB, catching brothers. Despite suffering an injury and narrowly qualifying for the ranking, Molina still managed to perform his way into the fourth position. This ranking for Molina comes as no surprise to me at all, even considering the injury. Yadier Molina has been one of the games best catchers for the past few years, even finishing as a finalist for the NL MVP in both of the past two seasons.
5) Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals- Since entering the league in 2011, Perez has been a most prized possession for the Royals. He has significantly contributed to the turn-around of the Royals organization and will be a key asset to build around in the future. Salvador received the honor of being able to start for the AL All-Stars in this years ASG, due to the downfall of Matt Wieters.
The biggest surprises for me, in terms of catchers who did not make the list, are Derek Norris and Devin Mesoraco. Mesoraco has been an outright offensive force for the Cincinnati Reds this season. However, upon the analysis of his defensive performances, I now comprehend why he did not receive a top 5 ranking. If Mesoraco can manage to hone his defensive skills, I believe he will transcend himself as a premier catcher of the MLB.
Oakland Athletic, All-Star catcher, Derek Norris is another example of a catcher whose defensive performance kept him from being ranked. The catching situation in Oakland is more of a platoon scenario, primarily rotating Derek Norris, Stephen Vogt, and John Jaso. This lack of regular playing time at the catching position could be negatively impacting not only Norris, but also the others in terms of their performances behind the dish.
I now will transfer the analysis and rankings over to Adam, for the Outfield position breakdown.
To continue our MVP’s at each position I’m undertaking the
outfield. I’ll explain in some detail the value of each of the top 5 and below
you will find a table of the top 15 per WAR which is giving a very interesting
perspective given that it’s placing Alex Gordon above Trout, Stanton, Brantley,
and McCutchen who are all having incredible years, while Gordon is hitting .284
and slugging well below the next four. To preface the breakdown, I will be
using ARM which is an outfield statistic that measures how often runners
advance or are thrown out on base hits to the outfield. In addition, UZR which
I used almost exclusively for my Gold Glove breakdown is
yet again making an appearance to explain where needed.
1) Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals (WAR: 5.7)
Often a top player per WAR, Gordon plays
great defense and has the best outfield arm in the game. UZR compliments his
defensive value placing him in 1st overall, with none of the other four making it into the top 20, for this category. To further iterate the point that Alex Gordon is substantially above others in the field, he ranks first in the ARM stat, in which Stanton
is 16th, the closest of the other outfielders in the top 5 ranking. It’s unlikely that Alex Gordon gets
more than a few votes when the MVP balloting ends, but for the time being, he’s
numero uno for anyone who puts weight into the defensive side of the ball.
Barely behind Gordon, he’s clearly a threat
in all aspects of the game. For whatever reasons the defensive metrics are not
friendly to him at all. He’s 2nd to only Stanton in SLG, HR, and RBI
by minimal margins. He’s 2nd only because I’m a slave to
sabermetrics, for anyone starting a franchise the option is Kershaw or Trout.
In my opinion we’re witnessing a top 10 all-time player in Trout and he’ll be a
top 3 for MVP every year he plays more than 140 games (both Hamilton and Mauer
won the award with 138 games).
3) Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins (WAR: 5.1)
Likely going to be the favorite for MVP this
year, he’s been unstoppable. He’s hitting .295 with 32 HR, as well as managing to be the
leader among outfielders in BB% while also being above 24% for K%. I keep
crossing my fingers and hoping the Red Sox pull the trigger and bring him to
Boston, an outfield with Stanton and Cespedes would put the best two arms in the
same outfield.
4) Michael Brantley, Cleveland Indians (WAR:
4.9)
A career year, Brantley is young and can
likely continue to develop but it’s doubtful he continues to produce at this
rate. He’s got the highest BA in the top 15 at .319, he’s also on pace to hit
more HR this year than he did in his first 4 seasons combined. If he repeats
this type of season for the next several seasons, the trade for CC might not
have been so bad after all.
5) Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates (WAR:
4.8)
An off year thus far when considering his defensive
metrics, he’s hitting .311 and before his most recent trip to the DL was
starting to produce with significant power, which was lacking to begin the year.
He’s played over 150 games in each of the last 4 seasons, aside from this year
he’s been incredibly durable for someone who steals over 20 bases and plays
with seemingly reckless abandon. If he ends the year strong he could make a
strong case for MVP but it’s Stanton’s award to lose at this point.
The Entire Rankings (per FanGraphs):
Name
|
Team
|
HR
|
R
|
RBI
|
SB
|
AVG
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
WAR
|
Alex Gordon
|
Royals
|
13
|
65
|
55
|
8
|
0.284
|
0.36
|
0.445
|
5.7
|
Mike Trout
|
Angels
|
27
|
81
|
86
|
12
|
0.289
|
0.378
|
0.559
|
5.6
|
Giancarlo Stanton
|
Marlins
|
32
|
79
|
88
|
10
|
0.295
|
0.398
|
0.566
|
5.1
|
Michael Brantley
|
Indians
|
18
|
78
|
80
|
14
|
0.319
|
0.378
|
0.513
|
4.9
|
Andrew McCutchen
|
Pirates
|
17
|
64
|
67
|
17
|
0.311
|
0.411
|
0.536
|
4.8
|
Yasiel Puig
|
Dodgers
|
13
|
67
|
59
|
7
|
0.313
|
0.395
|
0.517
|
4.7
|
Carlos Gomez
|
Brewers
|
20
|
79
|
62
|
27
|
0.285
|
0.349
|
0.489
|
4.6
|
Ben Zobrist
|
Rays
|
9
|
62
|
38
|
9
|
0.279
|
0.363
|
0.419
|
4.5
|
Jason Heyward
|
Braves
|
9
|
59
|
45
|
14
|
0.264
|
0.349
|
0.379
|
4.4
|
Jose Bautista
|
Blue Jays
|
23
|
72
|
74
|
5
|
0.291
|
0.408
|
0.507
|
4.4
|
Hunter Pence
|
Giants
|
16
|
82
|
53
|
10
|
0.283
|
0.336
|
0.462
|
4.2
|
Adam Jones
|
Orioles
|
23
|
70
|
75
|
6
|
0.284
|
0.313
|
0.476
|
4
|
Justin Upton
|
Braves
|
23
|
64
|
75
|
7
|
0.284
|
0.36
|
0.516
|
3.6
|
Josh Harrison
|
Pirates
|
10
|
58
|
38
|
17
|
0.309
|
0.346
|
0.492
|
3.6
|
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