Arenado Rank

Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post doesn’t agree with the MLB.com ranking of Nolan Arenado:

But I was astounded when I learned that MLB Network ranked Nolan Arenado as the sixth-best third baseman in the majors. That’s laughable.

According to a news release, MLB Network “took into account a number of offensive and defensive metrics, both advanced and traditional, plus projections for the upcoming season.”

Excuse me, but did anyone at MLB Network actually watch Arenado play? Are they aware he hit 42 home runs last season? Did they forget he’s won three consecutive Gold Gloves, and that he’s only 24 years old? Do they know that his 89 extra-base hits were the most in MLB history by a third baseman?

Of course, Saunders leaves out a big negative, Arenado’s rather low ranking in OBP. Among the players who recorded at least 400 PA as a third baseman, Arenado ranked 13th in 2015. Interestingly, Coors didn’t help his power numbers all that much; it increased his doubles and triples (he hit no triples on the road), but he hit more home runs away. Coors greatly increased his batting average, and without the big outfield helping his singles, his OBP would have looked even worse.

Sixth best is pretty good, and at age 24, he has time to improve.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/20fTyX9