Emma: Presenting The 2016 MLB All-Sabermetrics Team
By Chris Emma--
(CBS) Sabermetrics, a miracle for the baseball nerd, provide us with clear lense with which true value is measured.
Statistics such as batting average and ERA have their place, but the metrics are more thorough in their assessment of each player.
Thus, my All-Sabermetrics Team was formed two years ago, honoring the best in baseball through wins above replacement -- which is "an attempt by the sabermetric baseball community to summarize a player's total contributions to their team in one statistic," as defined by FanGraphs.
Two years ago, the All-Sabermetrics team took aim at the baseball purist for Derek Jeter's All-Star honor despite his poor metrics. The Royals last summer filled the American League roster with their own, despite the metrics suggesting that was wrong.
Here we are this summer with the story of the All-Star Game being the Chicago Cubs and the first starting infield in an All-Star Game since the Cardinals in 1963. The 62-year-old Joe Maddon recalled the entire Cardinals group 53 years later, hoping nine-year-olds around America would embrace his young Cubs infield the way he did that Cardinals group.
While the Cubs are a cool story, their entire infield doesn't make the All-Sabermetrics Team. The foursome of Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Addison Russell and Kris Bryant is deserving of All-Star honors, but not each of the four is quite at the top at their positions.
Russell is a rising star at just 22 years old, and his All-Star selection makes for a wonderful story -- I wrote about it with praise -- but he's 14th among shortstops in WAR with a 1.7 mark.
The All-Sabermetrics Team is here once again to throw a wet blanket on narrative and offer the reality of metrics. On this squad, we combine players from each league to find the best of the best this year throughout all of baseball.
C: Buster Posey, Giants (WAR: 3.0) -- Cardinals fans cried foul over Yadier Molina's All-Star miss, but Posey is the best all-around catcher in baseball. By comparison, Molina is a 0.4 WAR. At a weak catcher position this season, Posey is by far the top player at his position.
1B: Anthony Rizzo, Cubs (WAR: 3.5) -- While Rizzo is tied with the Padres' Will Myers among first basemen, the Cubs star gets the nod because his wOBA (weighted on-base average) is an absurd .419 and his wRC+ (weighted runs created plus, a measure of offensive value by runs) is fourth in baseball at 164. Rizzo has been a force for the Cubs.
2B: Jose Altuve, Astros (WAR: 4.3) -- The Astros' little train that could is annually among the best players in baseball. Altuve boasts a .955 OPS (on-base plus slugging) and a .400 wOBA. He's hitting .341 with 14 home runs and 22 bases, and he's a plus defensive player. That's all-around value.
SS: Brandon Crawford, Giants (WAR: 4.2) -- Congratulations to Crawford on his second straight All-Sabermetrics Team selection, as it's deserved. One of the game's brightest players is also criminally underrated, as evidenced by his All-Star snub. The traditionalist should note that Crawford leads all shortstops with 61 RBIs, but his 19 DRS (defensive runs saved) are tied for tops in baseball. Crawford has been outstanding again.
3B: Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays (WAR: 5.4) -- Chicago fans may remember that Donaldson was a throw-in prospect in a 2009 trade to the A's that sent Rich Harden to the Cubs. Now, Donaldson is one of the best players in baseball. The reigning AL MVP is at it again. He boasts a 1.016 OPS, a .424 wOBA and 167 wRC+, all among the best in the game.
OF: Mike Trout, Angels (WAR: 5.5) -- All hail the best player in baseball. At just 24, Trout should hold this title for a while. He's a talented bat with plus abilities in the field and on the base paths. It's a shame that the Angels are wasting away Trout's prime in what's been a miserable season in Anaheim.
OF: Kris Bryant, Cubs (WAR: 5.0) -- When I asked about Bryant last week, his manager, Maddon, made a case that the NL's starting third baseman could be an All-Star outfielder, too. Maddon's wish is granted on the All-Sabermetrics team, because Bryant's WAR is just shy of Donaldson's absurd number and among the best in baseball. Adding to that, Bryant is a plus defensive player in both the infield and outfield. His versatility has been a tremendous asset to Maddon and the Cubs.
OF: Ian Desmond, Rangers (WAR: 4.4) -- As the White Sox fight for wild-card contention, they'll regret passing on Desmond this offseason. He was available, and the Rangers almost reluctantly swooped him up to play the outfield for the first time regularly in his career. Desmond's 8.8 UZR (ultimate zone rating, a measure of runs saved through defensive prowess) is among the best outfielders in baseball, and he's having a career year offensively with 133 wRC+, a key part of the Rangers' rise to the top team in the AL.
P: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (WAR: 5.5) -- There's no dispute in who's the best pitcher in baseball. Kershaw is putting up crazy numbers again this season. It's a shame that he's injured for the All-Star Game, because he's must-watch television on the mound. Kershaw's 2.18 xFIP (expected fielding independent pitching) is by far the best of any pitcher. Kershaw has been consistently dominant in his young career.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670 and like his Facebook page.
