Twins OPS Rankings, By Position

by Jesse on Aug 20, 2009 2:02 PM EDT in By the Numbers

Just a quick peak to see how we stack up versus the rest of the league.

POS	OPS	MLB Rank
C	.958	1st
1B	.903	7th
2B	.521	30th
3B	.708	22nd (t)
SS	.649	22nd
LF	.777	16th (t)
CF	.708	23rd
RF	.867	6th
DH	.861	3rd (*)
All	.772	8th

(*) Denotes AL only

Not a lot of surprises here. Overall the Twins are one of baseball's best offenses, and it's due in large part to (shocker) the performances they're getting from catcher, first base, right field and designated hitter. What is surprising (until you consider how much time Joe Crede has missed) is how low Minnesota ranks at third base. Finally, while Span's OBP has been brilliant, he's also been spread around the outfield.

We'll see you for the final game of the Rangers series tonight. Three in a row!

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Comments

I'm surprised by 3B.

I thought Crede was having a better year than that. But I suppose it’s who’s in his spot when he needs to rest that back that is dragging it down.

"You should enter a ballpark like you enter a church." - Bill "Spaceman" Lee

by Dr. Yogi on Aug 20, 2009 2:16 PM EDT reply actions

Crede's OPS is nothing special

He’s at .728 this year. The others have lowered it even further, but Crede’s below average himself. Remember, defense isn’t considered in this.

by Adam Peterson on Aug 20, 2009 7:18 PM EDT up reply actions

im suprised by RF

I don’t think of Cuddyer as a top 7 or 8 RF, interesting

by DaTwins on Aug 20, 2009 2:29 PM EDT reply actions

if he does miss

a game normally Span replaces him in RF also, no decline or perhaps an improvement. Cuddyer doing a good job!

by justintime on Aug 20, 2009 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Objection

I don’t think “one of baseball’s best offenses” is really all that accurate. They are indeed in the top third of MLB in OPS, but with a huuuuuge caveat – there are 16 teams that don’t get to use the DH for most of their games. On more equal footing, the Twins are 6th in the AL in OPS – still in the top half, but not really one of the best. The Yankees, Angels, Rays, and Red Sox are all at least 20 points of OPS ahead of the Twins (the Yankees are almost 60).

"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

by BeefMaster on Aug 20, 2009 3:19 PM EDT reply actions

Why bother with OPS for team stats...

… when you can look at runs. That’s the whole point of an offense. Twins are 5th in the AL with 5.03 R/G behind the Angels, Yankees, Rays and Red Sox. With park factors we might inch up a slot or two.

by DavidRF on Aug 20, 2009 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Exactly.

And that constitutes one of baseball’s best offenses in my book. And there’s usually a direct correlation between OPS and runs scored. Although it might be more accurate between OBP and runs scored.

by Jesse on Aug 20, 2009 7:17 PM EDT up reply actions

That's why wOBA exists

OPS doesn’t quite correlate to runs scored because OBP correlates better than SLG.

The only way you can use runs for something like this is if you use wRAA based on wOBA, since you’re talking about each player. Better yet, use a metric that considers play by play data and expected runs value added/subtracted for baserunning, hitting, etc. Somebody should work on that ;) This reminds me, I’m due for an article or three…

by Adam Peterson on Aug 20, 2009 7:22 PM EDT up reply actions

Wow!

Considering Morneau is quite good, but 7th. Even the average right fielder is rated higher!

Shows the Twins where their weaknesses are. 2nd, SS, 3rd, CF and a regular in left. Span is okay, I;d guess, but one would still like to see more power to go with, say, a 2.70 average from BOTH corners.

Where does Cabrera rank overall for the year, considering his time with Oakland. Without him for the past few weeks at shortstop, do the Twins really become dismal?

Nice that the DH, a past weakness, is considered a strength. Who’s 1-2-4?

Visit www.TwinsCards.com and check out "rosters" to see my collection!

by rosterman on Aug 20, 2009 3:29 PM EDT reply actions