Eye Openers

Fantasy baseball may seem like a name game, but in reality it’s a game of numbers.  You don’t win your league by rostering popular players, you win it by finding players who produce the goods.  Take a look at the eye-opening facts listed below and it might change your impressions of some players.  All statistics are accurate as of the beginning on play on August 4.

Hernandez has been a useful catching option all season.

1. Only one catcher in the Majors is hitting over .295 with double-digit homers and isn’t on the DL – Reds backstop Ramon Hernandez.

2. The Mets Daniel Murphy is eighth in the Majors in batting average at .319. He’s hitting .345 since June 1 but only has two homers and three steals over that span.

3. The American League’s version of Murphy, Rays first baseman Casey Kotchman, is fourth in the Majors in batting average at .328.  He’s hit over .300 in every month this season but, like Murphy, the batting average comes at a price.  Kotchman has gone deep exactly once in each month and has just one stolen base all year.

4. Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira is second in the AL in home runs and RBIs despite hitting just .255.  If he gets a few more hits down the stretch, he could take two-thirds of the Triple Crown.  Tex has been overshadowed by Adrian Gonzalez but has 13 more homers and only five fewer RBIs.

5. Jays rookie catcher J.P. Arencibia is tied for first among all backstops in homers and fifth in RBIs.  That makes his .220 average a lot easier to live with.

6. Yankees backstop Russell Martin has eight steals – - double the total of any other catcher – - and his 11 homers are tied for eighth.  The .226 average isn’t pretty, but he still warrants mixed-league consideration.

7. Angels rookie first baseman Mark Trumbo is tied for third among all first base eligible players with eight steals.  No player with only first base eligibility has more.  Trumbo also ranks eighth with 20 homers.

8. Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland is on pace for only 50 RBIs despite hitting .266 with 13 homers and batting in one of the highest scoring lineups in baseball.

9. Even though he’s hitting just .215, D-backs second baseman Kelly Johnson ranks in the top fourteen at his position in all four other standard hitting categories.

10. Dustin Pedroia ranks ahead of Robinson Cano in batting average, runs scored and stolen bases while trailing Cano in homers by just two.  Do we have a new No. 1 second baseman heading into 2012?

Is Pedroia the new No. 1 second baseman?

11. Despite a miserable average for most of the season, the Braves’ Dan Uggla leads all second baseman in homers and ranks in the top 10 in runs and RBIs.

12. He’s been sitting on the DL since July 22, but the Rangers’ Adrian Beltre is still tied for first among third baseman in RBIs, third in runs scored and tied for fourth in long balls.

13. The third base position is so weak this year that Emilio Bonifacio, Eduardo Nunez, Ryan Roberts, Chase Headley, Chone Figgins and Mike Aviles are the top six base stealers.  Roberts is the only third baseman with double-digit homers and steals.

14. Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson has been truly amazing this year.  He’s scored 16 more runs than anyone else in baseball, his RBI total ranks fourth and he’s tied for third in homers. He’s also 20th in steals.

15. While Matt Kemp has been getting a lot of (much deserved) love this year, he trails Granderson in runs by 32, in homers by two and is tied in RBIs.  He has eight more steals and his hitting 40 points higher.  Their value is closer than most people realize. When you consider their surrounding offensive support and that batting average is a volatile hitting stat, who’s more likely to hold his value down the stretch?

16. Similarly, while Jose Reyes has been highly touted in 2011, Jacoby Ellsbury is dominating him statistically.  Ellsbury trails Reyes by one steal and 22 batting average points, but the Red Sox left fielder has launched 13 more homers, driven in 29 more runs and crossed home plate three more times.  Like the Granderson, Ellsbury’s supporting cast gives him a better chance to thrive down the stretch. I know, I know, Reyes spent time on the DL,  but his injury history is all part of his overall value and he has more DL stints than most elite players.

17. No one is dominating a single category like Braves center fielder Michael Bourn in stolen bases.  His total of 40 is 17.5% higher than anyone else in baseball.

Jason Bourgeois - get to know him!

18. Speaking of steals, Jason Bourgeois is in the top 20 in baseball with 22 base swipes…..in 136 at-bats!  No one else in the top 20 has fewer than 300 at-bats and no one else in the top 40 has fewer than 200 at-bats.  Extrapolate Bourgeois’ pace to the same 442 at-bats as Bourn and he’d have 71 steals.  Now that Bourgeois is expected to play everyday for the rest of the season, is there a better cheap speed option?

19. Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta ranks third among SS in batting average, fourth in homers and and third in RBIs.  He’s also in the top seven among third baseman in all three of those categories.  It may be tough to believe in his batting average, though.  Peralta is hitting .317 but hasn’t finished a season over .270 since 2005.

20. Despite logging just 205 at-bats, which ranks 25th among catcher, Rangers backstop Mike Napoli is third in homers, fifth in RBI and ninth in runs scored.  He’s also hitting .293, ranking fourth among players at his position with at least 200 at-bats.  That batting average is 37 points above his career mark.

Check back next week for eye-opening pitcher statistics!