All Underrated Team:
Catcher – Roberto Perez
I don’t care about his statistics. Clearly, Perez had a major positive impact on the Cleveland Indians during their run to the AL Pennant in 2016. He is a textbook example of a good chemistry guy. Love his energy.
First Base – Eric Hosmer
Handsomeness alone qualifies Hosmer for this list.
Second Base – Rougned Odor
People say he’s a bad player because his OBP is low. They don’t understand that OBP is OVERRATED. Duh.
Odor hit 30 home runs last year. His slugging percentage was near .400. Those are Legit Numbers.
He’s off to a slow start this year, but, it’s early.
Shortstop – Alcides Escobar
OMG his on base percentage is below .300 like every year. He must be a bad player!
LOL.
Escobar is a good player. He was a key component to the CHEMISTRY of the Kansas City Royals when they won the WORLD SERIES in 2015.
Let’s say the Royals had traded him like the Dodgers traded AJ Ellis prior to the 2015 season. Would they necessarily have won the World Series that year?
They wouldn’t have. Necessarily.
Chemistry Matters. Second principle of SABR Skepticism.
Third Base – Nolan Arenado
Everybody says that Charlie Blackmon is a better player than Nolan Arenado. WAR had Blackmon as nearly a whole win better (6.5) than Arenado (5.6) last year – that is really how they see the game … this player and that player are worth this many wins … numbers numbers numbers!
WEAK!
Would Charlie Blackmon necessarily put up the numbers he does without Nolan Arenado’s protection? Not necessarily. Baseball is a team game. Duh.
Left field – Matt Kemp
Wins Above Replacement aka WAR had Matt Kemp as the 1,276th best player in the MLB last year. And people take WAR and SABRmetrics in general seriously? What a joke.
The SABR consensus is played out.
These were Matt Kemp’s numbers last year when he was the 1,276th best player in baseball:
batting average – .273.
on base percentage – .318 (all the SABRmetrics people are laughing at him and saying he’s weak but the truth is that it is they who are the weaklings).
slugging percentage – .463 (see what I mean?)
home runs – 19 (he only played in 115 games. He would have played in more but he was diving all over the place on defense and going all out running the bases to try to prove he’s a better player than Jordy Mercer.
RBIs – 64 (in only 115 games! I bet if he had played the full season he would have 100. And the weaklings in the SABRmetrics community would still have said Jordy Mercer is a better player! LOL!)
Center Field – Adam Jones
On base percentage is so irrelevant. Adam Jones is a great leader. He is a very good power hitter as well. And he hits for average.
His career batting average is .278. So Good.
His career slugging percentage is .460. So Good.
His career obp is .317. So Irrelevant.
He has hit somewhere in the range of 25-33 home runs every year since 2011. And he drives in runs too. Duh.
Right Field – Yoenis Cespedes
Billy Beane traded him. Then, the Athletics totally fell apart. That made the hero of
The Intelligentsia, Beane, look just awful. So, instead of saying “Beane is awful!” which he is, The Intelligentsia say “Cespedes is the one who is awful.” The truth is that Beane AND The Intelligentsia are awful and Cespedes is AWESOME. He single handedly carried the Mets to the NL Pennant in 2015. That’s pretty awesome.
Starting Rotation
1 – Jon Gray – His ERA is irrelevant. He is the Ace of the Rockies. You can see this just by looking at his Hair and his Beard.
2 – Masahiro Tanaka – His ERA is irrelevant. He, along with CC Sabathia, is protecting Luis Severino. He is an Ace.
3 – David Price – His ERA is irrelevant. He is protecting both Rick Porcello AND Chris Sale. He is an Ace.
4 – Stephen Strasburg – He has “The Look.”
5 – Madison Bumgarner – His performance in the 2014 Postseason alone qualifies him for this list.
Bullpen
Who cares?
All Overrated Team
Catcher – Austin Barnes/Yasmani Grandal/Kyle Farmer
Austin Barnes is Not AJ Ellis. Yasmani Grandal is Not AJ Ellis. Kyle Farmer is Not AJ Ellis. That is why the Los Angeles Dodgers lost in the World Series.
That’s all you need to know about the series. That’s it. That was the determinative factor. Nothing else matters.
First Base – Joey Votto
He’s a good player. But he’s overrated because of OBP. Also, he loses points for meanness. Evidence?
Just watch this.
Do you really need more evidence than that?
Second Base – Jose Altuve
He’s a good player. But was he more deserving of AL MVP last year than Aaron Judge?
He only has four home runs to this point in the season. Judge has 15.
Shortstop – Andrleton Simmons
According to WAR, Simmons was the 26th best player in MLB last year. On what grounds? Defense.
Obp is overrated. Defense is WAY overrated. Like Simmons.
Third Base – Matt Chapman
RJ Anderson of CBS Sports said on April 16th that Chapman “might be one of baseball’s best players.”
His batting average/obp/slugging percentage have all taken a huge dive in the month and a half since then.
Is Chapman pressing to meet up to the ridiculous hype?
Obviously, yes.
Left Field – Kevin Kiermaier
Kiermaier got paid mostly because of defense. Then, all of a sudden, he became incapable of playing defense. GO FIGURE.
Center Field – Mike Trout
Mike Trout is the second best player in baseball. But according to The Consensus, he is the best player in baseball. Thus, he is overrated. Thus, he belongs on this list.
Right Field – Mookie Betts
Betts had a great year in 2016 with David Ortiz in the lineup. Then when Oritz retired, Betts took a huge step back last year. Then, with JD Martinez in the lineup this year, Betts has taken off again.
It’s pretty clear that Betts’s great statistics this year are a product of protection.
Starting Rotation
1 – Max Scherzer – He does not have “The Look.” He wasn’t much when he was in Arizona. Then he became something in a rotation with Justin Verlander in Detroit. He then continued to be something in a rotation with Stephen Strasburg in Washington. How would he fare if Strasburg were to be traded?
2 – Chris Sale – Sale fades down the stretch every year. And he has bad character. Not Ace material.
3 – Chris Archer – I don’t care how many strikeouts Archer has. His career win-loss record (54-66) is telling.
4 – Carlos Carrasco – He’s a good pitcher. But would he put up the numbers he does without Kluber in the rotation? Dubious.
5 – Rick Porcello – Porcello was supposed to be “The Guy” in Boston in 2015. His ERA that year? 4.92. And he had a 9-15 win-loss record. That offseason, the Red Sox signed David Price. All of a sudden, Porcello became a Super Pitcher, and was given the Cy Young Award. Then, last year, with Price on the DL to start the year, Porcello’s numbers skyrocketed. This year, he got off to a Super Start. Go figure, Price was back healthy in the rotation. He had an injury scare in early May. I predicted that Porcello would struggle then. He did.
I speak on this with some authority.
Bullpen
All relief pitchers are overrated in this day and age.
SABR Skeptic 
