Diamond Mine

Top Fives

So we’re just over ¼ of the way through the season at this point and I’m going to take a quick look at the top leaders of the performance categories we look at here at Diamond Mine and see what turns up. Everyone on this list has, at this point 162 Plate appearances which qualifies them for the entire season already.

CON

Above Average OBP from your SS can be hard to come by and, in that respect, Keppinger is having a pretty good season. Most of his OBP is coming from his BA, which is a direct result of his high contact rate. Molina, as always, will hit a little bit and has a little power. Guzman’s only skill seems to be making contact. His 300 average isn’t very valuable since he’s actually producing outs quicker than some of his counterparts. Betancourt puts a whole bunch of balls in play. He’s slightly unlucky, but when you consider his poor PWR scores and his poor EYE score, it seems logical to conclude that the balls he does put into play are relatively easy balls to handle and turn into outs.

PWR

Lance Berkman is having a pretty big year for himself this year. Everyone knows about his power, but his power is more amazing when you consider that he’s a switch hitter. No only is he a switch hitter but he’s a 90% base stealer going 9-10 so far this year. He’s near the top of MLB leaders with a speed score over 1.5 so far. Dan Uggla: 28 year old who’s never hit less than 20 home runs in any professional season and that is slugging 700 so far this year. That’s all you really need to say about that. Chase Utley makes 2 middle infielders on the top of this list. Middle Infield power is pretty hard to come by, but players like Utley and Uggla COULD change that. Pat Burell just has a bunch of home runs. Pretty usual for him.

EYE

Forget steroids Jose, Plate Discipline turns very good players into great players. Yadier Molina has a good defensive reputation which is usually good for a roster spot in the majors, but his plate discipline is what makes him the Card’s everyday catcher and what could make him one of the better catcher’s in the majors soon. It’s one of the great ironies in baseball, that, if you’re a player that Billy Beane is actively attempting to trade for, it immediately raises your stock to the point that other teams put together better packages to get you and you end up going somewhere else. Both aspects of Polanco’s game are so exceptional for his position, that he’d be the starter if he only was skilled in one. Polanco’s offense is so good for a second basemen that he could probably start on any team. Conversely, Polanco’s defense is so stellar that many teams would start him even if he didn’t know how to put on a batting helmet. Poloanco’s offensive game is straight Moneyball and t works quite well for him.

SPD

Speed is Tavarez’ game and probably will be until he retires. If he could add a bit more power, he’d become quite a force in center field. Right now, he’s like a good version of nook logan. It probably won’t be long before Ian Kinsler is considered one of the best players in baseball. He already has stolen 14 straight bases this year. Even if he slows up, he’d steal around 30 bases and hit 15-20 home runs. I can’t stress this point enough. HE’S A SECOND BASEMEN!!! Those are outfielder type offensive skills.