Example of the Drain that Power Only Players Have on a Team

A while ago, I ranked 2B according to their possible 2012 return using the Bill James Projections. There was some discussion in the comments on how detrimental it is to have a low AVG and SB number with a power hitter. I have decided to rank some 2B ‘roto style’ to help show how players that only have value in RBIs, Runs and HRs can be a drag on a team.

In the discussion, it was stated that HRs from 2B are nice and players like Dan Uggla are extremely valuable. Other people pointed out that a horrible AVG and effectively 0 SB make him a liability. While most teams can be balanced through multiple players, having one player not pulling his weight in a couple of categories can be a huge drag.

I picked 20 top ranked 2B going into the 2012 season to examine. I took each player’s stats rated for 600 PAs. I am not a huge fan of the Bill James projections, but they will work just fine for the example being shown. I ranked each player from 1 to 20 in each of the 5 roto categories with the 1st place person getting 20 points and so on down with the 20th rated player getting 1 point. The totals were added up and here are the results using just HRs, RBIs, and Runs.

Rank	Name	Runs	RBI	HR	Runs	RBI	HR	Total
1	Dan Uggla	85	82	29	14	17	20	51
2.5	Chase Utley	89	83	22	16.5	18.5	15	50
2.5	Robinson Cano	86	90	22	15	20	15	50
4	Ian Kinsler	100	72	23	20	12	17.5	49.5
5	Ryan Raburn	81	83	23	11	18.5	17.5	47
6	Jason Kipnis	95	74	19	19	14.5	12.5	46
7	Danny Espinosa	80	71	24	9	10	19	38
8	Rickie Weeks	94	61	22	18	4.5	15	37.5
9	Ben Zobrist	82	74	17	12.5	14.5	9.5	36.5
10.5	Dustin Pedroia	89	68	16	16.5	8	7.5	32
10.5	Brandon Phillips	82	71	17	12.5	10	9.5	32
12	Howie Kendrick	80	74	14	9	13	5.5	27.5
13	Kelly Johnson	79	63	19	7	6	12.5	25.5
14	Neil Walker	71	81	14	2.5	16	5.5	24
15	Ryan Roberts	78	65	18	5.5	7	11	23.5
16	Aaron Hill	72	71	16	4	10	7.5	21.5
17	Brian Roberts	80	53	9	9	3	2.5	14.5
18	Martin Prado	78	61	12	5.5	4.5	4	14
19	Dustin Ackley	71	52	9	2.5	1.5	2.5	6.5
20	Jemile Weeks	70	52	4	1	1.5	1	3.5

The two players that really stick out place are Uggla at #1 and Pedroia at #10. They both seem like they have been swapped in the rankings. Uggla’s power number push him to the top of the rankings by being nearly 1st in all 3 categories.

Now here is the rankings with AVG added in:

Rank	Name	Runs	RBI	HR	AVG	Runs	RBI	HR	AVG	Total	Rank Change
1	Robinson Cano	86	90	22	0.302	15	20	15	20	70	2
2	Chase Utley	89	83	22	0.280	16.5	18.5	15	16	66	0
3	Ian Kinsler	100	72	23	0.271	20	12	17.5	10	59.5	1
4	Jason Kipnis	95	74	19	0.272	19	14.5	12.5	11	57	2
5	Ryan Raburn	81	83	23	0.264	11	18.5	17.5	9	56	0
6	Dan Uggla	85	82	29	0.251	14	17	20	2.5	53.5	-5
7	Dustin Pedroia	89	68	16	0.299	16.5	8	7.5	19	51	3
8	Brandon Phillips	82	71	17	0.279	12.5	10	9.5	14.5	46.5	3
9	Rickie Weeks	94	61	22	0.262	18	4.5	15	7.5	45	-1
10	Howie Kendrick	80	74	14	0.287	9	13	5.5	17	44.5	2
11	Ben Zobrist	82	74	17	0.262	12.5	14.5	9.5	7.5	44	-2
12	Danny Espinosa	80	71	24	0.248	9	10	19	1	39	-5
13	Neil Walker	71	81	14	0.273	2.5	16	5.5	12	36	1
14	Martin Prado	78	61	12	0.289	5.5	4.5	4	18	32	4
15.5	Ryan Roberts	78	65	18	0.255	5.5	7	11	4.5	28	0
15.5	Kelly Johnson	79	63	19	0.251	7	6	12.5	2.5	28	-3
17.5	Brian Roberts	80	53	9	0.274	9	3	2.5	13	27.5	0
17.5	Aaron Hill	72	71	16	0.256	4	10	7.5	6	27.5	-2
19	Jemile Weeks	70	52	4	0.279	1	1.5	1	14.5	18	1
20	Dustin Ackley	71	52	9	0.255	2.5	1.5	2.5	4.5	11	-1

The two players that dropped the most was Danny Espinosa and Dan Uggla by 5 spots. Dustin Pedroia and Brandon Phillips are now just behind Uggla in the rankings.

Finally, here are the rankings with SB added:

Rank	Name	Runs	RBI	HR	AVG	SB	Runs	RBI	HR	AVG	SB	Total	Rank Change
1	Chase Utley	89	83	22	0.280	15	16.5	18.5	15	16	12	78	1
2	Ian Kinsler	100	72	23	0.271	23	20	12	17.5	10	18	77.5	2
3	Jason Kipnis	95	74	19	0.272	19	19	14.5	12.5	11	17	74	3
4	Robinson Cano	86	90	22	0.302	4	15	20	15	20	2.5	72.5	-1
5	Dustin Pedroia	89	68	16	0.299	16	16.5	8	7.5	19	13	64	5
6	Ryan Raburn	81	83	23	0.264	5	11	18.5	17.5	9	4	60	-1
7	Ben Zobrist	82	74	17	0.262	17	12.5	14.5	9.5	7.5	14	58	2
8	Brandon Phillips	82	71	17	0.279	14	12.5	10	9.5	14.5	11	57.5	3
9.5	Danny Espinosa	80	71	24	0.248	18	9	10	19	1	15.5	54.5	-2
9.5	Dan Uggla	85	82	29	0.251	2	14	17	20	2.5	1	54.5	-9
11	Howie Kendrick	80	74	14	0.287	13	9	13	5.5	17	9	53.5	1
12	Rickie Weeks	94	61	22	0.262	12	18	4.5	15	7.5	6.5	51.5	-4
13	Brian Roberts	80	53	9	0.274	24	9	3	2.5	13	19	46.5	4
14	Ryan Roberts	78	65	18	0.255	18	5.5	7	11	4.5	15.5	43.5	1
15	Neil Walker	71	81	14	0.273	8	2.5	16	5.5	12	5	41	-1
16	Jemile Weeks	70	52	4	0.279	29	1	1.5	1	14.5	20	38	4
17	Kelly Johnson	79	63	19	0.251	13	7	6	12.5	2.5	9	37	-4
18	Aaron Hill	72	71	16	0.256	13	4	10	7.5	6	9	36.5	-2
19	Martin Prado	78	61	12	0.289	4	5.5	4.5	4	18	2.5	34.5	-1
20	Dustin Ackley	71	52	9	0.255	12	2.5	1.5	2.5	4.5	6.5	17.5	-1

Uggla moves down another 4 spots, while Espinosa halts his downward trend. Uggla goes from the top 2B to middle of the road once AVG and SB are added.

Power hitters like Uggla seem good with all the counting stats, but they can be a huge drag if they have extremely below average numbers in AVG and SBs. A respectable value in just one of the categories, like SBs with Espinosa, helps boost how much the player is worth. An owner should always be aware of how much of a drain a ‘power only’ hitter is on a team.