An earlier version of this story originally appeared in the March 24, 2014 issue of Sportsnet magazine.
Baseball’s a game of stars, from Derek Jeter to Andrew McCutchen to Mike Trout. But there are dozens of quality players who contribute while flying under the radar. Those underrated players deserve recognition, too.
Here’s Sportsnet’s all-underrated team for the 2014 season:
Lineup
C – Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals – The 23-year-old catcher has quietly hit .301 with a .331 on-base percentage in three seasons with Kansas City. Those are some Yadier Molina-like numbers at a young age.
1B – Brandon Belt, San Francisco Giants – Belt will never win a home run title or conform to traditional expectations of what a first baseman ‘should’ do. But he hit 39 doubles last year while posting a .360 on-base percentage. He can hit.
2B – Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians – Only three second basemen have generated more wins above replacement than Kipnis since his first full season in 2012: Robinson Cano, Dustin Pedroia and all-underrated team veteran Ben Zobrist.
3B – Kyle Seager, Seattle Mariners – Seager’s basic numbers — .260, 22 home runs, 69 RBI — don’t jump out at you. But he hits plenty of doubles, handles third base and hits in a pitchers’ park.
SS – Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta Braves – Fans in Atlanta were treated to a season-long highlight reel from the 24-year-old Curacao native, and his second half performance suggests he’s improving as a hitter.
LF – Starling Marte, Pittsburgh Pirates – Marte does a little bit of everything in Pittsburgh. He totaled 48 extra-base hits, stole 41 bases and played well defensively. He was even hit by 24 pitches, which boosted his on-base percentage to .343.
CF – Coco Crisp, Oakland Athletics – Much like Marte, Crisp does just about everything well with little fanfare. The 34-year-old tends to miss time with injuries, but when he’s healthy he adds value with his bat, arm and legs.
RF – Norichika Aoki, Kansas City Royals – Aoki doesn’t fit the mold of the slugging right fielder, but he has a career on-base percentage of .356 and 50 stolen bases over the last two seasons, so he doesn’t need to hit home runs.
DH – Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays – The right-handed hitter has emerged as one of the game’s best power bats in recent years, with 78 home runs since 2012. Not only does Encarnacion offer power, he walks more often than he strikes out.
Starting Pitchers
Andrew Cashner, San Diego Padres – Just four starting pitchers average more fastball velocity than Cashner, whose 95 m.p.h. heater helped him post a 3.09 ERA during his breakout 2013 season
Alex Cobb, Tampa Bay Rays – Unlike Cashner, Cobb doesn’t have a dominant fastball. Instead, he relies heavily on his curve and change-up — pitches that helped him post a 2.76 ERA in 22 starts for Tampa Bay last year.
Julio Teheran, Atlanta Braves – Teheran posted a 3.20 ERA in 2013, and there’s reason to believe he can get even better. The Braves thought highly enough of his rookie season to sign him to a six-year extension.
Closer
Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers – It’s pretty rare for a Dodger to be underrated, but Jansen quietly posted a 1.88 ERA with 111 strikeouts and just 18 walks in 76.2 innings last year.
