2007 All-Ghost Team
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by user Gmaddux04
I am going to attempt to field the most righteous MLB team for 2007 with players you never hear about on TV. Here goes:
C - John Buck, Kansas City Royals - Would you believe this guy is currently tied for the league lead in homers for a catcher with 14? Sure, his offensive production hasn't been that great, but the rest of that Royals lineup has to grow first for him to be worthwhile. The big thing which probably keeps him down is his 43:42 hit to strikeout ratio. This could have easily gone to Russell Martin, but Martin really broke out the last half of last season and should definately be the NL's starting catcher in the All-Star game this year.
1B - Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres - The next Pujols? Gonzalez really let it rip last year and has become the backbone of that sorry Padre lineup. His 51 RBI this season is astounding, along with 14 homers and solid .282 clip. How does he stack up against other 1B? Well, he has more RBI than guys named Pujols, Ortiz, Berkman, and Delgado.
2B - Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays - This was a real hard decision for me considering how shallow the 2B position is right now. Guys like Dan Uggla and Ian Kinsler have just been absolutely sick this year and exceeded expectations so far, but they have nothing on Hill. His 44 RBI, 9 homers, 42 runs and 3 swipes have bamboozled me, because last year I wrote off Hill as being one of the worst hitting infielders in the league. Those numbers are OK I guess, but it doesn't take much anymore to be considered a good hitting second baseman. Right now there's Chase Utley and then everyone else. Consider this: in Hill's 155 games last year (I avidly checked Toronto's lineup all last year as I had Vernon Wells on my team and was just repulsed by this sorry infielder) he posted 50 RBI on 6 HR.
SS - J.J. Hardy, Milwaukee Brewers - Being at the top of an upstart Brewer's order will tend to swell your numbers, but I believe a lot of this is attributed to everyone on that team being overshadowed by Cecil's kid. Hardy has 18 homers already, that's five more than any other MLB shortstop! His almost 2:1 hit to K ratio meshes nicely with the 50 runs batted in. He also has hit safely in all but six games in June this year. Hardy is your penultimate breakout star, having only played 159 big league games before this season. Drawbacks are definately lack of speed and 8 errors this year.
3B - Chone Figgins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - It's nice to know if this guy is on base, it's a safe bet he will steal another and therefore automatically be in scoring position. I don't know about you, but where I'm from, this guy gets no love. This is warranted, though. He broke his finger in spring training then proceeded to play like a Junior Varsity utility scrub up until the month of June (about a week before, I dropped him from my team after drafting him in the 3rd round). Since May 19th, he has raised his batting average from .108 to .310, and astounding 202 points. On May 31st he had 15 hits; he now has 62 on the season with 18 steals. Now I remember why I drafted him.
LF - Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies - This is kind of cheating but I will go out on an East Coast Bias limb and dare say Holliday is the best hitter in the game right now. But who hears of it besides those in the Midwest? Batting .349 for the season with 110 hits already, Holliday has quietly become one of the most feared hitters in the game. His 13 homers is a little low for what he was projected at this point. This shouldn't surprise anyone. 119 runs, 114 RBI were his claims to fame last year and he's on pace to do it again. Too bad we won't ever see his games on the tube.
CF - Eric Byrnes, Arizona Diamondbacks - This guy is still around? I remember him being a fairly decent player for the A's, but this just may be his year. He is batting above .300 (.311) for the first time in his career and has serious 30/30 potential. Being the primary leadoff weapon for the D-Backs, Byrnes should start making a name for himself; Arizona is fighting for that division afterall. His drawbacks are that average will most likely settle between .275 and .280 before the season is through and his 5 assists to 3 errors in the field leaves something to be desired.
RF - Shane Victorino, Philadelphia Phillies - If you don't know the Flyin' Hawaiian, let me introduce you. Somewhere nestled snugly between J-Rol leading off and Ryan Howard pounding balls out of their stitches is Victorino in the two-hole. Like Figgins, if this guy gets on base, he'll be looking to run. His 50 runs scored and 22 swipes are hard evidence. It also helps the Phils are one of top offensive squads in the NL and Victorino is reaping the benefits. Interestingly enough, playing a full season last year he only struck out 54 times but stole just four bases. This year, he's already fanned 41 times but amassed a stunning 22 stolen bases. Clearly his .407 slugging won't cut it, and I honestly believe his speed is what's keeping him from being platooned with Aaron Rowand and Michael Bourn.
In no particular order a five man rotation and a closer.
SP - Jeremy Guthrie, Baltimore Orioles - I've yet to have the pleasure of seeing the kid pitch, but the numbers alone in the past couple of months speak volumes. Guthrie started the season in the O's bullpen and made it down to the rotation (I'm chalking that up to Leo Mazzone being a demi-god) and it's the best thing they could have done. Since then, Guthrie has started 10 games, thrown 50 K's, and only given up 14 earned runs. Oh yeah, and only 10 walks! It's a damn shame the O's suck so bad, because his four wins for the season could easily be seven or eight.
SP - James Shields, Tampa Bay Devil Rays - Second fiddle to Scott Kazmir on a team full of young potential. I live in Florida, and sometimes I can't even keep up with this babyfaced talent. Shields has 6 wins, 100K and 3.81 ERA with just 19 measley walks. Although he has been knocked around quite a bit this month, his 100 strikeouts are still good for Top 10 in the Majors (Erik Bedard leads with 129). Once he gets out of this slump, which has seen his record of 6-0 drop to 6-3 the past couple of weeks, Shields will assert himself and challenge 15 wins. Book it!
SP - Dan Haren, Oakland A's - Long gone are the Oakland Trifecta and now in place are guys like Haren and Joe Blanton. I know I never see A's games, and I hear people in California don't see many of them either, but his statistics alone are frightening. His ERA is a flaco 1.91 and his WHIP is 0.94. He hasn't allowed over 3 ER all season! He has fanned 93 batters and has lasted 7.0 innings all but four times! Are you scared yet? Well, he sometimes gives guys free passes a little too frequently, but if the next guy can't catch up to your stuff, does it matter?
SP - Sergio Mitre, Florida Marlins - Last year me and my roommate (both avid Braves fans) were discussing how ridiculous the Marlin's team was, and basically how it had just become the Florida Miguel Cabreras. But then AA standout Dan Uggla started to rip the ball, Josh Johnson threw almost unhittable stuff and Anibal Sanchez threw a no-no. Then there was Sergio Mitre, who at the time was being rocked to the point of some supergroup formed from the loins of Aerosmith, Dragonforce and White Snake. Shortly thereafter he was demoted to the minors and dipped into obscurity. Now he's back with an impressive IP:K ratio (75.1:50) with respectable 2-3 record. Like Shields, Mitre's ERA has ballooned recently from 1.59 at the beginning of June to 2.75 right now. Mitre has a peculiar rap sheet this year: recently he's had bad outings against the Royals and Pirates but pitched beautifully against the White Sox, Braves, Cubs and Mets. Signs of a post-season hurler I ask?
SP - Randy Wolf, Los Angeles Dodgers - Well, I guess we used to talk about him...when he was sucking it up in Philly. I didn't really ever gravitate to Wolf throughout his career but this year he is covertly turning the Dodgers into a winner. Going past the 1-2 punch in the rotation and dominating in the 3rd spot, Wolf is 8-6 with a 4.32 ERA, which is pedestrian to say the least. Then you see his 1:1 IP:K and us East Coast chaps are left wondering...are the Dodgers really going to make it to the World Series this year? He's been a great pitcher in Chavez Ravine this season and I honestly believe that a pennant may lie in the hands of Wolf's second-half performance.
RP - J.J. Putz, Seattle Mariners - Thirty-six saves last year for a terrible Mariner club is what keeps you stuck in obscurity. This year's Jonathan Papelbon mixed in with a little Chad Cordero from a couple years back. Even if he is garnering some attention, like Haren his numbers are just too impressive for his pricetag. Drumroll.......0.99 ERA, 22 saves, 40 K, 6 BB, 0.58 WHIP, 36.1 IP, 4 ER, 3 homers and NO BLOWN SAVES. Translation: he rarely puts guys on base and 3/4th's of the runs he has allowed have been solo shots. He has by far been the surprise of this 2007 season and actually has the Mariners closing in on the Angels for the AL West.
