Top 10 SS in MLB?

[CODE_BLUE56]

Mr. Bill James says that Castro is going to be better offensively than Alexei this season, by a moderately wide .22 margin in wOBA.

Fielding-wise, yes, Alexei is better. But Castro certainly has an argument, especially if you care about Average, OBP, etc. He is simply superior offensively, sabermetrically and otherwise.

Bill James projects a .795 OPS for Castro, and a .727 for Alexei Ramirez.

Ramirez has Castro beat on slugging and defense though.

But let's not forget that Castro did improve his defense after the all-star break and went a couple months without making an error. He was called up to be a defensive improvement over Theriot, but ended up being a bigger impact offensively.

That said, if you need a 1-year SS, you probably take Alexei. But if you are looking for a longer-term option, it is Castro by a pretty wide margin. In fact, the only way you take Alexei is if you completely ignore salary, contract details, age, future production, etc.

alexei ramirez is better right now mostly because of defense....castro's improving but his fielding overall still has a ways to go

he'll(alexei) probably still be better this year...but as castro's defense improves and he hits with a little more power...i think he'll pass alexei

tulo and reyes are a firm 1 and 2 for me btw....

 

[Captain Obvious]

Which is what I was trying to say, except that if you factor salary in, I think Castro has an argument, depending on what type of market your team is in.

Market doesn't matter. We're talking about who the better player is. It's Ramirez. Even if you wanna talk about market, you're still wrong. He's only making 5 million this year. That's for a 4 win SS. 1.25 MM/win is a great rate, especially at a premium position.

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

Depending on how you feel about WAR, they weren't exactly wrong...Castro is just outside the top 10 here:

Major League Leaderboards

I don't have B-Ref Play Index so if someone has it they can post the rankings for SS from there. Castro is hurt by his subpar defense (which should improve) and his low walk rate (which will hopefully also improve) or else he'd be top ten material.

i think castro is around 8-10...as wrigley suggested his D is improving(though he has a ways to go) so we see the WAR a little distorted by Castro's early season play...

i also tend to think WAR overvalues defense a little..in context i think this underrates castro a little and overrates alexei a bit

castro has a good BABIP(because he is such a good hitter) and is 8th in wOBA

plus he is trending up..meaning i think he'll have more value next year...

if this is for next year...i can see a good argument for castro in the top 10

 

[nwfisch]

Mr. Cub is #1 on my list

 

[Mr. Cub]

Mr. Cub is #1 on my list

Thanks Fisch.

 

[Rice Cube]

i think castro is around 8-10...as wrigley suggested his D is improving(though he has a ways to go) so we see the WAR a little distorted by Castro's early season play...

i also tend to think WAR overvalues defense a little..in context i think this underrates castro a little and overrates alexei a bit

castro has a good BABIP(because he is such a good hitter) and is 8th in wOBA

plus he is trending up..meaning i think he'll have more value next year...

if this is for next year...i can see a good argument for castro in the top 10

The defensive component of WAR is what usually messes it all up.

 

[#19]

Keep your eye on Hardy for your fantasy leagues.

He had 30 HRs in 130 games w/an OPS of .800. Granted, no speed but where you can get him in your draft he is going to be a great value.

I just got him at the 108th pick in my draft and am very pleased.

 

[SaberSox]

projections are like assholes, everyones got one. no one can state that a player is better on events that have not occured yet.

Absolutely. One can make their best, educated guess based on a player's age, historical data, and trends in a player's skill-set, but in the end projections are still guesses and can be very wrong (see: Adam Dunn).

Though, with more information and knowing how to dechiper that info, one can make the best guess possible.

Still a guess though.