Troy Tulowitzki vs. Hanley Ramirez

Posted by Brady

Lately, I’ve been watching a lot of MLB Network. And for those of you who do not have MLB Network, they are currently running a 10 part series called “Top 1o Right Now”. They go through all nine positions on the baseball diamond, and manager, to determine who the best is right now. And while most of the positions should be pretty easy to figure out (Pujols, Mauer, Longoria, Cano, blah, blah, blah) I got to thinking about the shortstop position. And for my money, it comes down to two players. Troy Tulowitzki and Hanley Ramirez. The difficult thing about deciding who the better player is how much weight you put on different aspects of the game. Especially with players this similar.

There is a reason Troy Tulowitzki has a Gold Glove, and Hanley Ramirez doesn't. We might as well be comparing Derek Jeter to Ozzie Smith.

Both Tulowitzki and Ramirez are middle of the order hitting shortstops with power oozing out of them. For their careers their ISO is virtually the same. Tulowitzki at .205 and Ramirez at .207.  Not only do they have virtually the same amount of power, they strike out at similar rates. 18.1% for Ramirez. 19.1% for Tulowitzki.

One however could make a case that Ramirez is very lucky, having never posted a BABIP under .327. His career mark is a spit-take inducing .347. Tulowitzki’s .319 mark seems paltry by comparison.  Keeping in mind that Ramirez is doing this in Sun Life Stadium.

Park Factors have that at a 105 (above 100 favors hitters, under 100  favors pitchers) and Tulowitzki is putting on his clinic at Coors Field, which comes in at 115!

This seems to be one time where Coors Field  comes into play. When it comes to OPS+ (which adjusts for ballparks) Troy Tulowitzki comes in at 114. Though, over the last two years he’s put up an OPS+ of 134. Compared to Hanley Ramirez’s 135 career mark, and 136 over the last two years.

I just find it AMAZING that Hanley Ramirez is a short stop. His bat plays anywhere. Stick him at first, and leave him there. Forever.

Since these are both shortstops, we would be hapless to not mention defensive contributions. There is a reason Troy Tulowitzki has a Gold Glove, and Hanley Ramirez doesn’t. We might as well be comparing Derek Jeter to Ozzie Smith. Tulowitzki has given Colorado 20.4 UZR and Hanley Ramirez has given Florida -39.3 UZR. As a former middle infielder, that makes me cry. Ramirez has negative marks in every advanced defensive metric imaginable. Where as Tulowitzki has positive marks in them all, except RngR (Range Runs Above Average). He has a career mark of -3.2. Hanley Ramirez? -24.6. That means that he has to almost go to the left when the ball goes to his right. I just find it AMAZING that Hanley Ramirez is a short stop. His bat plays anywhere. Stick him at first, and leave him there. Forever.

Doing this research just cemented what I already believed. Troy Tulowitzki is the best short stop in baseball. He may hit less away, but who doesn’t?

If I am the head of an expansion team, I am doing everything I can to get Troy Tulowitzki at my short stop position. And leaving Hanley Ramirez in a galaxy far, far away.

Appreciating Troy Tulowitzki

Posted by Wilchiro

Tulo is one of the most underrated players in the game today.

It’s unfortunate how a top five player in the game is underrated. In my fair and honest opinion, Troy Tulowitzki gets overshadowed by other legitimate shortstops around him, specifically Hanley Ramirez and the not so legit Derek Jeter. But “Tulo” has a bat and a glove just as good as anyone in the game and certainly as good as any shortstop in recent history. Not only that, but when using some sabermetric centered statistics, Tulowitzki is comparable to the likes of Honus Wagner.

I’m sure most of you saber-minded fellows out there reading this post know what the stat “WAR” means, but understandably if you don’t, it means “Wins above Replacement.” It takes all of the tools in a players game and throws them together to get your WAR. If you’re a solid fielder and a solid hitter, you’re going to get a solid WAR. Usually a 3 WAR is pretty respectable and a 5 WAR is All-Star Material to my standards. Anyways, I went to FanGraphs and put together a WAR Graph to compare Troy Tulowitzki and Honus Wagner side by side, using total cumulative WAR at the same point in time. I was interested but rather surprised by the results.

Honus Wagner, Age 25: 12.0 WAR
Troy Tulowitzki, Age 25: 16.8 WAR

While Honus and Troy aren’t necessarily similar players, Honus is arguably the most notable SS in baseball history and to see that Tulo has made more progress at this stage in their careers is pretty astounding. A Honus Wagner card just sold for $262,000 in Baltimore, Maryland. If Tulo continues at this rate, you have to wonder if he could have a card worth hundreds of thousands of dollars some day.

Tulo can be compared to the likes of Wagner, Banks, Smith, and Yount.

That’s pretty impressive. It isn’t often where you can be compared to Honus Wagner. Tulo has also had comparable statistics to those of Robin Yount’s and Ernie Banks. Certainly something to be proud of.

While on the topic, imagine where the Rockies might be without Tulo throughout the course of the last few years. We’re talking about a guy who hits for AVG and power, a guy who flashes the glove, and will even get you the occasional stolen base. He displayed a solid OPS+ of 138 and an OBP of .381 to go along with a .568 SLG. That’s pretty unusual for a shortstop. My question I pose to you is-do you think the same way? Do you think Shin-Soo Choo or Brian McCann are more underrated than the Rockies slugger?

I’m looking and hoping for Tulo to proceed with his brilliant career in a Rockies uniform. If History repeats itself, Tulo could join the hall of fame among with other greats such as Honus Wagner, Ernie Banks, Phil Ruzzuto, Robin Yount, and Ozzie Smith. Troy can and should remain one of the best players (not just SS) in the game, even if that means being overshadowed by some overrated players (as known as Derek Jeter).

NL Silver Slugger Awards

Joey Votto was phenomenal for the Reds this year, and played a huge part in getting the Reds a playoff birth. He has a shot at winning this years NL MVP

Posted by Wilchiro

A couple of days ago, BaconSlayer09 talked about the American League Gold Glove awards, as the love affair with overrated shortstop Derek Jeter continues. Needless to say, many people believe that the Gold Glove Awards are just turning into jokes, as voters look are now turning to fame instead of using statistics to determine their votes. Today, I am going to be discussing the National League Silver Slugger Awards, and making my picks based on stats, not fame.

Catcher: Brian McCann (ATL) - McCann was arguably the second best catcher in baseball this season, and he well deserves this award. He had the highest overall WAR of 5.3 over every other NL catcher, to go along with more power, as he hit 21 homeruns and 77 RBIs. His triple slash line of .269/.375/.453 was also among the top in that category. Runner Ups: Carlos Ruiz (PHI), Buster Posey (SF), Geovany Soto (CHC).

First Base: Joey Votto (CIN) – You might be wowed to see that Albert Pujols is not my selection for this award, but he is not far behind. Votto led the league in WAR on the year with an impressive 7.4 mark, to go along with 37 homeruns and 113 RBIs. His triple slash line of .324/.424/.600 beat out Pujols in all three categories as well. Runner Ups: Albert Pujols (STL), Aubrey Huff (SF), Adrian Gonzalez (SD).

Second Base: Dan Uggla (FLA) – Although Dan Uggla did not lead the NL in WAR, he did lead all 2B in the league with 33 homeruns and 105 RBIs. His triple slash line of .287/.369/.508 was near the top in the league, as Uggla netted an All-Star appearence this summer. Even through all of the possible trade talk within the last few days, My pick is for Dan Uggla to win the 2B Silver Slugger in the National League. Runner Ups: Rickie Weeks (MIL), Brandon Phillips (CIN), Chase Utley (PHI).

Despite leading all NL 3B in WAR, Ryan Zimmerman did not land a spot in the All-Star game, though a Silver Slugger award is well deserved

Third Base: Ryan Zimmerman (WAS) – Although David Wright of the New York Mets could put up a debate for the award, my pick is for the young 3B of the Washington Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman. He led all 3B in the league with a 7.2 WAR, beating everyone by 2+ whole points in that category. After barely missing this years All-Star game, Zimmerman slugged 25 HR and 85 RBIs to go along with a slash line of .307/.388/.503. Runner Ups: David Wright (NYM), Scott Rolen (CIN), Placido Polanco (PHI).

Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki (COL) – This was another relatively easy pick. Many people thought that Hanley Ramirez could make a run for the award, but Tulo beat him by a landslide. After an electric September, “Tulo” finished with a .315/.381/.568 slash line, beating all shortstops in those categories. He also slugged 27 HRs and 95 RBIs on the season. Runner Ups: Hanley Ramirez (FLA), Stephen Drew (ARZ), Starlin Castro (CHC).

Left Field: Carlos Gonzalez (COL) – This was a tougher decision. I really that that Cards’ LF Matt Holliday could put up a strong case for the award, but after an abseulute break-out season, I have to give it to him. Afterall, he did slug 34 HRs with 117 RBIs, while maintaining a triple slash line of .336/.376/.598 to go along with it. Runner Ups: Matt Holliday (STL), Ryan Braun (MIL), Josh Willingham (WAS).

After suffering a month of injuries, Troy Tulowitzki was fantastic in September, slugging over half of his season total homeruns during that time

Center Field: Chris Young (ARZ) – Many people might question my pick for Chris Young, but I have my reasons. Many people might say that Torres, Rasmus, or McCutchen deserve the award, but all three relied on luck as opposed to skill for the majority of the season. Young posted a .296 BABIP, while Torres had a .331, Rasmus had a .354, and McCutchen had a .311. Young also had the highest amount of HRs in the league among CF’s  with 27, and the highest amount of RBI’s with 91. Runner Ups: Andrew McCutchen (PIT), Andres Torres (SF), Colby Rasmus (STL).

Right Field: Corey Hart (MIL) – Why not Jayson Werth, Jay Bruce, or Jason Heyward? I’ll tell you why. Hart posted more HRs and RBIs then any other RF in the league with 31 and 102, while maintaining a solid triple slash line of .283/.340/.525. He also relied on more skill as opposed to luck, posting a .324 BABIP on the year, down from Werth’s mark of .352, Bruce’s mark of .334, and Heyward’s mark of .335. Runner Ups: Jayson Werth (PHI), Jason Heyward (ATL), Jay Bruce (CIN).

Note: These predictions are not those of the Pine Tar and Pocket Protectors Writing Team. If you disagree with these rankings and are dissatisfied with them, please send all hate mail to Wilchiro.