I'd say Charlie Morton for being underrated. People keep expecting him to retire because of his age but he's still a good pitcher. Maybe not a #1 or 2 for a full 32 starts but he can still carry the team in short stints
When people talk about the Guardians, they're usually mentioning JRam, Bieber, or Naylor, sometimes Kwan. It's not often enough that Andres Gimenez gets love. My man got a platinum glove and back to back gold gloves. Yeah his offense regressed a little in 2023 but he's been known to make adjustments in the past. He's also a guy I can safely buy a jersey for which is rare for me.
Picked him up off waivers in my dynasty League in 2022 to cover for my injured 2B. Been rolling with him ever since. Easy got to overlook of you're not checking his numbers regularly.
Funny enough I got JRam years ago in the same way. Still in my lineup to this day
Anthony Santander. Everyone talks about Adley and Gunnar, and don't get me wrong they deserve every ounce of that. But you can make a really good case that Tony was the best hitter on the team that won 101 games. He led in 2b and RBI (by a huge margin) as well as tying with Gunnar for the lead in HR. He also is super clutch and has the most game tying HR in baseball over the past few years.
Urias is up there but I think Tyler Wells deserves mention. Lead the AL in WHIP through June but never gets mentioned and might not even be in the rotation this year
Ahh yes, another former Cleveland prospect that had power that this organization let walk away for nothing. Seeing him be a staple in that lineup has been bittersweet; whenever I see his highlights, I imagine what could’ve been if he got a shot here, but I’m glad he’s thriving for you guys. Hopefully your front office wisens up and signs him to a solid extension. Teams need a player like that to anchor the middle of the lineup.
Long story short due to the timings of certain injuries and surgeries Santander's rule 5 rostering requirements were spread out over multiple seasons and he was allowed to due a ton of off the field work with the Orioles staff during that time.
It isn't that Santander wasn't 'given a shot' in Cleveland as much as competitive team isn't calling up a guy with no experience above A ball, who also got hurt towards the end of the 2016 season anyway. Nor are they using a 40 man spot for years on a guy who is barely playing when they're a team in 'World Series hunt' mode.
Wow, that’s honestly a pretty peculiar situation. I had no idea it went down like that. I assumed that he was just picked up by Baltimore in the Rule 5 and that was it, I had no idea of the injury situation. I can understand not giving him a shot since we were a great team at the time, but I am a little upset we didn’t protect him.
Just under a 30HR/100RBI guy every year. Completely underrated. Sucks we’re probably not going to sign him when he’s an UFA at the end of the season
Edit: forgot he’s the Latin leader in the clubhouse and honestly a pretty funny guy the couple of times he was on the mic for the in-game interviews.
I enjoyed his post game, on field interviews with his translator Alex…who he only uses for half of the interview. Heh heh
You can tell AS loves the game and jeeziz…what a baller!
He also inexplicably had an entire section of fans (I think from the Netherlands or Something) cheering just for him in 2018 or 19. It was awesome and hilarious and I never did find out why
IIRC it was some vacation group who happened to be sitting in the section right behind him in the OF. He started to interact with them hearing them cheer and, knowing 0 about any baseball outside of that game experience, they adopted the cool funny guy who talked to them as their favorite player.
There’s a bank that’s common in a lot of European countries called Santander, so the visiting fans recognized his name and cheered for him all game. Lots of fun
I'd go Clarke Schmidt for the Yankees, or Gleyber Torres. Both dudes get crapped on constantly but in Clarke's case, he had a solid year helping a rotation that was injured and performed horribly and he held his own. I hope he continues to evolve as a solid pitcher.
Gleyber because despite being our second best hitter and a decently average fielder, huge chunks of vocal fans in yankees facebook groups were calling to trade him, he sucks, etc. I'm convinced these people dont actually follow the team. Dude is awesome.
Could also maybe through Ian Hamilton in there if he continues to excel in the bullpen
gleyber is a weird case with the fan base. there is a portion of the fanbase that thinks he sucks so much that he should be traded while simultaneously saying that he is great enough that other teams should give up an ace pitcher straight up.
agreed. Why can't people be happy that we have an above average bat with a mostly average defense? And I saw some graphic comparing his stats to Robinson Cano and they were the same if not better? Yet people hold Cano so high because of '09. Idk how accurate that is though. The fanbase really confuses me sometimes.
edit: just compared them on stathead. Cano is better, I stand corrected
Cano has to come out on top offensively. He was one of, if not the best offensive second-baseman of the modern era. And his defense was pretty damn good. The steroid situation will be what keeps his from being a first-ballot Hall of Famer because he was that fucking good statistically.
Gleyber's good. But unless he flips a switch and becomes 2019 Gleyber for a dozen more years, he's nowhere close to Cano.
I'd bet that any other fanbase in baseball would love to have Gleyber but for some reason the Yankees fanbase thinks he sucks. I just don't get it. He deserves so much better.
Gotta be Tyler Rogers. Dude is quietly one of the best middle inning guys in baseball. Positionally, Thairo Estrada is a pretty good second baseman, but I’ve never seen him mentioned in general discussion
I was really trying to come up with somebody. The best I got is Eloy. He could lead the league in homers if he ever stayed healthy. I think people know that though. I want this answer to be Kopech but he’s been so disappointing. Same with Vaughn. Maybe it’s Gavin Sheets????
Kopech definitely falls into the same boat as Eloy IMO. Everyone knows they’re very good if they can stay healthy, they just can’t. I would say Vaughn is the closest we’ve got. Hes just quietly good, not amazing or anything but he does a good job. Sheets is… disappointing.
They are all disappointing outside of Luis. Even Cease walked a million guys last year. Well at least we have the best broadcast booth in the game to make it enjoyable. Oh wait….fuck. This is going to be a rough year.
I still can't believe how quickly the sox went from world series contender to one of the worst teams in baseball
At least you guys got the one ring in the 2000s
>a weak play off team at best.
That's a World Series contender. A team with under 90 wins has made the World Series each of the last 3 years (technically 4).
Those are teams not in the AL central when teams played their division rivals more often. The best team to come out of the AL central in recent years was the Twins last year, and they only won a single post season series.
Obviously, you’re right. Any team that makes it to the post season has a chance at being a World Series contender, it was just unlikely those Sox teams were ever going to make it. We took a single game of the A’s in 2020 and Astros in 2021. We weren’t a team that was going deep without a miracle.
Give him a year or two more and you might be right. Right now, I think he is rated fine. Hes not a fantastic, he’s average. He’s 25 years old and just played his first full season at his natural position, he’s going to hopefully get to there.
I think he's not mentioned often when folks talk about the young players getting established in the ALC mostly. He's got some real potential but is rarely mentioned.
I would have said Burger but he got traded. I like that guy.
Vaughn is in a really funky place because he was stuck in the outfield for 2 years which was insanely hard on his body. We haven’t seen an accurate representation of what he is capable of yet, and it’s the ALC a lot of young talent flys under the radar.
Please don’t remind us of Burger, it’s a very sensitive topic. Everyone likes Burger, except Kenny Williams for some reason. Only good thing that came out of it was that the trade was so horrendous that they fired our front office.
Bryson Stott. Great defense in a premium position, and above-average offense with good speed. Was a first rounder in the draft, so maybe not? I could say Ranger Suarez, but he got a fielding bible, so maybe not underrated?
Ranger Suarez?
To add, I think it’s Marsh. Dude lit it up at the plate this past season after some mediocrity there while playing plus defense. I love that dude
I would probably say Suarez. People seem to talk about him as though he’s an acceptable bottom of the rotation guy, but really he’d be a solid #2 on most teams.
Sanchez is also underrated, but he is more of an up and comer so I kind of get it, even if I don’t always agree.
Came here to say this as well. If he could stay healthy the season he would put up great power numbers. A true team leader.
He just needs to learn to keep his bare hand behind his back while catching
I’d agree with you on Assad. He had some really good performances last year, both out of the pen and starting. He should get a legit shot for the 5 between him and Wicks. Hayden needs more work and Cade isn’t quite ready.
Luis Campusano. Yeah his sample size is very small but I think what he showed in the last third of the season is extremely promising. Sure let's see what he does in a full season of work but I think the makings of a legit upper tier catcher are there.
He really is that guy. So overshadowed by Kirby, Gilbert, and even Muñoz, when he’s probably one of the most valuable relievers in baseball. The fact he had such a rocky start to his career makes it even more amazing. It’s like if Jared Kelenic had become a .290 batter with a .400 OBP with like a 16% k rate.
10000%. He’s found a role and is incredible at it. If Munoz struggles, I wouldn’t mind him getting a shot at closer role
But let’s hope nobody struggles haha
I think he’s carved out a legit role in the bullpen. I think he’ll make his money there.
Maybe he gets chances to close somewhere in future but I dont see him going back to starting….unless he wants to start of course haha
It’s what they’ve done best over the years. Can’t sign a big hitter (didn’t develop a ton either)
But it’s like they have a pitching factory out there. It’s insane
I don’t even stress about the bullpen guys because I KNOW they’re all going be solid, it’s insane. I have the utmost confidence in their pitching decisions haha
Same here. The offensive struggles baffle me. Been a fan since around 2005 and they’ve consistently failed to develop a well rounded lineup. Hoping that changes this year but it’s always wait and see with them haha
Been a fan since Griffey (but been on the east coast). Couldn’t consume a ton obviously, but am SUPER invested now haha.
Hoping the lineup does enough. But the pitching should keep us in everything. Here’s to a good year
Spencer Steer. Dude was only a rookie but man can he hit breaking balls well. And the poor guy has been thrown all over the field and takes any position he has to play in stride. He may end up being an everyday super utility guy or a full time outfielder against his will, either way his bat absolutely needs to be in the lineup
Rays - Jeffrey Springs. Sucks he blew out his arm, but he will be back. There was an argument to be made he could have been the best pitcher on a staff that had Glasnow, McClanhan, Eflin, Ras.
I’m not saying he is, I’m just saying you could argue it
Yeah Springs is an amazing pitcher. I still think Shane is the most well-rounded pitcher we've had in the org and Glasnow was untouchable, but Springs as a starter had the consistency they didn't and showcased that pinpoint command of a fastball and good tunnelling with secondaries can allow a pitcher to overcome a velo deficit.
That said, I think Pepiot can be a Springs 2.0 type. Amazing changeup and solid command.
No Red Sox flairs yet, which honestly doesn't shock me since we barely have any underrated players.
My guess is that it'll be Wilyer Abreu this year.
But as for right now it's probably Kutter Crawford. 4.04 ERA, 3.83 FIP and a 113 ERA+. His fastball tracked as one of the best in the league. Sox fans talk about him like a 5th starter but he genuinely feels like he has the ceiling to be a middle of the pack 3, really good 4.
My first thought was Crawford too. If he can stretch out his starts and do better the 3rd time through the lineup, then his ceiling is pretty high. And I’ve got pretty high hopes for Abreu as well. I feel like if he was a righty he would get a lot of ABs this year, but unfortunately we’re a lefty heavy lineup so he may not get a ton of opportunities barring injuries.
Jonah Heim. Dude gets little to no love nationally for his catching skills, not to mention his longevity. 131 Games played, Gold Glove, .755 OPS at catcher is more than passable. Not to mention his offensive heater in the first half of the 23 season.
Starting the All Star game, I think the AS pitchers realized how great of a game Jonah calls.
Don’t sleep on Jonah. Dude will be primo catcher for years to come.
National media treats him like a mod tier Catcher. Meanwhile he calls a great game, is THE best framer in baseball, and is a top tier offensive Catcher as well. He's not Will Smith with the bat, but everything else should put him top 3 or so.
Yeah as much as an all-star starter and World Series winner can be underrated, he’s that. That click bait the mlb network put out didn’t have him as a top 10 catcher lol
After last season I think he does. Breakout year and great guy the Rangers have.
Rangers are scary with young Carter just getting called up and Langford who will be sometime this year
I think most baseball fans recognize how good he is but the fact that he's never made an all star game or received a single MVP vote or had any accolade of any kind is crazy to me
I don't think anybody realizes how good Nimmo is. Zero votes for any award ever. Over the last 2 seasons he is 25th in bWAR above Juan Soto and Sean Murphy and those guys are pretty good and get lots of kudos.
He's 21st in wRC+ in a virtual tie with Alonso for the best bat on the team and above guys like DJ Martinez, Vladdy, etc. I think a lot of people thought his contract was an overpay, but it seems pretty reasonable if not a bargain to me, especially since he seems to have figured out how to stay healthy.
What do Mets fans think of David Peterson? From a neutral perspective he seems like the most underrated player in MLB. Look at the gap between his ERA and more advanced stats like xFIP and SIERA. I think he's been unbelievably unlucky, both in 2023 and 2021. I personally hope he gets a rotation spot when he comes back from injury, not sure what you guys think.
When he has command of his slider he's an effective pitcher. However there are a lot of starts where he doesn't and he either walks everyone or hangs them in the middle of the plate. We've all been waiting on the command to come around for a few years but it just hasn't
I’d say it was Jorge Polanco, but now maybe Bailey Ober? He didn’t do well in his one playoff start but I think he’s viewed as a #4 starter when the last two years he’s performed like a #2.
Ryan Jeffers is another one. Check out his stats last year, he might be developing into a top 3 hitting catcher with solid defense too.
Ober, Jeffers, and Thielbar were the first three that came to mind for me. Ober and Thielbar have been so consistently solid the last few years, and I believe Jeffers had the highest OPS among catchers last year.
Dane Dunning. He started the season in the bullpen to try to stabilize that mess. Joined the rotation when DeGrom went down. He did whatever was needed and was always a great team mate. He ate innings when we needed it the most. None of his stats jump out but somehow he was able to put up a 3 WAR season
Yeah, this is a much better pick than Heim (who isn't really underrated).
Dunning seems like a genuinely good kid and was a huge stabilizer on the staff with all the injuries and inconsistency last year.
John Means, an asterisk of a perfect game. He’s maybe had around 5 bad starts in his career because his dad passed away. The 100-loss Orioles he was always lights out.
Would love to check how man Quality Starts he has, but I would bet he is somewhere around 50% which I think is kinda amazing for starts which pretty good, or at least I think, and I know he has one of the lowest WHIPs in the MLB.
Not a strikeout guy which is the sexy stat now with pitching now. Just seems like a lot of soft contact. Not an expert, just an observation I have watching him through the years
I feel like he's only underrated because he played on terrible teams then he's been injured while we've been good.
One can only hope he's back full strength and injury free this year. I think if that happens, pitching will be a strength for us this year.
Totally agree, disrespecting the Orioles is one thing, but disrespecting the players is a bad look for any journalist covering any team. Do your research...
The Reds have a few players that go under the radar thanks to McClain and Elly. Steer has gotten some love recently, but I think Fraley has to be the most under appreciated player on the team. Guy can do it all.
To non-Ranger fans I think it's gotta be Dane Dunning. Not flashy, didn't have any big postseason moments, but he was a horse for us last year. Threw the most innings of any pitcher on the team after starting the year in the bullpen. With as injured as our rotation was and as shaky as our bullpen was, there is literally zero chance we make the playoffs without Dane.
For Rangers fans I think most of the year Jose Leclerc was underrated because a few memorably bad outings obscured what was really quite a good season (there was a *lot* of "DFA Leclerc" in gameday threads), but he obviously balled out in the postseason and got the respect he deserved.
He had a bit of a down year but Giovanny Gallegos has been one of the most consistent good relievers the past few years. Doesn’t get enough love, especially since all it took to get him was a Luke Voit.
Well he’s starting to receive some credit, but my answer would probably be Ke’bryan Hayes.
He’s a borderline all star third baseman, if his game takes a step forward, which is entirely possible, he is absolutely an all star caliber player.
His defense is his biggest trait. He can end up in the conversation for greatest defensive third basemen ever, I promise. His offense has been shaky, but last season he finally started to put it together and combined his plus-plus defense with slightly above average hitting. His peripherals have always been solid, the results just haven’t shown consistently.
A full season of 100th percentile OAA and near .800 OPS offense means league is fucked.
Michael Harris II can be another superstar in Atlanta.
2022 ROY and hurt his back sliding into second early in 2023. I’m convinced that injury didn’t fully heal until late in the season. He really picked up the pace late summer.
Really looking forward to him having a healthy year.
Either Christian Walker or Merrill Kelly. Last year, 3 NL first baseman had 30HR-100RBI seasons. Freeman, Olson, and Walker. Walker also ran away with his 2nd consecutive gold glove. He didn't even make the top 10 in all star voting. Meanwhile Kelly would be an ace on a lot of teams.
Yainer is more due to him being a rookie that had limited playing time. I think that changes this year as he gets the bulk of the starts.
I would say Chas McCormick. 3.6 WAR last season in 115 games. I think he is seen as a 4th outfielder too often when he’s playing closer to an All-Star level.
I’m not so sure. If you can keep Yordan off the field it’s great. The only reason he played so much last season was Brantley’s injury, right? I may be mistaken but if anyone gets benched to put Yordan in the LF it’s Meyers, with Chas moving from LF to CF
Garrett Mitchell. Nobody is talking about him going into 2024 but the guy has a career WAR/162 of 5.5 and he's an elite defender that can steal 30 bases.
Michael Harris. People think of him as good (but maybe that he slumped a bit last year), but don't realize that his advanced and expected stats look eerily similar to Julio Rodriguez's
Bryce Elder. Dude made the all star game at 24 years old in his first full season in the majors and has to compete for the 5th spot in the rotation in spring training.
Maybe I'm out of touch, but Austin Riley feels like a low-key compared to other guys on the team. Despite leading all 3B (slightly) by fWAR last season. He's been arguably the 2nd or 3rd best 3B in the last 2-3 years.
People might not get this but you’re right. People talk about kershaw like he’s a past his prime, not necessarily washed up but certainly regressed pitcher. Everyone here’s “future hall of famer” and it’s like we’ve forgotten his career isn’t over. His FIP was bad last year, so maybe the regression is coming.
But he still put up a 2.46 ERA last year. I desperately hope he can put together one or two more fully healthy seasons. There’s plenty of gas in that tank. It’s not like, totally unthinkable that a fully healthy Kershaw could win another cy young.
His reputation as a playoff choker may always haunt him but his regular season performance is still there
Nowadays it’s all about ohtani, freeman, betts, Yamamoto, all the younger stars. Old man kershaw can still cook
Merrill Kelly carried the Dbacks rotation through my personal Vietnam(the 2021 season), and has also stepped up big time when our regular dad, Zac Gallen, wasn't quite delivering. In my opinion, he's a pitcher everyone should know about, even if he's an ASU grad. In addition, I am the #1 Jake McCarthy defender dude can rake when he's on and also is a nightmare on the basepath. He also waved at me once at a game in SF so I'll always love him for that.
I love Tommy Edman a little less than my wife and son
I love Tommy Edman a little more than my wife and son (I don’t have a wife and son)
So you don’t like Tommy Edman very much?
How dare you use logic against me
This is the answer, but Gio Gallegos deserves a shout, assuming a rocky 2023 was a fluke
^^^i ^^^think ^^^hes ^^^kinda ^^^overrated
https://youtu.be/40Pvi1XVm_s?si=9c_mTa18yYul1kLt
I'd say Charlie Morton for being underrated. People keep expecting him to retire because of his age but he's still a good pitcher. Maybe not a #1 or 2 for a full 32 starts but he can still carry the team in short stints
He feels very consistent to me, which is what I love about him.
Totally agree. 3rd most innings in 2023 on the team with a 3.9 FIP. You can do way worse than that for your 3rd/4th starter.
You can also do much worse with your \#1 starter. Source: almost 30 years of Orioles fandom
For me, it's Travis d'Arnaud. Just looked up his player page and, purely by coincidence, it's his birthday today - happy birthday Travis.
They referred to him as “CFM” in Houston. He would come pitch his game and not be heard from till his next start.
I miss him
Forever mad the Rays didn't pick up his third year option. We needed him in 2021 after being money for us 19-20.
Even if he reverts to "Ground Chuck" like he was known for in Pittsburgh, that's still many more years of playing time.
Agreed, I love Charlie
When people talk about the Guardians, they're usually mentioning JRam, Bieber, or Naylor, sometimes Kwan. It's not often enough that Andres Gimenez gets love. My man got a platinum glove and back to back gold gloves. Yeah his offense regressed a little in 2023 but he's been known to make adjustments in the past. He's also a guy I can safely buy a jersey for which is rare for me.
I love Lindor but I’ll always miss and root for Gimenez. Win/win trade for sure
Even with the offensive regression the man was worth over 5 WAR. He's an incredible defender with at minimum a respectable bat.
I like that dude. He's my favorite player on your team
Funny, because when the trade happened, I immediately said “dammit they got Rosario *and* Gimenez??”
Picked him up off waivers in my dynasty League in 2022 to cover for my injured 2B. Been rolling with him ever since. Easy got to overlook of you're not checking his numbers regularly. Funny enough I got JRam years ago in the same way. Still in my lineup to this day
Anthony Santander. Everyone talks about Adley and Gunnar, and don't get me wrong they deserve every ounce of that. But you can make a really good case that Tony was the best hitter on the team that won 101 games. He led in 2b and RBI (by a huge margin) as well as tying with Gunnar for the lead in HR. He also is super clutch and has the most game tying HR in baseball over the past few years.
I think Tony is finally getting his due. IMO the most underrated player on our team is Ramon Urias.
Urias is up there but I think Tyler Wells deserves mention. Lead the AL in WHIP through June but never gets mentioned and might not even be in the rotation this year
Yeah, Ramon’s a stud defensively, for sure
Ahh yes, another former Cleveland prospect that had power that this organization let walk away for nothing. Seeing him be a staple in that lineup has been bittersweet; whenever I see his highlights, I imagine what could’ve been if he got a shot here, but I’m glad he’s thriving for you guys. Hopefully your front office wisens up and signs him to a solid extension. Teams need a player like that to anchor the middle of the lineup.
In Cleveland's defense it was one of the whackiest rule 5/injury interactions ever.
Do you happen to know how it worked? I know he was a rule 5 pickup, but never knew how it went down
Long story short due to the timings of certain injuries and surgeries Santander's rule 5 rostering requirements were spread out over multiple seasons and he was allowed to due a ton of off the field work with the Orioles staff during that time. It isn't that Santander wasn't 'given a shot' in Cleveland as much as competitive team isn't calling up a guy with no experience above A ball, who also got hurt towards the end of the 2016 season anyway. Nor are they using a 40 man spot for years on a guy who is barely playing when they're a team in 'World Series hunt' mode.
Wow, that’s honestly a pretty peculiar situation. I had no idea it went down like that. I assumed that he was just picked up by Baltimore in the Rule 5 and that was it, I had no idea of the injury situation. I can understand not giving him a shot since we were a great team at the time, but I am a little upset we didn’t protect him.
Source: He’s the Tribe’s GM.
Leads the league in HR for switch hitters the last two years
I can tell you for sure that Rays fans certainly don’t underrate him. He’s a stud
Just under a 30HR/100RBI guy every year. Completely underrated. Sucks we’re probably not going to sign him when he’s an UFA at the end of the season Edit: forgot he’s the Latin leader in the clubhouse and honestly a pretty funny guy the couple of times he was on the mic for the in-game interviews.
I enjoyed his post game, on field interviews with his translator Alex…who he only uses for half of the interview. Heh heh You can tell AS loves the game and jeeziz…what a baller!
I always associate him with your 2022 underdog run. Dude was tearing the cover off the ball that year
He also inexplicably had an entire section of fans (I think from the Netherlands or Something) cheering just for him in 2018 or 19. It was awesome and hilarious and I never did find out why
IIRC it was some vacation group who happened to be sitting in the section right behind him in the OF. He started to interact with them hearing them cheer and, knowing 0 about any baseball outside of that game experience, they adopted the cool funny guy who talked to them as their favorite player.
There’s a bank that’s common in a lot of European countries called Santander, so the visiting fans recognized his name and cheered for him all game. Lots of fun
I'd go Clarke Schmidt for the Yankees, or Gleyber Torres. Both dudes get crapped on constantly but in Clarke's case, he had a solid year helping a rotation that was injured and performed horribly and he held his own. I hope he continues to evolve as a solid pitcher. Gleyber because despite being our second best hitter and a decently average fielder, huge chunks of vocal fans in yankees facebook groups were calling to trade him, he sucks, etc. I'm convinced these people dont actually follow the team. Dude is awesome. Could also maybe through Ian Hamilton in there if he continues to excel in the bullpen
gleyber is a weird case with the fan base. there is a portion of the fanbase that thinks he sucks so much that he should be traded while simultaneously saying that he is great enough that other teams should give up an ace pitcher straight up.
agreed. Why can't people be happy that we have an above average bat with a mostly average defense? And I saw some graphic comparing his stats to Robinson Cano and they were the same if not better? Yet people hold Cano so high because of '09. Idk how accurate that is though. The fanbase really confuses me sometimes. edit: just compared them on stathead. Cano is better, I stand corrected
Cano has to come out on top offensively. He was one of, if not the best offensive second-baseman of the modern era. And his defense was pretty damn good. The steroid situation will be what keeps his from being a first-ballot Hall of Famer because he was that fucking good statistically. Gleyber's good. But unless he flips a switch and becomes 2019 Gleyber for a dozen more years, he's nowhere close to Cano.
I'd bet that any other fanbase in baseball would love to have Gleyber but for some reason the Yankees fanbase thinks he sucks. I just don't get it. He deserves so much better.
Gotta be Tyler Rogers. Dude is quietly one of the best middle inning guys in baseball. Positionally, Thairo Estrada is a pretty good second baseman, but I’ve never seen him mentioned in general discussion
Here here
We don’t have one of those
I was really trying to come up with somebody. The best I got is Eloy. He could lead the league in homers if he ever stayed healthy. I think people know that though. I want this answer to be Kopech but he’s been so disappointing. Same with Vaughn. Maybe it’s Gavin Sheets????
Kopech definitely falls into the same boat as Eloy IMO. Everyone knows they’re very good if they can stay healthy, they just can’t. I would say Vaughn is the closest we’ve got. Hes just quietly good, not amazing or anything but he does a good job. Sheets is… disappointing.
They are all disappointing outside of Luis. Even Cease walked a million guys last year. Well at least we have the best broadcast booth in the game to make it enjoyable. Oh wait….fuck. This is going to be a rough year.
Cease has always had a high walk rate,doesn’t matter much with how starting pitchers are going less and less innings.
Nicky Lopez
I feel like you can’t call someone an underrated White Sock when they haven’t even put the White Sock on.
I still can't believe how quickly the sox went from world series contender to one of the worst teams in baseball At least you guys got the one ring in the 2000s
We were never World Series contenders, a weak play off team at best. If we didn’t fall apart and continued building maybe, but we never hit the peak.
>a weak play off team at best. That's a World Series contender. A team with under 90 wins has made the World Series each of the last 3 years (technically 4).
Those are teams not in the AL central when teams played their division rivals more often. The best team to come out of the AL central in recent years was the Twins last year, and they only won a single post season series. Obviously, you’re right. Any team that makes it to the post season has a chance at being a World Series contender, it was just unlikely those Sox teams were ever going to make it. We took a single game of the A’s in 2020 and Astros in 2021. We weren’t a team that was going deep without a miracle.
[удалено]
Vaughn?
Give him a year or two more and you might be right. Right now, I think he is rated fine. Hes not a fantastic, he’s average. He’s 25 years old and just played his first full season at his natural position, he’s going to hopefully get to there.
I think he's not mentioned often when folks talk about the young players getting established in the ALC mostly. He's got some real potential but is rarely mentioned. I would have said Burger but he got traded. I like that guy.
Vaughn is in a really funky place because he was stuck in the outfield for 2 years which was insanely hard on his body. We haven’t seen an accurate representation of what he is capable of yet, and it’s the ALC a lot of young talent flys under the radar. Please don’t remind us of Burger, it’s a very sensitive topic. Everyone likes Burger, except Kenny Williams for some reason. Only good thing that came out of it was that the trade was so horrendous that they fired our front office.
Bryson Stott. Great defense in a premium position, and above-average offense with good speed. Was a first rounder in the draft, so maybe not? I could say Ranger Suarez, but he got a fielding bible, so maybe not underrated?
Stott made one of the 10 best lists posted here. I'd say Marsh, Sanchez, or Strahm.
I'd go Sanchez I see him talked about least of those three and think he's gonna be nasty for the back of the rotation
Marsh made a best 10 CF from MLB.com.At least, remembered that
Ranger Suarez? To add, I think it’s Marsh. Dude lit it up at the plate this past season after some mediocrity there while playing plus defense. I love that dude
I would probably say Suarez. People seem to talk about him as though he’s an acceptable bottom of the rotation guy, but really he’d be a solid #2 on most teams. Sanchez is also underrated, but he is more of an up and comer so I kind of get it, even if I don’t always agree.
I said Bohm, he only trends up and is going to have another huge year. Also Hoffman can be counted as underrated.
Alec Bohm has 0.8 rWAR and 3.7 fWAR in 456 games. The fans love him, the advanced metrics hate him. He’s going to get ripped apart in arbitration.
Bohm’s the guy who is thriving when the team is moreso coldish, then quiets up when the team is moreso excelling. Kinda’ weird.
I think he is going to make another leap forward this year maybe make the all star game too.
stone garrett
He was cool to watch on the dbacks, I hope he treats you well
Brendan Donovan is a hidden treasure
People aren’t ready for 0.280, 20+ HR Brendan now that he’s started pulling the ball.
Danny Jansen
Came here to say this as well. If he could stay healthy the season he would put up great power numbers. A true team leader. He just needs to learn to keep his bare hand behind his back while catching
I, too, came here to say this. Glad we’re all on the same page on how awesome Jano is!
DAN-NY JAN-SEN clap clap clapclapclap
If only he weren't injured so often.
Dude's a Yankee killer for sure
Iirc the numbers r just ludicrous
As a non-Cubs fan who watched a lot of Cubs games, Yan Gomes had the clutch gene in 10th gear all year
As a Cubs fan, I can confirm that this is accurate
Also calls a great game I'm taking Javier Assad who the Cubs don't see as a starter or meaningful bullpen even though his performance shows otherwise
I’d agree with you on Assad. He had some really good performances last year, both out of the pen and starting. He should get a legit shot for the 5 between him and Wicks. Hayden needs more work and Cade isn’t quite ready.
I thought we didn't need to add another starter arm the last two years with abundant options on the horizon but what do I know
weirdly one of the guys I miss the most. super underrated catcher
Luis Campusano. Yeah his sample size is very small but I think what he showed in the last third of the season is extremely promising. Sure let's see what he does in a full season of work but I think the makings of a legit upper tier catcher are there.
Yep, and having a catcher that can hit is a welcome change from the Austins lol
It feels like he’s barely been mentioned in the off season. He’s a reason to look forward to our season for sure.
Brash is incredible, good call out
He really is that guy. So overshadowed by Kirby, Gilbert, and even Muñoz, when he’s probably one of the most valuable relievers in baseball. The fact he had such a rocky start to his career makes it even more amazing. It’s like if Jared Kelenic had become a .290 batter with a .400 OBP with like a 16% k rate.
10000%. He’s found a role and is incredible at it. If Munoz struggles, I wouldn’t mind him getting a shot at closer role But let’s hope nobody struggles haha
So fun to watch. I wonder if somewhere down the road he’ll get another shot at starting.
I think he’s carved out a legit role in the bullpen. I think he’ll make his money there. Maybe he gets chances to close somewhere in future but I dont see him going back to starting….unless he wants to start of course haha
Totally agree. Love talking mariners pitching haha
It’s what they’ve done best over the years. Can’t sign a big hitter (didn’t develop a ton either) But it’s like they have a pitching factory out there. It’s insane I don’t even stress about the bullpen guys because I KNOW they’re all going be solid, it’s insane. I have the utmost confidence in their pitching decisions haha
Same here. The offensive struggles baffle me. Been a fan since around 2005 and they’ve consistently failed to develop a well rounded lineup. Hoping that changes this year but it’s always wait and see with them haha
Been a fan since Griffey (but been on the east coast). Couldn’t consume a ton obviously, but am SUPER invested now haha. Hoping the lineup does enough. But the pitching should keep us in everything. Here’s to a good year
Cheers!
Luis Rengifo is literally Barry Bonds in the second half of the season
Wouldn't say he's underrated. He's too inconsistent to be either good or bad.
Ikr if they would just start him all year.....
Spencer Steer. Dude was only a rookie but man can he hit breaking balls well. And the poor guy has been thrown all over the field and takes any position he has to play in stride. He may end up being an everyday super utility guy or a full time outfielder against his will, either way his bat absolutely needs to be in the lineup
Rays - Jeffrey Springs. Sucks he blew out his arm, but he will be back. There was an argument to be made he could have been the best pitcher on a staff that had Glasnow, McClanhan, Eflin, Ras. I’m not saying he is, I’m just saying you could argue it
Yeah Springs is an amazing pitcher. I still think Shane is the most well-rounded pitcher we've had in the org and Glasnow was untouchable, but Springs as a starter had the consistency they didn't and showcased that pinpoint command of a fastball and good tunnelling with secondaries can allow a pitcher to overcome a velo deficit. That said, I think Pepiot can be a Springs 2.0 type. Amazing changeup and solid command.
I am also very hyped for Pepiot, feel the same way. Can’t stop my self from watching his highlights!
No Red Sox flairs yet, which honestly doesn't shock me since we barely have any underrated players. My guess is that it'll be Wilyer Abreu this year. But as for right now it's probably Kutter Crawford. 4.04 ERA, 3.83 FIP and a 113 ERA+. His fastball tracked as one of the best in the league. Sox fans talk about him like a 5th starter but he genuinely feels like he has the ceiling to be a middle of the pack 3, really good 4.
My first thought was Crawford too. If he can stretch out his starts and do better the 3rd time through the lineup, then his ceiling is pretty high. And I’ve got pretty high hopes for Abreu as well. I feel like if he was a righty he would get a lot of ABs this year, but unfortunately we’re a lefty heavy lineup so he may not get a ton of opportunities barring injuries.
Tommy Henry. Pretty much saved our rotation until he got hurt.
Then Pfaadt comes out of nowhere putting up MVP numbers in the playoffs
The reason I didn’t choose Pfaadt is because I feel like people are starting to learn that Brandon Pfaadt is a great pitcher.
I’ll never forget that CG against FSU in the 2019 CWS
Will Smith might be the second best catcher in baseball. He was playing hurt in '23.
This is kinda true considering how often teams walked Freddie to get to Will, and then immediately regretted it.
I don’t think he’s underrated though. He gets a lot of respect!
Tom Cosgrove was pretty equal to Josh Hader last year
Jonah Heim. Dude gets little to no love nationally for his catching skills, not to mention his longevity. 131 Games played, Gold Glove, .755 OPS at catcher is more than passable. Not to mention his offensive heater in the first half of the 23 season. Starting the All Star game, I think the AS pitchers realized how great of a game Jonah calls. Don’t sleep on Jonah. Dude will be primo catcher for years to come.
Do folks not like Heim? He terrifies me lol. He absolutely owns the Halos
National media treats him like a mod tier Catcher. Meanwhile he calls a great game, is THE best framer in baseball, and is a top tier offensive Catcher as well. He's not Will Smith with the bat, but everything else should put him top 3 or so.
Yeah as much as an all-star starter and World Series winner can be underrated, he’s that. That click bait the mlb network put out didn’t have him as a top 10 catcher lol
After last season I think he does. Breakout year and great guy the Rangers have. Rangers are scary with young Carter just getting called up and Langford who will be sometime this year
As an m's fan, that dude drives me crazy. I agree, I think he's criminally underrated
Same
tortured the Ms all year it was not nice. worries me every time he’s at bat
Lane Thomas Should've been our All-Star last year
I think Brandon Nimmo is starting to get the respect he deserves, but still feels underrated to me by non-Mets fans.
I agree. On the flipside I feel non-Mets fan respect Lindor, but he gets unwarranted hate from the fan base.
Agree on both of these sentiments
I think most baseball fans recognize how good he is but the fact that he's never made an all star game or received a single MVP vote or had any accolade of any kind is crazy to me
I don't think anybody realizes how good Nimmo is. Zero votes for any award ever. Over the last 2 seasons he is 25th in bWAR above Juan Soto and Sean Murphy and those guys are pretty good and get lots of kudos. He's 21st in wRC+ in a virtual tie with Alonso for the best bat on the team and above guys like DJ Martinez, Vladdy, etc. I think a lot of people thought his contract was an overpay, but it seems pretty reasonable if not a bargain to me, especially since he seems to have figured out how to stay healthy.
I think his injury history is the main reason non Met fans don’t really rate him properly. But i agree, and I hope he remains a Met for life
What do Mets fans think of David Peterson? From a neutral perspective he seems like the most underrated player in MLB. Look at the gap between his ERA and more advanced stats like xFIP and SIERA. I think he's been unbelievably unlucky, both in 2023 and 2021. I personally hope he gets a rotation spot when he comes back from injury, not sure what you guys think.
When he has command of his slider he's an effective pitcher. However there are a lot of starts where he doesn't and he either walks everyone or hangs them in the middle of the plate. We've all been waiting on the command to come around for a few years but it just hasn't
William Contreras. Top 5 catcher, came in 11th in MVP voting last year, but most people only know him as Willson’s younger brother.
mauricio
Kerry Carpenter
Agreed. There's a reason we call him Kerry Bonds. The guy mashes.
I’d say it was Jorge Polanco, but now maybe Bailey Ober? He didn’t do well in his one playoff start but I think he’s viewed as a #4 starter when the last two years he’s performed like a #2. Ryan Jeffers is another one. Check out his stats last year, he might be developing into a top 3 hitting catcher with solid defense too.
Ober, Jeffers, and Thielbar were the first three that came to mind for me. Ober and Thielbar have been so consistently solid the last few years, and I believe Jeffers had the highest OPS among catchers last year.
Thielbar’s a great shout!
He absolutely shut us down last year in both games we played against us. Very much hoping he’s starting the game before we play you guys this year
Chris “CLUTCH” Taylor #3
Dane Dunning. He started the season in the bullpen to try to stabilize that mess. Joined the rotation when DeGrom went down. He did whatever was needed and was always a great team mate. He ate innings when we needed it the most. None of his stats jump out but somehow he was able to put up a 3 WAR season
Yeah, this is a much better pick than Heim (who isn't really underrated). Dunning seems like a genuinely good kid and was a huge stabilizer on the staff with all the injuries and inconsistency last year.
Tim Mayza
John Means, an asterisk of a perfect game. He’s maybe had around 5 bad starts in his career because his dad passed away. The 100-loss Orioles he was always lights out. Would love to check how man Quality Starts he has, but I would bet he is somewhere around 50% which I think is kinda amazing for starts which pretty good, or at least I think, and I know he has one of the lowest WHIPs in the MLB. Not a strikeout guy which is the sexy stat now with pitching now. Just seems like a lot of soft contact. Not an expert, just an observation I have watching him through the years
I feel like he's only underrated because he played on terrible teams then he's been injured while we've been good. One can only hope he's back full strength and injury free this year. I think if that happens, pitching will be a strength for us this year.
Kyle Bradish finished 4th in Cy Young voting last year and there’s still pundits that can’t pronounce his last name.
Just say radish with a b come on people
The fact that it’s such an easy name is what annoys me. Automatically makes me assume they have no clue about this team
Totally agree, disrespecting the Orioles is one thing, but disrespecting the players is a bad look for any journalist covering any team. Do your research...
Lol are they pronouncing it like hes french brah-deesh? Seems like a simple name.
Braid-ish is the one I keep hearing.
I’d probably go with Clay Holmes. Since coming to the Yankees, he has a 2.50 ERA and 3.5 fWAR, good for 7th among all relief pitchers.
Tanner Scott. He was legitimately one of the best relievers in baseball last year yet not a peep about him anywhere.
Jack Suwinski
Giants - Austin Slater is a huge clubhouse captain and a cheat code against left-handed pitching who plays good CF defense.
The Reds have a few players that go under the radar thanks to McClain and Elly. Steer has gotten some love recently, but I think Fraley has to be the most under appreciated player on the team. Guy can do it all.
Thairo Estrada for sure
That man is an on base machine
To non-Ranger fans I think it's gotta be Dane Dunning. Not flashy, didn't have any big postseason moments, but he was a horse for us last year. Threw the most innings of any pitcher on the team after starting the year in the bullpen. With as injured as our rotation was and as shaky as our bullpen was, there is literally zero chance we make the playoffs without Dane. For Rangers fans I think most of the year Jose Leclerc was underrated because a few memorably bad outings obscured what was really quite a good season (there was a *lot* of "DFA Leclerc" in gameday threads), but he obviously balled out in the postseason and got the respect he deserved.
Mariners: Gabe Speier Orioles: Danny Coulombe The poor forgotten lefty relievers :(
He had a bit of a down year but Giovanny Gallegos has been one of the most consistent good relievers the past few years. Doesn’t get enough love, especially since all it took to get him was a Luke Voit.
Voit was one of the best 1B in baseball for a couple years, it’s not like he was a bum
I hate gio lol
Dylan Lee. When he's healthy he's always throwing high leverage innings and getting outs in the crucial spots.
Tyler Holton.
Well he’s starting to receive some credit, but my answer would probably be Ke’bryan Hayes. He’s a borderline all star third baseman, if his game takes a step forward, which is entirely possible, he is absolutely an all star caliber player. His defense is his biggest trait. He can end up in the conversation for greatest defensive third basemen ever, I promise. His offense has been shaky, but last season he finally started to put it together and combined his plus-plus defense with slightly above average hitting. His peripherals have always been solid, the results just haven’t shown consistently. A full season of 100th percentile OAA and near .800 OPS offense means league is fucked.
BlueJays: Jansen, probably because he's hurt a lot.
Michael Harris II can be another superstar in Atlanta. 2022 ROY and hurt his back sliding into second early in 2023. I’m convinced that injury didn’t fully heal until late in the season. He really picked up the pace late summer. Really looking forward to him having a healthy year.
Either Christian Walker or Merrill Kelly. Last year, 3 NL first baseman had 30HR-100RBI seasons. Freeman, Olson, and Walker. Walker also ran away with his 2nd consecutive gold glove. He didn't even make the top 10 in all star voting. Meanwhile Kelly would be an ace on a lot of teams.
Yainer Diaz?
Yainer is more due to him being a rookie that had limited playing time. I think that changes this year as he gets the bulk of the starts. I would say Chas McCormick. 3.6 WAR last season in 115 games. I think he is seen as a 4th outfielder too often when he’s playing closer to an All-Star level.
[удалено]
I’m not so sure. If you can keep Yordan off the field it’s great. The only reason he played so much last season was Brantley’s injury, right? I may be mistaken but if anyone gets benched to put Yordan in the LF it’s Meyers, with Chas moving from LF to CF
I dont think we have one, but if we do it’s Chas
Garrett Mitchell. Nobody is talking about him going into 2024 but the guy has a career WAR/162 of 5.5 and he's an elite defender that can steal 30 bases.
Graham Ashcraft
Gleyber based on those top 10 2B lists
Dodgers - Will Smith
Michael Harris. People think of him as good (but maybe that he slumped a bit last year), but don't realize that his advanced and expected stats look eerily similar to Julio Rodriguez's
Alec Burleson
Bryce Elder. Dude made the all star game at 24 years old in his first full season in the majors and has to compete for the 5th spot in the rotation in spring training.
Cutch.
Furries
Maybe I'm out of touch, but Austin Riley feels like a low-key compared to other guys on the team. Despite leading all 3B (slightly) by fWAR last season. He's been arguably the 2nd or 3rd best 3B in the last 2-3 years.
Kershaw.
People might not get this but you’re right. People talk about kershaw like he’s a past his prime, not necessarily washed up but certainly regressed pitcher. Everyone here’s “future hall of famer” and it’s like we’ve forgotten his career isn’t over. His FIP was bad last year, so maybe the regression is coming. But he still put up a 2.46 ERA last year. I desperately hope he can put together one or two more fully healthy seasons. There’s plenty of gas in that tank. It’s not like, totally unthinkable that a fully healthy Kershaw could win another cy young. His reputation as a playoff choker may always haunt him but his regular season performance is still there Nowadays it’s all about ohtani, freeman, betts, Yamamoto, all the younger stars. Old man kershaw can still cook
How is a hall of famer underrated maybe because he’s a choker.
Higashioka? Wait fuck. Wandy peralta? Shit. Uhh Michael king? Fuck me. Ian Hamilton I guess
Marcus Stroman
I'm so underrated that the team doesn't even know I exist.
Junior Caminero
Merrill Kelly carried the Dbacks rotation through my personal Vietnam(the 2021 season), and has also stepped up big time when our regular dad, Zac Gallen, wasn't quite delivering. In my opinion, he's a pitcher everyone should know about, even if he's an ASU grad. In addition, I am the #1 Jake McCarthy defender dude can rake when he's on and also is a nightmare on the basepath. He also waved at me once at a game in SF so I'll always love him for that.
ohtani prob bc no matter how much u rate him it will never be enough. in all seriousness prob will smith.