Yadier Molina: Tops in fielding (C-9) and Th rating (+6)
Yesterday, I posted the first in this ‘By the numbers’ series on Pitching. Today, it’s all about the fielding. I’m just going to break down the fielding ratings by position.
I’m going to do it a little different this year. I’m going to delineate those players who have their position listed first on their card as well as post overall totals.
Let’s start with the catchers:
| C Rating | First Pos | Total |
|---|---|---|
| C-5 | 3 | 5 |
| C-6 | 25 | 28 |
| C-7 | 46 | 46 |
| C-8 | 26 | 26 |
| C-9 | 3 | 3 |
Matt Wieters, Drew Butera and Yadier Molina are the three catchers rated as 9s. No catcher had anything above C-6 listed as a secondary position.
| 1B Rating | First Pos | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1B-2 | 27 | 87 |
| 1B-3 | 33 | 66 |
| 1B-4 | 13 | 17 |
| 1B-5 | 10 | 10 |
Good fielding first basemen continues to be a rare commodity though there were ten who were rated1B-5 which isn’t bad.
| 2B Rating | First Pos. | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 2B-5 | 0 | 5 |
| 2B-6 | 15 | 56 |
| 2B-7 | 33 | 67 |
| 2B-8 | 18 | 22 |
| 2B-9 | 5 | 5 |
Pedroia, Cano, Barney, Phillips and Ellis are the 9s this year.
| SS Rating | First Pos | Total |
|---|---|---|
| SS-6 | 1 | 13 |
| SS-7 | 18 | 53 |
| SS-8 | 32 | 52 |
| SS-9 | 12 | 12 |
| SS-10 | 1 | 1 |
Cody Ransom is the lone player who has SS listed as his main position and is rated SS-6.
J.J. Hardy is the SS-10 (honest question, is he really that good?)
| 3B Rating | First Pos | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 3B-2 | 1 | |
| 3B-3 | 36 | 111 |
| 3B-4 | 29 | 47 |
| 3B-5 | 7 | 8 |
Casey McGehee got the dreaded 3B-2 (as a secondary position) but rumors are circulating that it might be an error and APBA may have switched his 3B rating with his 1B-3 rating. Time will tell.
Eight 3B-5 ratings this year which is pretty good. Pitch your X pitchers with care. Props to John McDonald who not only got a 3B-5 rating but was rated as a 2B-8 and SS-9 (his first position).
| OF Rating | First Pos | Total |
|---|---|---|
| OF-1 | 69 | 129 |
| OF-2 | 113 | 123 |
| OF-3 | 57 | 57 |
Nothing worth noting other than a representative proportion of OF ratings in my opinion. The higher proportion of 1s is due to subs and DHs most likely.
Some Master Game Ratings
| Catcher | Cat. Thr. |
|---|---|
| Yadier Molina | 6 |
| Dave Ross | 5 |
| Ryan Hanigan | 5 |
| Anthony Recker | 5 |
| Salvador Perez | 4 |
| Miguel Montero | 4 |
| Henry Blanco | 4 |
| Erik Kratz | 4 |
Yadier Molina backs up his C-9 with a Th-6 rating too.
| OF | Arm |
|---|---|
| Shane Victorino | 38 |
| Rick Ankiel | 38 |
| Nick Markakis | 37 |
| Shin-Soo Choo | 37 |
| Jeff Francouer | 37 |
| Ichiro Suzuki | 37 |
| B.J. Upton | 37 |
| Justin Upton | 37 |
| Jay Bruce | 37 |
| Michael Cuddyer | 37 |
| Brian Bogusevic | 37 |
| Matt Kemp | 37 |
| Carlos Gomez | 37 |
No Clementes here but Rick Ankiel still has an arm :)
Finally, ten position players got some time in on the mound and were rated as a pitcher.
| Player | Grade |
|---|---|
| Chris Davis | (D* P-1)(X)(W) |
| DeWayne Wise | (D* P-1)(W) |
| Mitch Maier | (D* P-1) |
| Drew Butera | (D* P-1)(X)(W) |
| Craig Gentry | (D* P-1)(W) |
| Jeff Mathis | (D* P-1) |
| Joe Mather | (D* P-1) |
| Brian Bogusevic | (D* P-1) |
| Darnell McDonald | (D* P-1)(W) |
| Rob Johnson | (D* P-1)(X) |
No actual pitcher was rated with a secondary position.
Next up- By the Numbers: Offense.
SS-10
In the 10 years I’ve had a share of the Northboro Phoenix in TBL, Hardy is the second SS-10. Bordick was the first, in 2004 or so. All that? I don’t know. I didn’t see much of Bordick, and only a little more of Hardy. Don’t recall either being the equal of Leo Cardenas, my prototypical SS-10.