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We all know the superstars of MLB, like Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw and Kris Bryant. However, what we often fail to recognize are great players who do not have the same reputation as others. These players are often far underrated and should get the credit they deserve.
We baseball fans like to credit ourselves as being perfect analysts of the game. We often debate who is better than who, who is the best in the game, and who is tremendously overrated. While there is a surplus of overrated players that I have already covered, there are quite a few underrated players as well. These guys have proven to be great contributors, yet don’t quite get the recognition they deserve. While some of these guys definitely do get some recognition, it isn’t exactly what they deserve.
Justin Turner
Justin Turner is one of the best third basemen in the game, and yet he barely gets any recognition outside of Los Angeles. This offseason actually helped raise his credibility, as teams were realizing his true value. However, when asking people who their top five third basemen are, I guarantee most would not include Turner. Heck, they may not even include him in the top ten. The true fact of the matter is that Turner is easily a top five third baseman. Last season, according to Fangraphs WAR, Justin Turner was the fifth most valuable third baseman behind only Kris Bryant, Josh Donaldson, Manny Machado and Adrian Beltre.
Despite this, Turner is still getting overlooked in favor of other great third basemen. Turner was not included in the All-Star festivities last year. Instead, Nolan Arenado and Matt Carpenter were selected, two guys Turner was arguably better than. Sure, Arenado is better offensively than Turner, but when looking at in-depth fielding stats Turner was far more well-rounded. According to the Def statistic on Fangraphs, Turner was nearly twice the fielder Arenado was last season. Despite this, Arenado of course won the Gold Glove over Turner, a fellow finalist.
At this point, I don’t see how anyone can argue against Turner’s greatness. He has consistently hit just under .300, with the potential of being a 30 home run, 100 runs batted in guy. I hope in the future Turner gets the recognition he deserves as an elite third baseman in the league, because he truly is one of baseball’s best.
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J.T. Realmuto
J.T. Realmuto is a young stud, and the 25-year-old catcher is arguably one of the best backstops in the league, yet nobody seems to give him the credit he deserves. Standing in the shadow of Buster Posey, Realmuto wasn’t rewarded with any accolades, and quite frankly overlooked as one of baseball’s best catchers. Realmuto has the unique blend of great fielding alongside great hitting. At the catcher spot nowadays it seems to be one or the other. We have guys like Salvador Perez who are fantastic fielders but mediocre hitters. Then we have guys like Yasmani Grandal who are great power hitters but just average at fielding. Realmuto possesses the dual threat, something that arguably only Jonathan Lucroy and Buster Posey also possess.
Also according to fWAR, Realmuto ranked as the third best catcher in the league behind only Posey and Lucroy. Realmuto had the third best batting average among qualified catchers, the most stolen bases, and the fourth best fielding. While he lacks a ton of power, at such a young age that can only progress. He has shown that he is able to hit the baseball at the big league level, and the power will only develop as his hitting ability does.
Realmuto undoubtedly has the numbers to be an All-Star catcher, and at 25 years old he is such a promising young talent. Realmuto will see himself grow in Miami and contribute to a potential playoff push alongside the likes of Giancarlo Stanton and Dee Gordon. With Buster Posey potentially moving to first in the future, Molina only getting older, and Lucroy now in the AL, Realmuto may be the best catcher in the NL in a very short time.
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Kole Calhoun
Playing alongside the best player of our generation has only hurt Kole Calhoun‘s credibility. If Realmuto is standing in the huge shadow of Buster Posey, Calhoun is standing in the shadow of a monster in Mike Trout. Calhoun has utilized not only his electric fielding but his great bat in order to become one of the best outfielders in baseball. Nobody recognizes that, however, as everybody is clamoring over his outfield mate Mike Trout.
Calhoun has posted a combined 7.7 fWAR over the last two seasons, a mark that is good enough to be the 12th best among MLB outfielders. In that time Calhoun has slugged 44 home runs, 169 runs scored and 158 runs batted in. Calhoun has batted .263 over that span, and while these numbers don’t necessarily jump out as elite, they do solidify Calhoun’s case as one of baseball’s best. Despite this, the only award Calhoun has received was a lone Gold Glove in 2015.
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In terms of fWAR, Calhoun has beat out popular players such as Curtis Granderson, Andrew McCutchen and Ian Desmond. While there are several more formidable names that Calhoun beats out, none of them have close to as many games as Calhoun has played. Guys like Christian Yelich, Starling Marte and Ryan Braun are all below Calhoun. This shows that Calhoun is a promising outfielder and has the consistency to continue being one.
