I have tried to break down each position in the NL East to see where each player ranks and then where the team ranks on the whole. I basically looked at 3 statistics for each
position player. 2006 OPS (in the case of Cristian Guzman, 2005), 2006 Away OPS and Career OPS. I then gave a ranking on where I felt each player's OPS would fall based
on a "subjective" analysis of these 3 numbers. I tried to take into consideration injuries and playing time as well as other aspects like stolen bases. Basically, the rankings
went as follows...
.950+ 5
.850-.949 4
.750-.849 3
.650-.749 2
.550-.649 1
0.00-.549 0
I also used halves to give a player who was near the top of his ranking an extra bonus if they had another factor that was a positive (speed, park and age) or a detriment if
near the bottom (injuries, park or age).
The overall picture looks incredibly amazing for the NL East. They appear to have some of the best offenses in the league and a large numbers of players are young or just
entering their prime. The CBP could see an explosion of runs this year.
If you feel I shortchanged someone or overvalued them, let me know and I will consider it and change the numbers based on it.
Here are each position...
| Catcher | OPS | Away OPS | Career OPS | Score | Comment | |||||||
| Phillies | Carlos Ruiz | 0.751 | 0.761 | 0.751 | 2.5 | Anywhere from 40-60% of games. Let's hope more. | ||||||
| Mets | Paul Lo Duca | 0.783 | 0.779 | 0.760 | 2.5 | Epitomy of average. Only singles hitter. | ||||||
| Braves | Brian McCann | 0.961 | 1.000 | 0.898 | 4 | Likely regression from monster year. Still young and good. | ||||||
| Marlins | Miguel Olivo | 0.727 | 0.821 | 0.684 | 2 | Tough call as Away OPS >>>> Career OPS. | ||||||
| Nationals | Brian Schneider | 0.649 | 0.646 | 0.709 | 1.5 | Downside of career, only getting worse. | ||||||
| Potision Average: | 2.5 | McCann is definitely class of the bunch, Ruiz could be second. | ||||||||||
| 1st | OPS | Away OPS | Career OPS | Score | Comment | |||||||
| Phillies | Ryan Howard | 1.084 | 1.089 | 1.024 | 5 | Not much track record, but likely to top .950 OPS. | ||||||
| Mets | Carlos Delgado | 0.909 | 0.999 | 0.948 | 4.5 | Bounceback year and good away OPS. Likely around .950. | ||||||
| Braves | Craig Wilson | 0.760 | 0.651 | 0.834 | 3.5 | One bad year is likely a fluke. Solid pickup for Braves. | ||||||
| Marlins | Mike Jacobs | 0.798 | 0.799 | 0.849 | 3 | Too old to have mediocre year at 1st base. | ||||||
| Nationals | Nick Johnson | 0.948 | 0.928 | 0.853 | 3.5 | Injuries are his biggest detriment. | ||||||
| Potision Average: | 3.9 | Howard and Delgado are only ones above average. | ||||||||||
| 2nd | OPS | Away OPS | Career OPS | Score | Comment | |||||||
| Phillies | Chase Utley | 0.906 | 0.847 | 0.871 | 4 | Best second baseman, but not in elite company despite contract. | ||||||
| Mets | Jose Valentin | 0.820 | 0.772 | 0.772 | 2.5 | Age is likely to make last year an anomoly. | ||||||
| Braves | Martin Prado | 0.745 | 0.770 | 0.745 | 2.5 | Not much track record in majors. | ||||||
| Marlins | Dan Uggla | 0.818 | 0.839 | 0.818 | 3 | Late fade and bad OBP could mean he was a fluke. | ||||||
| Nationals | Felipe Lopez | 0.739 | 0.741 | 0.742 | 2.5 | Nothing special except for 1 decent year. | ||||||
| Potision Average: | 2.9 | Utley is only real sure bet. | ||||||||||
| 3rd | OPS | Away OPS | Career OPS | Score | Comment | |||||||
| Phillies | Wes Helms | 0.965 | 0.899 | 0.778 | 3 | Crap shoot, not likely to be nearly as good as last year. | ||||||
| Mets | David Wright | 0.912 | 0.915 | 0.902 | 4.5 | Needs 20 more points in OBP to hit the elite level. | ||||||
| Braves | Chipper Jones | 1.005 | 1.048 | 0.943 | 4.5 | Still going strong and just 34 despite recent injuries. | ||||||
| Marlins | Miguel Cabrera | 0.998 | 0.946 | 0.919 | 5 | Younger than David Wright, but has 700 more Abs. | ||||||
| Nationals | Ryan Zimmerman | 0.822 | 0.741 | 0.836 | 3.5 | Good, but is not on the level of Jones, Wright and Cabrera. | ||||||
| Potision Average: | 4.1 | Helms lucky to be mentioned with this crowd. | ||||||||||
| SS | OPS | Away OPS | Career OPS | Score | Comment | |||||||
| Phillies | Jimmy Rollins | 0.811 | 0.756 | 0.754 | 3 | Same numbers as Reyes, but is 4 years older. | ||||||
| Mets | Jose Reyes | 0.841 | 0.821 | 0.748 | 3.5 | Question to whether he'll maintain his patience. | ||||||
| Braves | Edgar Renteria | 0.797 | 0.823 | 0.749 | 3 | Elder shortstop at 31, seems like he is 90. | ||||||
| Marlins | Hanley Ramirez | 0.833 | 0.830 | 0.830 | 3.5 | Consistent home and away. Could be best of the bunch. | ||||||
| Nationals | Cristian Guzman | 0.574 | 0.569 | 0.672 | 1 | Blech. Hopefully he won't be the starter for the National's sake. | ||||||
| Potision Average: | 2.8 | Rollins is 3rd best hitting SS in NL East at best. | ||||||||||
| LF | OPS | Away OPS | Career OPS | Score | Comment | |||||||
| Phillies | Pat Burrell | 0.890 | 0.900 | 0.842 | 4 | Despite criticism, keeps on putting up good numbers. | ||||||
| Mets | Moises Alou | 0.923 | 0.785 | 0.884 | 3.5 | Gotta eventually decline, right? | ||||||
| Braves | Ryan Langerhans | 0.727 | 0.581 | 0.745 | 2 | Young, but not good. No power. | ||||||
| Marlins | Josh Willingham | 0.852 | 0.954 | 0.838 | 3.5 | Monster away OPS, but too old to have just 1 year. | ||||||
| Nationals | Ryan Church | 0.891 | 0.832 | 0.808 | 3 | Good numbers, but old as well. | ||||||
| Potision Average: | 3.2 | Pat will likely have the best numbers out of this group. | ||||||||||
| CF | OPS | Away OPS | Career OPS | Score | Comment | |||||||
| Phillies | Aaron Rowand | 0.745 | 0.760 | 0.780 | 2.5 | One career year, needs to stay ON the field. | ||||||
| Mets | Carlos Beltran | 0.982 | 1.090 | 0.847 | 4 | Getting old for the inconsistency. 2005 likely fluke. | ||||||
| Braves | Andruw Jones | 0.894 | 0.925 | 0.850 | 4 | Has turned up the power, but still low OBP. | ||||||
| Marlins | Alfredo Amezaga | 0.664 | 0.697 | 0.631 | 2 | SS converted to CF, nothing else needed. | ||||||
| Nationals | Alex Escobar | 0.969 | 1.011 | 0.743 | 2 | Was a prospect way back when. | ||||||
| Potision Average: | 2.9 | |||||||||||
| RF | OPS | Away OPS | Career OPS | Score | Comment | |||||||
| Phillies | Shane Victorino | 0.760 | 0.801 | 0.714 | 3 | Good away numbers, must show he can hit. | ||||||
| Mets | Shawn Green | 0.777 | 0.729 | 0.854 | 2.5 | Fell off the table and hasn't hit ground yet. | ||||||
| Braves | Jeff Francoeur | 0.742 | 0.617 | 0.782 | 3 | All power, no dicipline, needs luck to hit. | ||||||
| Marlins | Jeremy Hermida | 0.700 | 0.685 | 0.738 | 2 | Young, but appears to have patience. | ||||||
| Nationals | Austin Kearns | 0.830 | 0.840 | 0.824 | 3.5 | Good trade for the Nats, but needs to play. | ||||||
| Potision Average: | 2.8 | Phils used to have the best of the bunch… | ||||||||||
| Averages | OPS | Away OPS | Career OPS | Score | Comment | |||||||
| Phillies | 0.864 | 0.852 | 0.814 | 3.375 | Good offense, but mostly average after top 3. | |||||||
| Mets | 0.868 | 0.861 | 0.839 | 3.438 | Alou will definitely help and their young guys will get better. | |||||||
| Braves | 0.829 | 0.802 | 0.818 | 3.313 | If they got anything from their corners, would be best offense. | |||||||
| Marlins | 0.799 | 0.821 | 0.788 | 3 | Biggest question mark as young guys could explode or crash. | |||||||
| Nationals | 0.803 | 0.789 | 0.773 | 2.563 | Besides Johnson, Kearns, Zimmerman and Church, not much else. | |||||||