Over/Under

[SicK NasTy]

Okay, I'm bored.. saw this somewhere else, now I'm going to try to start it here and get some opinions from this board..

Name the most under rated and over rated players at each position in the MLB for this season..

I'll start with Catcher..

Catcher:
Over - Paul LoDuca, New York Mets.. Solid catcher, yes.. not as good as he's made out to be though. Definately not the best choice to start the All Star Game for the NL.. (See Brian McCann).

Under - Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins.. Yeah, he's a good catcher.. has yet to reach his prime. I fealt he was definately eligable to start the All Star Game for the AL at Catcher, but not complaining with the choice of fan favorites Pudge.

First Baseman:
Over - Richie Sexson, Seattle Mariners.. Definately over paid for this guy. Yeah, he hits the long ball.. but look at the batting average.. hasn't hit over .263 the last three years. This year he has a wopping average of .218, wow definately way over rated..

Under - Nick Johnson, Washington Nationals.. Don't hear too much about this guy, but fact is that he has put up solid numbers the past two years. Average wise and home run wise, and the home runs will seemingly increase this year as he is almost at last years total already.

Second Baseman:
Over - Marcus Giles, Atlanta Braves.. Yeah I'm saying it. He's over rated. They will try to trade him if they fall out of contention.. I'd be surprised if they got someone half decent for him too. Not suited for the leadoff role, which I am assuming is leading to his first half struggles. Could be the beginning of a slide for Giles' career though.

Under - Mark Loretta, Boston Red Sox.. Great Second Baseman. Definately Deserved the start for the AL in the All Star Game, I would love to have him in Atlanta. A solid hitter, who in the past has had over 200 hits in a season, and a good average. Can also supply a long ball here and there if you need one.

Will continue this in a couple hours, would like to see your guys rating and imputs..

[Short]

C
Overrated: Jason Varitek, Boston Red Sox - For all the hype he gets as one of the best, I'd like to see better than a .232 average
Underrated: Michael Barrett, Chicago Cubs - The guy is hitting .320 and having a great season in an otherwise lost season for the Cubs, yet the only reason you've heard his name this year is because he socked A.J. Pierzynski.

1B
Overrated: Mark Teixeira, Texas Rangers - Okay, maybe I'm just mad because I picked him in the first round of my fantasy baseball draft. But damn, 9 homeruns at the All Star break is rather pathetic for someone who's supposed to be one of the best power hitters in the game.
Underrated: Justin Mornaeu, Minnesota Twins - The guy is Top 10 in homeruns, Top 5 in RBIs, and batting .300. And I didn't know any of this until just a few days ago when it was pointed out to me by a friend.

2B
Overrated: Jeff Kent, L.A. Dodgers - Simply put, he's past his prime. He's still probably the biggest name at 2B, but he may not even be one of the top 10 at the position anymore.
Underrated: Brandon Phillips, Cincinatti Reds - He's a legit .300 hitter, 15 HRs, 30 SBs, yet not many people know who he is.

SS
Overrated: Bobby Crosby, Oakland A's - Not many overrated shortstops, so Crosby just got unlucky. But I don't understand what all the hype around him is...he's a .230 hitter.
Underrated: Jose Reyes, New York Mets - A legit MVP candidate in my possibly biased eyes. I see 15 HRs, 70 SBs, 140 runs, 75 RBIs (for a leadoff hitter), and .300 average for him this season. Most exciting player I've ever seen.

3B
Overrated: Eric Chavez, Oakland A's - Another guy who I'm mad at in fantasy baseball. Having a particularly sucky year hitting .240, but come to think of it, he's never been more than a .280 hitter anyway. Mostly hype.
Underrated: Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals - Young guy who will get more credit as he gets older. Will probably get a solid 20 HRs, 100 RBIs as a rookie this season, and he has a bajillion walk off hits.

Outfield and pitching will come later...maybe tommorow...

[SlickRick1382]

Comment about Varitek.... Although he does get alot of hype, alot of it is his defense behind the plate. Isn't he one of the only guys who can catch Tim Wakefields knuckleball?
--------------- Madden 2007 Next Gen football ---------
Sick... I completely agree with the comment on Joe Mauer. I used to play at sportmogul.com ( a baseball simulated game) and I always used to trade for and develop Joe Mauer as my Catcher.

I think he;s very underrated and deserves a spot.

[Kevin71]

Catcher:
Over - Kenji Jojima: He got a lot of hype to being a good catcher and hitter. He is an average hitter and isn't the best at helping pitchers.

Under - Ramon Hernandez: 15 HR's and 61 RBI's is really good for a catcher and a lot of baseball fans don't relize how good he is doing.

1st Base:
Over - Mark Texeira: He has been horrible this year in a hitter's ball park in a strong lineup. He should be a lot better considering who surronds him.

Under - Nomar: He is having a great season with a .358 average but is overlooked because of Pujols and Ryan Howard.

2nd Base:
Over - Felipe Lopez: He was supposed to be very good but his numbers aren't even close to what they should have been at this time.

Under - Dan Uggla: His name is still not as known as it should be. If you are a baseball fan I don't need to explain the season he is having.

3rd Base:
Over - Morgan Ensberg: Power isn't there like it should be and the Astros finally did something about it. Benched him.

Under - Ryan Zimmerman: He is having a great season, 12 HR's 59 RBI's. He is one of the top 3rd basemen in the league right now.

Short Stop:
Over - Derek Jeter: OK so he really isn't the most overrated Short Stop, but I hate him and don't think he is as good as a lot of people think. And not even close to as good as Yanks fans think he is.

Under - Hanley Ramirez: He is having a great season on a bad team and has become part of a future all-star double play combo of him and Dan Uggla.

[SicK NasTy]

Shortstop:

Over - Bobby Crosby, Oakland Athletics.. He's young, still has time to improve. But back in his rookie year you heard about how good of a player he was going to be in 2-3 years. Well, its been 2 years.. and the average is almost similar with less homeruns..

Under - Michael Young, Texas Rangers.. Okay, before the All Star Game no one spoke of this guy that much. Just look at his offensive stats the last four years, they speak for themselves. Very under rated.. Definately a top 3 player at his position in the game.

Third Baseman:

Over - Troy Glaus, Toronto Blue Jays.. An All Star? With a .241 average? Come on... that's definately not All Star numbers. Another Richie Sexson type of deal, can supply you with the long ball, but no other hits then that. Has only hit over .258 once in his career (2000), when everything seemed to make him out to be a superstar. Good home run hitter, but over rated.

Under - Pedro Feliz, San Francisco Giants.. Has kind of been a spot starter last couple of years for the Giants. This year he is getting the starting job and we are finally able to see what this kid can do. 15 Home runs and 62 RBI's at the break, not bad. I really like this guy, and see him doing well in the future. I wish the Giants had given him the starting job earlier in his career.

Left Field:

Over - Pat Burrell, Philadelphia Phillies.. Another disapointing season for Burrell. Expectations were so high after turning it around last year, and now the average has fallen once again. Has played pretty good left field for the Phils this year, and supplied them with the long ball. But it never seems to come when they need it. With runners on base, You don't want Burrell at the plate.

Under - Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies.. Saw flashes of excellence last year out of Holliday. Didn't play every day last year, but this year he is. 16 Home runs, 57 RBI's, and a .330 average at the break. Definately was deserving of his well earned All Star Spot. An up and coming outfielder for the Rockies.

Center Field:

Over - Willy Taveras, Houston Astros.. Okay, a .253 average at the break. Oh, not to mention he's your leadoff hitter.. Yeah, he's great at stealing bases, but you can't steal if you don't get on base to start with. And to think that this guy finished ahead of Jeff Francoeur last year in Rookie of the Year Voting boggles my mind.. Strikeout way too much to bat leadoff.

Under - Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians.. Second straight year that he is putting up solid numbers. Time for him to start getting some recognition. He has a solid batting average (.291), home runs (15), RBI's (43), Stolen Bases (13 out of 15), and he's only made 2 errors this season so far (.991 Fielding Percentage). One downfall is that the strikeout numbers are up a little high, but he makes up for it with how much he is getting on base. Another up and coming superstar in this league.

Right Field:

Over - Bobby Abreu, Philadelphia Phillies.. Okay, the stats may be misleading.. (.293, 8, 59) but this guy isn't as good as he's made out to be. Trust me, living 25 minutes from Philly, we get every game on T.V. here, every single game. He plays a horrible right field (yeah, even though he only has 1 error). Some of his routs to ball are questionable and he often doesn't give a full effort. Draws a lot of walks, power numbers decreased, strikes out too much, yet a good base runner. However, I consider him over rated.

Under - Alex Rios, Toronto Blue Jays.. A .330 average, 15 home runs and 43 RBI's at the break. A 1000 Fielding Percentage this year. Oh, and not to mention he's only made 4 errors in 324 major league games thus far, a career .994 fielding percentage. Has been injured last couple of weeks, however his return is expected to help the Jays make a push towards the playoff.
--------------- Madden 2007 Next Gen football ---------
Starting Pitcher:

Over - Andy Pettite, Houston Astros.. 1997 and 2005 were career years for Pettite, other then those two years however, he's only been average. The win totals have always been high, but look at what teams he has been on. All those Yankees teams were division winners, and very good teams. This year he is 7-9 with a 5.21 ERA. I expect Pettite to bounce back, but for now he gets my over rated.

Under - Derek Lowe, Los Angelos Dodgers.. Other then his final campaign with Boston back in 2004, he has put up solid numbers every year. The records won't necessarily show it, but look at the ERA for each of his seasons. It's pretty consistent and solid. As a reliever for Boston from 1999-2001 his ERA was in the low 2's every season. Then his transition to a starter in 2002 resulted to a 21-8 record with a 2.58 ERA. Pretty Solid.

Relief Pitcher:

Over - Todd Jones, Detroit Tigers.. 23 out of 26 in Saves oppertunities. However, take a quick glance at his ERA.. Ouch is right at 5.82..

Under - Bobby Jenks, Chicago White Sox.. Did this guy make the All Star Team? I'm really not sure, I know he deserved to. With a 2.83 ERA and 26 out of 27 in save oppertunities, I haven't heard to much about him this year. Definately under rated in my book.