If anything, highlighting Giancarlo Stanton after doing just that a couple weeks ago means that David Ortiz finally has a worthy challenger to the OPS league crown. Regardless, I’m not changing my picture (at least not yet). Anyway, since I recently discussed how Stanton is arguably #1 in OPS leagues, I was curious to see who has a higher slugging than Giancarlo and take a closer look at those players. On a semi-related note, I’m going to do another OBP roundup next week and will include as many of the players suggested in this week’s comments (first come, first served? typed? discussed?) because I decided on that as I was typing this sentence and now seems like a good place to end it. So here are the guys who have had a higher slugging than Mr. Stanton in 2014:
I’m sure it’s not a surprise to see Troy Tulowitzki here. It’s hard to decide whether his .484 OBP or his .733 slugging is more impressive, or that seeing a 1.000 OPS going forward wouldn’t be a stretch since he’s topped a .900 OPS in four of his past five seasons. This is my way of saying it’s unlikely that he’ll continue at this rate, but he should still continue to be among the best in an OPS league, when healthy.
Apparently moving to Petco can cause you to post a career-high slugging, right Seth Smith? In reality, so far he looks like a better player than we’re used to, with an improved approach (more walks, fewer strikeouts) and increased selectivity (swinging less, more contact). At this point, I’d be shocked if he didn’t top an .830 OPS going forward, which is something he hasn’t done since he called Coors Field his home.
I recently said, “Yasiel Puig never ceases to amaze me. His .398 career OBP isn’t getting enough attention. He’s quietly cementing his place as a top fantasy guy and he still has room to improve, given his age.” Because I’m consistent and a narcissist, I still agree with myself. I believe he’ll come close to maintaining his impressive .331/.423/.607 line going forward.
Victor Martinez’s monster season is mostly a product of an elevated home run to fly ball rate. Unless there’s a reason to expect his rate to increase this year, which I can’t find, it would be appropriate to expect his OPS to be significantly closer to .800 than 1.000. Him and Miguel Cabrera switching jerseys would be a pretty good reason though…
I’ve hinted here and there that I never fully believed in Jose Abreu’s production, since I was worried about his high amount of strikeouts and lack of walks. After his record-setting April, his May numbers (1.6% walk rate, 36.1% strikeout rate, and an .814 OPS) show him being more human than human or something. I think he’ll be closer to an .850 OPS for the rest of the season.
You can find Tom Jacks on Twitter @votetomjacks. He spends far too much time praying for the Cubs, planning his next concert, and wondering if there’s an instrument that could ever rival the theremin (there isn’t).
