Ranking the NL East Starters

[Gwreck]

While coming to the revelation that Daniel Murphy is probably the second-worst starting first baseman in the National League I found it useful to re-consider where we stand vis-a-vis our division rivals for starting lineups. I think this was someone else's idea used to measure up off-season needs. The results aren't pretty.

C
McCann
Baker
Ruiz
Pudge
Barajas

1B
Howard
Dunn
Cantu
Glaus
Murphy

2B
Utley
Uggla
Prado
Castillo
Kennedy

3B
Wright
Zimmerman
Jones
Polanco
Sanchez

SS
Ramirez
Rollins
Escobar
Guzman
Cora

LF
Bay
Ibanez
Coghlan
Willingham
Cabrera/Diaz

CF
Victorino
McLouth
Maybin
Morgan
Pagan

RF
Werth
Ross
Heyward (?)
Francoeur
Harris/Maxwell

[Valadius]

Are Reyes and Beltran chopped liver?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Are Reyes and Beltran chopped liver?

[metirish]

While coming to the revelation that Daniel Murphy is probably the second-worst starting first baseman in the National League I found it useful to re-consider where we stand vis-a-vis our division rivals for starting lineups. I think this was someone else's idea used to measure up off-season needs. The results aren't pretty.

C
McCann
Baker
Ruiz
Pudge
Barajas

1B
Howard
Dunn
Cantu
Glaus
Murphy

2B
Utley
Uggla
Prado
Castillo
Kennedy

3B
Wright
Zimmerman
Jones
Polanco
Sanchez

SS
Ramirez
Rollins
Escobar
Guzman
Cora

LF
Bay
Ibanez
Coghlan
Willingham
Cabrera/Diaz

CF
Victorino
McLouth
Maybin
Morgan
Pagan

RF
Werth
Ross
Heyward (?)
Francoeur
Harris/Maxwell

[Ceetar]

Yah! nitpicking time.

Castillo's better than that. He's not Utley, but I'd probably take him over Prado, and definitely Uggla.

Pagan's better than Morgan too. probably better than Maybin as well.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Castillo over Uggla?

I'll take him because he's mine, but I'm not going to rank him where he doesn't belong.

Castillo's a 34-year-old coming of 77 and a 98 ERA+ scores the last two years. Uggla is a 30-year-old coming off 126 and 111 the last two. Castillo is playing with at least somewhat of a heightened risk of injury, and both of them are burdens on defense.

I mean, Castillo rules and down with Uggla and all, but you gotta earn that ranking.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Pagan is a pretty good defensive outfielder, with the tools to be a very good defensive outfielder. Morgan IS a very good defensive outfielder. Morgan's been more consistent on the offensive end, too, and much more durable.

He's our Angel, and I'm EXTREMELY comfortable with him as a 4th OF, but frankly, I'd swap him for Morgan in a heartbeat and never look back.

Oh, wait-- you were kidding, right? (THAT explains the Castillo-Prado-Uggla business.)

[smg58]

C: It's a four-way tie for a very distant second. If there's a difference between Barajas and the other three, it's very small.

1B: The scary thing about this bunch is that Murph is the best fielder. Cantu is slated to play third, and I'd take Murphy over Gaby Sanchez at this point in their careers. Glaus is a huge question mark too, so I'm not sure rating him higher is warranted.

2B: Kennedy's superior glove might push him ahead of Castillo, unfortunately.

SS: A healthy Reyes is second, and hopefully we'll have that in May.

3B: Wright has to bounce back before I'd rate him ahead of Zimmermann.

LF: Don't underestimate Ibanez.

CF: We're first when Beltran comes back. Pagan had a higher OPS last year than anybody else on this list. Maybin has to earn his placing. Don't underestimate Nyjer Mogan's glove.

RF: Heyward likewise would have to earn his placing. Ross and Francoeur are actually similar players; the primary difference is that Francoeur has played full-time his whole career while Ross never got that opportunity until this past season.

[Gwreck]

I didn't realize the caveat was necessary that I obviously know that Reyes and Beltran would rank a lot higher than Cora or Pagan but given that they're out for unknown periods of time I found it pointless to consider them.

Catcher is most certainly not a tie; Baker and Ruiz are unquestionably better than Rodriguez or Barajas.

Heyward is the only one I really struggled with where to place, and I suppose that when we revisit these at the end of the season, he could be in any of the 5 slots but I didn't think his ranking was unfair to anyone. On the subject of right field, I will note that Ross has had 2 full MLB seasons, not 1, and I'd take his 2008 and 2009 OPS+ (107 and 104) over Francoeur's (72 and 93) in a heartbeat.