Who is Jarrod Dyson? (By: M. Lessard)

The Oakland Athletics General Manager, Billy Beane, has had commendable success during his tenure, through finding value in players who are often overlooked.  As a result, the Athletics always are vying for an American League Pennant, while having historically low payrolls.  What Beane does for that organization is a true anomaly, especially in this age of overpaid and overvalued players.  For example, consider Athletics pitcher, Scott Kazmir.  After a streak of extraordinary success earlier on his career, Kazmir endured a very rough and seemingly insurmountable stretch of mediocrity.  Just as his career appeared to be fettered at this level of incompetency, Billy Beane did what he does best and gave an undervalued/ struggling player a second chance.  This signing has illuminated Beane's genius probably more than any of his others.  For Kazmir was named an American League all-star this season, while amassing a 2.53 ERA with a 12-4 record.

Hoping to channel some of this unparalleled baseball/ business acumen that Beane possesses, I dedicate this post to discussing a very underrated player.  This player, I could guarantee that at least 95% of you have never heard of.  I am talking about Jarrod Dyson, an outfielder for the Kansas City Royals.  Dyson has been in the show for roughly 5 years, however during his first two seasons, his time actually at the Major League level was very short-lived.  Ever since I began my baseball analysis career, I have always kept an eye on Dyson.  As you can find out within The Inaugural Post, Dyson ranks very highly within my analysis.  However, to spare you some time, I have prepared an analysis chart.  I have omitted the statistics from his first two seasons, due to the lack of at-bats, in order to avoid statistical skewing.

Year	AB	IOR	WAR
2012	292	0.473	1.6
2013	213	0.535	1.6
2014	187	0.476	2.8
5 Yrs	793	0.499	7.2

As you might have been able to discern, Dyson does not receive everyday At-Bats and/or starts.  Despite the shortage of playing time, Dyson accumulates incredible statistics.  I implemented my own statistic of IOR, along with WAR for my analysis.  To put things into perspective, Dyson's IOR of 0.476, this season, is better than Miguel Cabrera's (0.464).  His WAR is rated at 2.8 which is very good, especially considering the infrequency of his playing time.  There are regular starters who have significantly worse WARs than Dyson.  Cabrera has a WAR of 3.1, just a mere 0.3 greater than Dyson's.  To help solidify my statement of Dyson's unrecognized value, I will iterate the well-roundedness of his talent.  Dyson totes a laudable dWAR (Defensive WAR) of 2.0, which is the second highest dWAR in the entire American League.  Oh yea, I forgot to mention one key fact about Dyson, his salary is near league minimum.  The value that Dyson provides for the Royals, at such a low cost is truly an anomaly.  I personally believe that the Royals do not utilize this hidden gem, Dyson, to the utmost extent.  If I were a Major League General Manager, I would most definitely make a transaction to acquire Dyson.