Hitter’s Luck: Regulars

A while back, I released the methods and background on Luck. With the 2011 season over, final values can be calculated. Today I am going to look at some players with over over 500 PA in 2011.

Note: I have gone ahead and made the results available from the last 3 years for hitters (> 50 PA) and pitchers (> 25)

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I will start looking at the established hitters in the league. The everyday players that racked up a season’s worth of stats. Here is a list of the top 10, bottom 10 and some extras I felt warranted discussion. Most of the player had enough at bats to have their HR/FB and xHR/FB close. Most of the Luck is attributed to differences in BABIP:

Rank	Name	Team	Luck	xBABIP	BABIP	HR/FB	xHR_FB	PA
1	Gonzalez Adrian	Red Sox	6.1	0.332	0.380	16.4%	13.7%	715
2	Bautista Jose	Blue Jays	4.8	0.286	0.309	22.5%	18.5%	655
3	Avila Alex	Tigers	4.7	0.330	0.366	13.8%	11.0%	551
4	Upton Justin	Diamondbacks	4.7	0.289	0.319	14.8%	12.3%	674
5	Cabrera Miguel	Tigers	4.4	0.337	0.365	18.2%	15.1%	688
6	Peralta Jhonny	Tigers	4.4	0.299	0.325	10.8%	8.8%	576
7	Reyes Jose	Mets	4.3	0.319	0.353	3.9%	3.3%	586
8	Morse Michael	Nationals	4.3	0.327	0.344	21.2%	17.0%	575
9	Gonzalez Carlos	Rockies	4.0	0.310	0.326	20.8%	16.5%	542
10	Kemp Matt	Dodgers	3.8	0.364	0.380	21.4%	17.8%	689
12	Gordon Alex	Royals	3.7	0.333	0.358	12.6%	10.5%	690
14	Stanton Mike	Marlins	3.4	0.307	0.314	24.8%	20.0%	601
120	Lind Adam	Blue Jays	-3.0	0.326	0.265	17.0%	13.5%	542
123	Kinsler Ian	Rangers	-3.4	0.297	0.243	12.5%	10.5%	723
124	Longoria Evan	Rays	-3.6	0.315	0.239	17.6%	14.2%	574
125	McGehee Casey	Brewers	-3.6	0.298	0.249	8.6%	7.0%	600
126	Pagan Angel	Mets	-4.4	0.333	0.285	4.1%	3.4%	532
127	Suzuki Ichiro	Mariners	-4.5	0.338	0.295	3.9%	3.4%	721
128	Escobar Alcides	Royals	-4.6	0.329	0.285	3.0%	2.6%	598
129	Rios Alex	White Sox	-4.9	0.293	0.237	7.0%	5.7%	570
130	Crisp Coco	Athletics	-5.0	0.337	0.284	5.1%	4.2%	583
131	Pierre Juan	White Sox	-5.0	0.337	0.294	1.4%	1.3%	711
132	Bartlett Jason	Padres	-5.0	0.342	0.291	1.7%	1.6%	618
133	Andrus Elvis	Rangers	-5.2	0.365	0.312	4.8%	4.1%	665
134	Polanco Placido	Phillies	-5.7	0.348	0.292	3.6%	3.0%	523

Some of the luckiest players are stars. They will be valued highly in 2012 (Gonzalez, Bautita, Cabrera and Kemp). Some of the unlucky players look to be good values. Here is my quick take on some of the players:

Alex Avila – I think he is good player, especially at catcher. Recently I noted that his 2011 BABIP is probably 30 points too high. I can see some sources hyping him up. Don’t buy the hype and sell high.

Jhonny Peralta – He never had a near 0.300 average in any previous season. The higher AVG wasn’t totally driven by BABIP. He has made some progress on lowering his K% from 22% to around 16.5% in the last couple of years.

Note: With either of these two, and any other players in the post season, don’t follow the post season hype. Several times this past season I saw Cody Ross available and thought back to his great 2010 post season. Then I remembered that the Marlins released him for a reason. He is not good.

Michael Morse – I liked him coming into 2011. He doesn’t have elite 1B skills, but is a good OF option. I am not sure what the feeling will be with him next season. I see some people staying away while others think they are buying low.

Alex Gordon – Sell. Sell. Sell. Following the Royals, I only see his value decreases. Lower lineup position (less SB, Runs, HRs) is being discussed by team. Losing 3B qualification is going to hurt his value quite a bit.

Mike Stanton – I am not sure if he is able to maintain the 25% HR/FB ratio. The other key for him will be how the new home stadium for the Marlins affects his home run rate.

Adam Lind – Perfect buy low candidate. 2011 was near the bottom (hopefully) for him. See if others value him at this low level and pick up a decent bargain.

Ian Kinsler and Evan Longoria – BABIPs around 0.240 and are being mentioned as top 10 picks. With a little better luck, they could end up as top 3 talents.

Ichiro Suzuki – Like Lind, I expect people will have no expectations from him. He is going to play quite a bit and hit at the top of the line up.

Alex Rios – Next season could the dead cat bounce with him. Pick him up for nothing and enjoy the possible upside.

Placido Polanco – He may get a little more love on draft/auction day because of the extra counting stats he will generate by being in the Phillies lineup. The downside of no home runs from 3B may be tough to manage.