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PRO Rumors Scouting Report: Adonis Garcia
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After making his professional debut in Venezuela this past winter season, Adonis Garcia a Cuban defector is waiting to sign with an MLB organization to begin his journey down the road of becoming a Major Leaguer. For those of who haven’t had the opportunity to watch him play (which is probably most everyone), and haven’t heard a lot about him, I’m going to give you a quick and dirty scouting report.
Garcia, is a right handed outfielder with a strong, athletic, although not limber body. Defensively, he is not very fast and he usually takes poor routes to chase down fly balls. When he gets to the ball he elects to field the ball the hardest way possible. Every fly ball with him is like a Stephen King novel. His footwork is awful when fielding the ball as nothing is smooth with him. He doesn’t position himself correctly when fielding, so he losses a lot of time between catching the ball and getting rid of it and atop of that, his arm isn’t very strong either.
He’s not a fast guy, but he won’t be the slowest guy on the team. Offensively he has the tools to become an above average Major League hitter. He is a pure hitter who makes a lot of contact and has quick hands that allows him to drive the ball to the gaps. He has great bat speed, so it seems like the ball jumps off his bat when he hits. If you analyze his swing you could see how he uses his small muscles (wrists, forearms) to trigger his bigger muscles (biceps, hips). He also has raw power, so he can deliver the long ball every once in a while. If developed correctly, he could be a 15-20 HR’s hitter in the Majors. His downside offensively is his plate discipline. He rarely takes a walk, and he is not the kind of hitter who will wear down a pitcher.
His makeup doesn’t seem bad either. He’s always focused in the game, and he is a tough competitor. Even though his defense betrayed him several times this season, he was always on top of things. He also seemed like a hard worker, or at least that’s the impression he left here in Venezuela. You could say, to quote some of the old scouts, that he has “the good face.”
In conclusion, I don’t believe Garcia is going to be a superstar in the Major Leagues, but he could establish himself as an average player. He definitely has to work on his defense, but I believe that with hard work and dedication he will become a better fielder, although never a Gold Glove caliber fielder. By working on his plate discipline, Garcia might have the chance to be a quality bat in any lineup. If he’s able to take more pitches and employ a better pitch selection, he could be able to hit above average and also hit for power. If he can hit like he has done so far in his career, a switch to first base or a full-time DH would be more likely if he continues to struggle in the field.
Image by HablamosBeisbol.net
PRO Rumors Scouting Report – Miguel Rojas
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With Winter seasons coming to an end, and Spring Training just around the corner, I decided to take a look through a scout’s eyes at a few players that I saw in Venezuela. The first one I’m going to take a look at is shortstop Miguel Rojas from the Reds organization.
Rojas is a 22 year-old 5′9″, 175 lb limber shortstop with long arms and legs that played Double-A ball with the Reds in 2011. In Venezuela he plays with Tiburones de la Guaira, and this season he left such a great impression that I don’t have a doubt he’ll be playing in the Majors in the next few seasons.
Even though he’s not an offensive threat, and he still has a lot to learn about hitting, his defensive capabilities are among the best I’ve seen in a while, and definitely the best I saw in Venezuela this year.
He has soft and quick hands while on defense, and when he fields a groundball you get the impression that the ball disappeared in his hands. His footwork is also outstanding, he turns the double play with such speed and ease that you pretty much have to see it in slow motion to capture the moment. You can also see how he positions his feet in order to throw the ball even before the ball is in his glove.
He has great range to both sides, and has a strong and accurate arm. Not to mention that he gets rid of the ball in a blink of an eye. His make-up is also great, at such a young age, he accepted the role as team leader and performed well this season for Tiburones. His baseball instincts and defensive skills, are compared to the ones of a 10-year veteran. He did the little things as the team leader like approach the mound when the pitcher wasn’t looking good, to talk and calm him down.
I also heard in an interview that he usually watches the other team’s batting practice to notice hit patterns and then know how to position in the field every time a hitter comes to the plate. I was also amazed by his confidence on and off the field and how competitive he was.
His downside is definitely his offense, and one of the main reasons why he’s still in the Minors. Even though he can hit to all fields, and has quick hands, he’s a contact hitter and has shown little to no power at all. He tallied only four doubles and one triple in 104 at bats this season in Venezuela.
He also needs to develop more plate discipline and learn how to draw more walks. Rojas is a fast runner, although he doesn’t possess blinding speed. I believe he has to work on his running, as he repeatedly would get bad jumps and reads on the pitchers.
In my opinion, he could be, as soon as this year, a good September call-up for the Reds. He possesses the defensive tools to perform at a great level in the Majors, so they could use him as a late-inning defensive replacement. But until he learns how to be more productive on the offensive end, he will only a defensive replacement or utility player.
Rojas will continue to be blocked by current shortstop Zack Cozart who in a brief stint in the Majors, showed solid defense and accumulated 12 hits in 37 at bats (.324 avg).
Image by Tiburones.net.
Should Latin American amateur players go after a college scholarship or a signing bonus?
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Sometimes as baseball fans, we get caught up in the glitz and glamour of the Amateur Draft and just how much the top picks sign for. But what happens to the Latin American Players who sign for only a few thousand and never even make it to play ball in the States?
This topic could generate some debate, given the fact that most parents in Latin America prefer their kids to sign with a Major League team instead of getting a scholarship to play College ball in the States. But what’s the driving force behind parents and their decision?
Well, in Latin America, most players come from families with very little income, and when a team approaches them with a $200,000 or $500,000 bonus for their kids, all they want is to get their hands on that check, regardless of the long term problems this could lead to.
We all know that probably around 92% of the draftees in the June Amateur Draft get lost in the Minors and never establish themselves in the Majors. Well, in Latin America that number could be closer to 99%, which means that out of a hundred players signed only one will make it. Tough odds if you ask me.
The problem is when a Latin player gets signed, he immediately quits school and becomes a professional baseball player. If he doesn’t make it, and the statistics are not in their favor, he will probably end up without a career in baseball, which up until this point is all they have known. And to be honest, almost none of them continue their studies once their baseball careers are over. In my experience I’ve met more than one hundred ex-professional baseball players and only two of them went back to school and graduated.
What parents need to know about all this, is that they should insist on their kids getting a scholarship to play College ball in the States. Not only will they get a degree in something, they will also participate in three different June Amateur Drafts and if they get drafted and they decide to sign, their signing bonus will be much, much larger than they one they could have signed out of Latin America. Getting scholarships will also prevent players from lying about their age and identities just to get signed. Like what happened with Leo Nunez last year, Miguel Tejada a couple of years ago and recently formerly Fausto Carmona.
Lately, a rumor about an International draft has been circulating through the media. If that draft reinforces kids quitting school and signing with a Major League organization I would have to say that I don’t support it. Latin American amateur players should first try to get a scholarship to a U.S College and then go for a career in professional baseball if they get drafted. After all, if they’re good enough to get a signing bonus from a Major League organization in Latin America they will be good enough to find a scholarship at a U.S College.
Here is a list of the 2011 June Amateur Draft signing bonus for the top five picks (list provided by mymlbdraft.com):
– Gerrit Cole: $8,000,000 with the Pirates.
– Danny Hultzen: $8,500,000 for a five-year, Major League deal with the Mariners.
– Trevor Bauer: $4,450,000 for a four-year, Major League deal with the Diamondbacks.
– Dylan Bundy: $6,250,000 for a five-year, Major League deal with the Orioles.
– Bubba Starling: $7,500,000 with the Royals.
And here’s a list of the five largest bonuses of all time signed by Latin American players (list provided by Patrick Clark of Beyond the Box Score):
– Michael Ynoa (Dominican Republic): $4,250,000 with the Oakland Athletics.
– Miguel Sano (Dominican Republic): $3,150,000 with the Minnesota Twins.
– Gary Sanchez (Dominican Republic): $3,000,000 with the New York Yankees.A
– Rafael Rodriguez (Dominican Republic): $2,550,000 with the San Francisco Giants.A
– Yorman Rodriguez (Venezuela): $2,500,000 with the Cincinnati Reds.A
Even though Bauer was just drafted this June, he has already played at Double-A for the Diamondbacks, but from the top-five Latin American players only three have cracked Class-A. Sanchez (signed in 2009), Rafael Rodriguez(signed in 2008) and Yorman Rodriguez (signed in 2008). The rest of them have only played in the rookie league.
If Latin American players pushed to receive a guaranteed college education, it would not only help them receive more attention from scouts in the States, but would also help them take back a solid college education to their respective Countries in hopes of being able to make a difference in their communities.
PRO Rumors financial efficiency report- Detroit Tigers
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The next financial efficiency report will feature the AL Central Champions, Detroit Tigers. A team that quickly forgot about their losing ways in the beginning of the 21st century.
They have an outstanding offense, now even more improved with the addition of Prince Fielder, and the most dominant starting pitcher in the Majors in 2011, Justin Verlander.
In 2011, the Tigers won 96 games during the regular season. This means that they won 47 games above the 49 games won line. Their payroll for 2011 was $105,700,231 (ranked tenth in the Majors), breaking down their expenses to $2,006,451.72 for every win they got above 49.
Their top five paid players were:
– Miguel Cabrera ($20,000,000): A worthy MVP candidate in 2011, Cabrera hit .344/.448/.586 with 30 HR’s, 105 RBI’s, 111 runs and a 1.0333 OPS in a career high 161 games. The slugger earned $666,666.67 for every home run he hit, $190,476.19 for every run he batted in, $180,180.18 for every run he scored or $61,162.08 for every time he got on base.
– Carlos Guillen ($12,922,232): Guillen hit .232/.265/.368 with 3 HR’s, 13 RBI’s, 8 runs and a .633 OPS in only 28 games. He earned $4,307,410.67 for every home run hit, $994,017.85 for every run batted in, $1,615,279 for every run scored or $478,601.19 for every time he got on base.
– Justin Verlander ($12,850,000): The most dominant pitcher in the Majors in 2011 went 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts in 251 innings pitched. Verlander earned $535,416.67 for every game he won, $51,400 for every hitter he struck out or $176,027.40 for every run the opposition scored against him.
– Victor Martinez ($12,000,000): The switch hitting catcher hit .330/.380/.470 with 12 HR’s, 103 RBI’s, 76 runs and a .850 OPS. Martinez earned $1,000,000 for every home run he hit, $116,504.85 for every run he batted in, $157,894.74 for every run he scored or $52,173.91 for every time he got on base.
– Magglio Ordonez ($10,000,000): Ordonez hit .255/.303/.331 with 5 HR’s, 32 RBI’s, 33 runs and a .634 OPS. He earned $2,000,000 for every home run he hit, $312,500 for every run he batted in, $303,030.30 for every run he scored or $97,457.94 for every time he got on base.
Out of their top five paid players, only three lived up their expectations, actually two of them were outstanding, and probably among the best three players in the league, in my opinion (Cabrera and Verlander). Guillen was limited by injuries to only 28 games, making him incredibly pricey for the productivity they got from him.
Ordonez saw his playing time limited with injuries too, although he end up playing in 92 games. His power seemed to have vanished, slugging only .331 for the season, basically he slugged like a short stop while playing as a right fielder or a designated hitter.
Martinez proved to be valuable as a hitter for the Tigers, who saw time behind the plate with Alex Avila and but majority of his time was as the designated hitter. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they won’t have Martinez in 2012 because he suffered a torn ACL and a knee micro-fracture, but they are hoping that Fielder fills the void left for him next season.
The Tigers were a competitive team, with bright stars such as Cabrera, Verlander and Martinez, combining them with young talent such as Austin Jackson, Rick Porcello, Avila, Max Scherzer and Doug Fister. Their collective OBP was .344 (third in the AL), their SLG was .434 (fourth in the AL) and their OPS was .773 (also fourth in the AL). They also scored a total of 787 runs, fourth in the AL. Breaking down their expenses, each run they scored cost them $134,307.79.
Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.
Should Billy Beane take a shot with Gregor Blanco and Luis Jimenez?
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Billy Beane, the A’s General Manager, has been praised for building competitive teams by taking advantage of “market inefficiencies.” This means that he signs inexpensive players, that almost no other organization wants or would consider, because they overlook important statistics like OBP (on-base percentage), and give way too much importance to stats that aren’t that important like RBI’s (runs batted in).
He’s been known to sign players like Scott Hatteberg and Jeremy Giambi among others for their ability to wear down pitchers and get on-base. For him, the ultimate offensive statistic is the OBP.
The A’s are not getting positive results, and other teams like the Red Sox have adopted a similar approach to building a team, making it harder for the A’s to get cheap, but productive players. So why doesn’t Beane gives Gregor Blanco and Luis Jimenez a shot to make the team?
You might think that I’ve gone crazy, and yes, I have gone crazy, but in situations like this one, you have to think outside the box. Maybe you guys are not familiar with these two young players, but I’m going to tell you why I think they could work up in Oakland. It would be a low risk investment that would cost the team only a Minor League deal.
First there’s Blanco. A 28-year old center fielder with an incredible talent for wearing down pitchers and a keen eye for drawing walks. In three Major League seasons his career OBP is .358, or .100 points above his career batting average. I believe this numbers can still go up. In 2010 he played 36 games with the Braves where he hit .310/.394/.362. He was then traded to the Royals and in 66 games hit .274/.348/.369. In 237 AB’s in 2010 between the two teams he walked 29 times and struck out 50. Nothing impressive, but I’m sure he can improve.
This winter in Venezuela, Blanco hit .337/.478/.520 with 4 HR’s, 14 2B and 5 3B in 196 AB’s. He also walked 47 times and struck out 46. Impressive numbers that earned him the MVP award in the Venezuelan Winter League this year. In the semi-finals, Blanco kept his torrid offensive output up hitting .347/.484/.714 with 5 HR’s, 1 2B and 1 3B in 49 AB’s. He also has walked 13 times and struck out 11. Now tell me why doesn’t Beane gives him a Minor League deal with a ST invitation to see if he can makes the team? After all the kid fits perfectly in the OBP-driven offensive/cheap player category.
Jimenez is another case study. He has incredible power and is a left handed hitter. The other day, he hit two 450+ ft home runs in the same game in Venezuela. And one of them was well beyond the 500 ft mark. The ball left the stadium, and was apparently the longest hit in the “Estadio Universitario” (Caracas, Venezuela) history. In 10 Minor League seasons Jimenez has a hitting line of .284/.367/.468 with 121 HR’s in 2,876 AB’s. This year in Venezuela, Jimenez hit .300/.417/.486 with 10 home runs in 220 AB’s. He also walked 44 times and struck out 47.
For Beane and the A’s, these two players are not going to be pricey. Just a couple of Minor League deals with invitations to Spring Training. I think they will prove their value to a team that is always looking for bargains.
Image by J. Chris Vaughan under the Creative Commons License.
PRO Rumors financial efficiency report- Arizona Diamondbacks
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The next financial efficiency report we will dive into is the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks finished the regular season with a 94-68 record, eight games ahead of the Giants for the NL West title (their first playoff appearance since 2007). The Diamondbacks then took on the Brewers in the NLDS, and after being down 0-2 in the first two games they forced a decisive fifth game where they lost 3-2 against them.
Arizona overcame a horrible 2010 season where they went 65-97, good enough for last place.The Diamondbacks’ payroll was the sixth lowest in baseball at $53,639,833 million. With that payroll, they won 94 games, or 45 games above the 49 game line. That means they spent $1,191,996.29 for every win over 49.
Their top five paid players were:
– Kelly Johnson ($5,850,000): Johnson hit .209/.287/.412 with 18 HR’s, 49 RBI’s, 59 runs scored and a .699 OPS in 114 games with the Diamondbacks in 2011. He was traded to the Blue Jays late in August. If we presume that the D’backs paid Johnson for the entire season, it means that he earned $65,000 for every hit he got (90) with them, $325,000 for every home run he hit and $99,152.54 for every run he scored. He also earned $119,387.76 for every run he batted in and $42,700.73 for every time he got on base.
– Joe Saunders ($5,500,000): Saunders went 12-13 with a 3.69 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 212.0 innings throughout 33 starts in 2011. He earned $458,333.33 for every won game, $50,925.93 for every batter he struck out, $25,943.40 for every inning pitched and $166,666.66 for every game he started.
– Chris Young ($5,200,000): Young hit .236/.331/.420 with 20 HR’s, 71 RBI’s, 89 runs and a .751 OPS. Young earned $260,000 for every home run he hit, $38,805.97 for every hit, $73,239.44 for every run he batted in, $58,426.97 for every run scored and $23,853.21 for every time he got on base.
– Stephen Drew ($4,650,000): Drew hit .252/.317/.369 with 5 HR’s, 45 RBI’s, 44 runs and a .713 OPS in only 321 AB’s. Drew earned $930,000 for every home run he hit, $57,407.41 for every hit, $103,333.33 for every run batted in, $105,681.82 for every run scored or $41,517.86 for every time he got on base.
– Justin Upton ($4,458,333): Upton hit .289/.369/.529 with 31 HR’s, 88 RBI’s, 105 runs and a .898 OPS in 592 AB’s. Upton earned $143,817.19 for every home run he hit. $26,072.12 for every hit he got, $50,662.86 for every run batted in, $42,460.31 for every run scored or $17,904.95 for every time he got on base.
The Diamondbacks had a collective OBP of .322, a collective SLG of.413 and an OPS of .736. Throughout the season they scored 731 runs, or about $73,378.70 for every run they scored as a team. They ranked third in slugging, fourth in OPS and seventh in on-base percentage as an overall team in the National League.
I believe this team had a pretty solid season taking into account their payroll. Even with a limited Drew, they still managed to outperform the rest of the NL West. They even outperformed their Pythagorean record, 88-74 against 94-68. The Pythagorean record is calculated with the runs scored and runs allowed and gives you an estimate of wins a team’s is slated to get.
Their three best offensive players (OBP-wise) were Upton, Gerardo Parra and Miguel Montero, in that exact same order. The last two are not among the top-five players, Montero made $3,200,000 and Parra only $426,000, and Parra will now be the team’s fourth outfielder. On the 25-man roster only 15 players earned more than $1 million, and their two aces Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson weren’t among them.
If this group of young players can stay healthy and perform the way they did in 2011 this team is going to be tough to beat for years to come. The Diamondbacks will have to evaluate which players to lock-up to long-term deals, which of them will get traded for good young prospects and which of them will become free agents and sign with another team as many of them will hit free agency around the same time.
Image by SD Dirk under the Creative Commons License.
PRO Rumors financial efficiency report- Milwaukee Brewers
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Our fifth Financial Report is dedicated to the NL Central Champions Milwaukee Brewers. A team that desperately tried to compete this season before their biggest star Prince Fielder hit free agency.
In 2011 the Brewers won 96 regular season games, or 47 above the 49 games won line. They paid $85,497,333 in total salary breaking down their expenses to $1,819,092.19 per win.
Their top five paid players were:
– Prince Fielder ($15,500,000): Fielder hit .299/.415/.566 with 38 HR’s, 120 RBI’s, 95 runs and a .981 OPS. Fielder earned $407,894.74 for every home run he hit or $129,166.67 for every RBI he earned, or $163,157.89 for every run he scored, or $54,006.97 for every time he got on base.
– Zack Greinke ($13,500,000): Greinke went 16-6 with a 3.83 ERA with 201 SO in 171.2 innings. He made $843,750 for every game he won or $67,164.18 for every batter he struck out, or $482,142.86 for every game he started (28).
– Randy Wolf ($9,500,00): Wolf went 13-10 with a 3.69 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 212.1 innings. He earned $730,769.23 for every win, or $70,895.52 for every strikeout, or $278,878.79 for every game started (33).
– Corey Hart ($6,833,333): Hart hit .285/.356/.510 with 26 HR’s, 63 RBI’s, 80 runs and a .866 OPS. Hart made $262,820.5 for every home run he hit, or $108,465.60 for every RBI he earned, or $85,416.66 for every run he scored, or $35,042.73 for every time he got on base.
– Rickie Weeks ($4,500,000): Weeks hit .269/.350/.468 with 20 HR’s, 49 RBI’s, 77 runs and a .818 OPS. He earned $225,000 for every home run, $91,836.73 for every run batted in, or $58,441.56 for every run he scored, or $25,000 for every time he got on base.
The Brewers had a .325 OBP as a team and a .425 of SLG percentage. They scored a total runs of 721 which breaks down their expenses to $118,581.60 per run.
The Brewers began 2011 by trading for Greinke and Shaun Marcum thus bolstering the top of their starting rotation and getting a chance to compete in the NL Central. Their top paid player, Fielder, had an OBP over .400 for the third consecutive season, and walked over 100 times for a third consecutive season as well. The other two position players in the top five paid players were Weeks and Hart. Both of them had an OBP above .350 and an OPS over .800.
As the team with the 17th highest payroll we can say that they have been the most effective team thus far out of the first five teams evaluated even though they are the ones that scored the fewer runs. Unfortunately for them, it appears that their offense relies a lot on Fielder. With Fielder probably moving on, you start to wonder if they will have the same shot at competing this season.
In my opinion, the Brewers’ offense relies more on Fielder more than the Cardinals’ offense does in Albert Pujols. For 2012, the Brewers also have another payroll problem. They will have to pay Francisco Rodriguez about $14 million for being the team’s setup man, thus putting him in the team’s top five players for 2012.
The Brewers probably offered Rodriguez arbitration to get a compensation pick if he signed elsewhere, but with the closer market shrinking he decided to accept the arbitration offer and come back with the team for 2012. Although last week, we learned that there are teams interested in trading for Rodriguez.
For 2012, the team also picked up Aramis Ramirez and Alex Gonzalez in free agency. The first one will try to fill some of the void left by Fielder’s imminent departure, and the latter will be a defensive, and probably offensive improvement over Yunieski Betancourt.
Image by Rich Anderson under the Creative Commons License.
PRO Rumors Android app version 1.0 is available
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Hello PRO Rumors fans,
We are proud to announce that our PRO Rumors Android app version 1.0 is available on the Android Market. We spent a lot of time on the app’s design and functionality, and we are sure that you’ll love it. To download the app for an introductory price of $2.99 you can click here.
Here are a few features:
– Push Notifications to get the latest news and rumors for your favorite MLB team
– Pulse-like view of articles – it’s beautiful
– Real-time scoreboard
– Real-time box scores of in-game action
We’re working hard to add more features, so if you have any questions or feature requests, please send an email to support@prorumors.com. We promise to write you back.
Allan
PRO Rumors financial efficiency report- New York Yankees
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As the team who pays more in salaries in the Major Leagues, this data was fun to look over (and hopefully to read). But before we start trashing the Yankees for spending so much money, let me say a couple of things. I think the Yankees had a productive off-season last year by picking up veterans like Andruw Jones, Eric Chavez, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon.
They were not expensive pickups and the production they provided to the Bronx Bombers was probably more than they and everyone who follows this sport, would’ve expected. I do believe though, that they overpaid for a setup man when they signed Rafael Soriano to a three-year, $35-million deal (actually the Marlins got a closer, Heath Bell, this off season for the same length and $5 million less), but after all, that was the Yankees being the Yankees. But even with that, the Yankees still managed to reduce their payroll by 2.3 percent compared to 2010.
In 2011, the Yankees won 97 games (48 games above the 49 games won line) and paid $202,689,028 in salaries. This means they spent $3,985,250.58 for every win they earned above 49.
Their top five paid players were:
– Alex Rodriguez($32,000,000): Rodriguez hit .276/.362/.461 with 16 HR’s, 62 RBI’s, 67 runs and a .823 OPS. Rodriguez earned $2,000,000 for every home run he hit, or $516,129.03 for every RBI he got, or $206,451.51 every time he got on base.
– C.C. Sabathia($24,285,714): Sabathia went 19-8 with a 3.00 ERA and 230 strikeouts in 237.1 innings in 2011. For every win, he earned $1,278,195.47, for every strikeout $105,590.06.
– Mark Teixeira($23,125,000): Teixeira hit .248/.341/.494 with 39 HR’s, 111 RBI’s, 90 runs and a .835 OPS. He earned $592,948.72 for every homer he hit, or $208,333.33 for every run he batted in, or $99,248.93 for every time he got on base.
– A.J. Burnett ($16,500,000): Burnett went 11-11 with a 5.15 ERA and 173 strikeouts in 190.1 innings throughout 33 games, 32 starts. Burnett earned $1,500,000 for every game he won or $95,375.72 for every strikeout.
– Mariano Rivera ($14,911,701): Rivera went 1-2 with a 1.91 ERA, 60 strikeouts and 44 saves in 61.1 innings. Rivera earned $338,902.30 for every game he saved.
The Yankees had a collective OBP of .343, a SLG of .444 and a .788 OPS. The Bombers scored 867 runs, meaning they spent $233,782.04 for every run they scored.
When you talk about the Yankees and salaries you will, most likely bring A-Rod’s name into the conversation. Because he’s the highest paid player in the Majors, and because his offensive numbers haven’t been the same as of late. I know he has been battling injuries the past couple of years, but his extremely high salary brings out the question, is there a player who could produce at a similar level as Rodriguez but for a fraction of his salary? The answer is yes, and by a fraction, I mean probably $30 million less that what Rodriguez earns a year.
I’m not saying Rodriguez is a bad player, or that he doesn’t deserve his reputation, or the money. He was the best Major League hitter for a long time, and he will probably break Barry Bond’s HR record, but financially speaking, A-Rod was as inefficient as it comes, at least for this season. Although I must point out that Rodriguez had a higher OBP this season compared to 2010, even though his batting average was lower.
Moving on to another low point for the Yankees, Burnett, the $16.5 million pitcher had a 5.15 ERA. While I do believe that ERA is not a stat that depends entirely on the pitcher, the stats that entirely depend on him weren’t that impressive. He allowed 1.5 HR/9 and 3.9 BB/9, although he struck out 8.2 per nine innings. He also threw an incredible 25 wild pitches.
Another of the top five paid Yankee who has a disappointing season was Teixeira. The Yankees first baseman had a .341 OBP this season, and his OBP, and BA have been declining about .020 points per season since 2008, something that should be take into account.
Of the five top paid Yankees only two had good seasons, Sabathia and Rivera. The other three, Rodriguez, Burnett and Teixeira, who earn a total of $71,625,000 out of a $202,689,028 payroll (35%) had disappointing seasons. The reason why the Yankees, although somehow financially ineffective, are still successful is because they have incredible financial flexibility. They are capable of overpaying for a player that doesn’t pan out then going out and buying another player.
I do understand though that when you pay $32 million for Rodriguez, you’re not only paying for a .341 OBP guy. You’re paying for a guy who’s going to sell jerseys, a guy who’s going to be on the news every week, a media guy. You’re paying for a guy who is going to bring people to the stadium and the closer he gets to Bond’s HR record the more baseball fans will bring. All those “intangibles” are attached to Rodriguez’s salary, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Basically, his salary has probably more “intangibles” than offensive attributes attached to it, but there’s not much you can do about it. Players like Rodriguez will always go to teams like the Yankees, and players who can produce at a similar level, but not in a flashy way will go to smaller market teams. And finding those players is the key to succeeding in baseball for teams with limited resources.
Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.
PRO Rumors financial efficiency report- Philadelphia Phillies
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After completing the first two financial reports, I’ll be doing the rest of the reports according to their regular season record. In 2011, the Philadelphia Phillies had the best record in the Majors, but they failed to advance to the NLCS after losing to the Wild Card Team/World Series Champions, St. Louis Cardinals.
The apparently unbeatable Phillies with their pitching rotation sent from the baseball gods owned the regular season by winning 102 regular season games (53 above the 49 game line). One game less than the Oakland Athletics won in 2001 and with a lot less hype. The Phillies’ payroll was the second highest this past season with $172,976,379.03. That means the Phillies paid about $3,048,667.53 for every win above 49 they got.
Their top five paid players were:
– Roy Halladay ($20,000,000): Halladay went 19-6 with a 2.35 ERA, eight complete games and 220 strikeouts in 233.2 innings throughout 32 starts. Hallady earned $1,052,631.58 for every victory, or $90,909.09 for every strikeout he got.
– Ryan Howard ($20,000,000): Howard hit .253/.346/.488 with 33 HR’s, 116 RBI’s, 81 runs and a .835 OPS. Howard earned $606,060.61 for every home run he hit, or $172,413.79 for every RBI, $246,913.58 for every run scored, or $89,686.10 for every time he got on base.
– Roy Oswalt ($16,000,000): Oswalt went 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 139.0 innings in 23 starts. Oswalt earned $1,777,777.78 for every win he got, or $172,043,01 for every strikeout.
– Chase Utley ($15,285,714): Utley hit .259/.344/.425 with 11 HR’s, 44 RBI’s, 54 runs scored and an OPS of .769. He got $1,389,610.36 for every homer he hit, or $347,402.59 for every run he batted in, or $97,985.35 for every time he got on base. Lets remember Utley was bothered with knee issues throughout the 2011 season affecting his production and effectiveness.
– Raul Ibanez ($12,166,667): Ibanez hit .245/.289/.419 with 20 HR’s, 84 RBI’s, 65 runs and a .707 OPS. Ibanez got $608,333.35 for every home run he hit, or $144,841.27 for every RBI, or $73,293.17 every time he got on base.
The Phillies had a collective OBP of .323, a SLG of .395 and a .717 OPS. They scored a total of 713, meaning the team paid about $242,603.62 for every run they scored. Taking a closer look at that number we can conclude that the team was focused on pitching rather than offense.
Even though the Phillies won 102 regular season games, most in the Majors, I think they failed to make the best out of every dollar spent. This means that if they had a significantly lower payroll, they would probably end up in the bottom of the NL East. The team spent $12,166,667 on a 39-year old guy that had an on-base percentage of .289, and even though he hit 20 homers, I truly believe the OBP is a more important offensive stat. Lets not forget that the higher OBP you have the less chances you have to become an out. And the most players you get on base the more runs you’ll probably score.
Utley is a different case here. He had a low offensive production season, but nobody was counting on him getting injured. Howard on the other hand had a not-so-impressive season while being in top physical shape. If Utley’s injury had something to do with it, I don’t know, but it could be. We’re not 100 percent certain. They also had an injured plagued Oswalt that lost one more game than he won and was the third highest player on the Phillies’ payroll.
The Phillies got to the postseason quicker than any other team in the Majors, but got eliminated in the first round against the St. Louis Cardinals, who compared with the Phillies were a more efficient team offensively. Their OBP, SLG and OPS percentage were higher than the Phillies’.
Image by Darrins under the Creative Commons License.
