From the NY POST article linked above:
As the Yankees hope Greg Bird can build on what he’s shown when healthy and that Gleyber Torres can fulfill his potential, the Astros already have four standout infielders in first baseman Yuli Gurriel, second baseman Jose Altuve, third baseman Alex Bregman and shortstop Carlos Correa.
Question: Which infield would you rather have, just for one season, not for one season and the future... the 2017 Astros or the 2009 Yankees?
OPS+/WAR
Tex- 141/5.3 Cano- 121/4.5 Jeter- 125/6.5 ARod- 138/4.1
(wow, according to WAR, Jeter's 3rd best season of his career)
Gurriel- 124/2.6 Altuve- 164/8.3 Correa-158/6.3 Bregman- 128/4.1
Average OPS+
Yankees-131.25
Astros- 143.5
Average WAR
Yankees- 5.1
Astros- 5.3
I really thought the Yankees would have the edge. I remember that being talked about as one of the best offensive infields ever. It was pretty close though and numbers say, I gotta go with the Astros.. but my heart says, fuck that go with the YANKS!!
Lets compare catchers...
Posada- 125/1.6
McCann/Gattis- 109.5/1.2
WOW.. McCann was 110 OPS+ and Gattis was 109... and both had a WAR of 1.2.. Kinda weird.
Now, off to read about Tanaka not opting out. I was wrong, I for sure thought he would OPT out and so did most people in the media/beat writers. The only people who DIDN'T think he would opt out were posters on this site... so hats off to ya!!!
The difference in WAR is actually negligible, and as long as that stat continues to be oft-dominated by hard to verify defensive abilities I have to say that I will continue to take it with a grain of salt that is dabbled with a heavy dose of truth...In other words, I believe it to mean something, but I'm not convinced it should be taken as a 100% fool-proof statistic...I have similar issues with OPS. Not that it's not at all important, but you still have so many other factors involved in ranking players like their defense, speed, "intangibles" including leadership that I have to stop and think about the whole player. I used to do something years ago with position-by position comparisons that was horribly unreliable, but I would take into consideration all I knew of players in a head to head match up and give them anywhere from 0-5 points vs. each other. So...here is my comparison of the players you've listed...
Bird: 2.5 Proven power, suspect consistency, superior OBP skills matched with average to good defense. Has potential to improve value by a lot in 2018.
Gurriel:3.0 Proven consistent hitter with occasional power. Average to good defense, quality of personality and therefore respect took a hit during the world series due to racial incident.
Texieira: 4.5 Proven power and consistent hitter with superior OBP skills, top defensive 1B in AL at that time.
Castro: 2.7 Inconsistent, can be hot or cold, poor OBP skills. Under rated at 2B, but only slightly above average. A bit of HR pop, speed no longer a factor.
Altuve: 4.8, Best contact hitter for average in MLB, has surprising power for size, speed continues to be in top 10% in MLB. Defense a bit over-rated, but hustles in field to above average performance. Vocal team leader.
Cano: 5.0 Hits for big BA, struggles with patience, HR power has now arrived with his slashing 2BH bat . Turns DP with the best, shows good range and superior arm.
Gregorius: 3.8 Good BA, poor OBP, runs well but speed doesn't translate to stolen bases. Great arm, excellent range, soft hands.
Correa: 4.5 Developing into world-class fielding short stop, has A-Rod like possibilities to dominate. Good power, OBP skills, developing higher BA skills.
Jeter 4.0 Smart player with intangibles off the charts. No longer hits the long ball like he once did, continues to steal bases with great % and often. Keeps within himself at the plate and is a force with his consistency. Range now below average.
Torres: 3.0 To soon to rate, predicted rookie 3.0
Bregman: 3.0 Decent all-around skill set with no one skill a stand-out, in field or at the plate. Runs well, hustles.
Alex Rodriguez: 4.0 Big bat combined with tarnished image and now slightly below average fielding.
That is of course, MY opinion and leaves plenty of room for discussion. Like, how accurate was I vs. what you may think, and why is Torres at 3B when you may be certain that he's going to wind up at 2B? Giving Torres his predicted 3.0 rating as a rookie (that's a nice rookie, by the way), then the totals for the teams in the infield were:
12.0 points for the Yankees of 2017/2018
15.3 points for the Astros of 2017/2018
17.5 points for the Yankees of 2009 (what the hell do they have to do with anything, anyway...but you asked, so I'm telling)...If Bird becomes a 4.5, the rankings tighten a lot, don't they? He could very well do that...
I don't know why we're not talking about Sanchez at C, but...Let's do that as well.
Sanchez: 4.2 Amazing raw power, developing consistency. Can improve OBP. Under rated defense and solid to great arm, may not stay at catcher for long haul.
McCann/Gattis: 3.0 Savvy McCann is good with blocking and pitchers behind the bat, can't throw anymore. Offense now completely tied to his HR game. Gattis is a DH that catches but has good raw power.
Posada: 3.4 Fading fast defensively, still offers good pop and consistent bat with OBP skills.
