Email a copy of '2015 Free Agent Power Rankings' to a friend
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By Tim Dierkes | at
Email a copy of '2015 Free Agent Power Rankings' to a friend
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mauryfeldman
Awful. Worst free agent crop ever?
Rally Weimaraner
Scherzer, Shields and Lester are better than any of the starters, excluding Tanaka, that were available last off-season.
letsgogiants
The off-season of 2012-13 was much worse, IMO.
letsgogiants
Was Boras’ last premier starting pitcher Barry Zito?
martinfv2
I think so.
letsgogiants
I’m surprised Boras doesn’t have more premier pitchers as his clients; especially those who hit the free agent market. Is this just coincidental? Or does Boras have a personal preference for position players since they make more money?
Marc Nash
Matty Harvey is signed with Boras. He will likely cash in big time down the road
Mikenmn
Depends on whether you consider Kyle Lohse premier.
letsgogiants
He has put up spectacular numbers over the past 3 and a half seasons, though he couldn’t quite net a premier contract due to a draft pick being attached to his asking price as well as inconsistencies before 2011.
Matt B.
It will just get worse and worse every year. Teams lock up their stars earlier now. You can get a stud, but he’s going to be in his 30’s and overpriced.
Shane Flannagan 2
Cubs got to sign either Scherzer or Lester. Its looking like there is a good chance Bryant, Baez, and Soler are going to be on the team next year and when you had those 3 to the lineup and they produce like we hope they do, then they have a chance to be contenders.
CJ 3
Wow that seems just so incredibly unlikely. CHC realistically might be ready to contend in 2016 at the earliest. None of those guys will even be called up until after the Super 2 date (IE June).
Matt B.
I agree about signing the pitching, but there is an indication that the cubs are more concerned with team control years than super 2. Bryant may be up a couple of weeks into 2015
martinfv2
I agree with this…I think Bryant will be in the bigs somewhere between April 15 and May 15 next year, with the Cubs not minding the extra millions for Super Two after the 2017 season.
Shane Flannagan 2
First off, its not unlikely because its rare now days you get a possible ace on the free agent market and the Cubs have money to spend so here’s their chance. 2nd, I have hear that theres a good chance Soler is a September call up this year if he stays healthy rest the way. 3rd, there is no question Baez and Bryant is ready now and I hear there is a good chance they will be coming out of spring training with the big league team
Brian McKeever
What about Adam LaRoche? His mutual option will likely be declined as the Nats want to move Ryan Zimmerman over to first next year. LaRoche is having a decent offensive season and is a demon with the glove.
tune-in for baseball
Regarding Victor Martinez,a 3 year deal would be very doable in Detroit. Cabrera can play 1st base for at least the next 3 years. V Mart does and will challenge everyone to play at their highest level with his leadership and discipline. Even with some regression, he should still hit over 300 with 80+RBI. Miggy played the field last year with injuries that would have put mere mortals on the DL.
TruthTeller
Lester should be ranked ahead of Scherzer… Lester has made his living pitching in a much more difficult AL East, has stellar postseason numbers and over his last 5 starts has a sub-1 ERA and a sub-1 WHIP. His record doesn’t indicate how good he’s been this year because the Red Sox offense has been inept for a majority of the season. Scherzer is at 3.34 ERA, Lester is almost a full run better at 2.50…. It goes on and on IF you look at the numbers. People are ga-ga over Scherzer because he had one great year… Lester has been putting up good numbers over his entire career and again, in a much, much more difficult division.
Rally Weimaraner
While a case can be made for ranking either at #1 pointing to Lester’s current 2.50 ERA, which is more than a run lower than his career ERA, is exactly the same as going “ga-ga over Scherzer because he had one great year.” Lester and Scherzer actually have very similar career numbers and Shcerzer is a bit younger.
TruthTeller
That shows how good of a year Lester is having… People that don’t watch all of his starts say no because of the win %… It’s not his fault the offense hasn’t shown up this year.
Are the rankings based on what these players or doing This year, or last year? Max was better last year. Lester is better this year. Lester has the better overall career. I think that puts him ahead of everyone on this list…
vtadave
Very few people these days would say that simply due to winning percentage. Folks have gotten a lot smarter on pitching evaluation. I would think these rankings would be based on what Tim would expect these guys to do in their next contract, not what they have done this year and in the past.
martinfv2
I think there’s a case for it, but I still like Scherzer over Lester currently. Scherzer has been a big strikeout guy since 2012, but Lester was pretty average in that regard in the two years prior to this one. Scherzer having six months on Lester age-wise doesn’t matter too much for me.
TruthTeller
Lester is having the better year.. Fewer ER, HR, BB. Better ERA, WHIP, Hits per 9, BB per 9. You seem to put a lot of stock into strikeouts, Max only has 8 more then Lester.
Their career WIN% is identical (with Scherzer having fewer starts. Conceivably, Max should have a higher %). Career ERA is nearly identical, 3.64 for Max and 3.65 for Lester. Lester has 10 complete games, Max has 1. Lester has hardware, Max doesn’t.
Lester by far has the more impressive career; he’s having a better year this year, and done it all in the toughest division in Baseball. Not trying to take anything away from Max, but with the year Lester is having, he should be atop the rankings.
hediouspb
and he’s left handed. i’ll take the lefty before i’d take the better year last year. lester will look good in pinstripes…
KJ4realz
I actually think this is a pretty decent top 10 FA. There have definitely been worse classes and I do agree that it’s going to be worse and worse now that players are signing extensions before they hit FA.
Definitely a decent pitchers market.
Andrew m
Philly better pursue the 23 year old Cuban outfielder. I need a reason to watch them and honestly anything over dom Brown and Revere has got to be an improvement. Make it happen rube.
bobbleheadguru
Regarding VMART and Cabrera:
According to Fangraphs, Miguel Cabrera is the #1 Defensive 1st baseman in the AL.
He did need to make the move from 3rd base to 1st base. However, he should have no problem at 1st base indefinitely.
bobbleheadguru
Wonder if Tigers feel like it was a blessing in disguise that they did not lock up Scherzer. Porcello is pitching very well and the Verlander contract may be an albatross that they have learned from. If Ray becomes a solid #4, they may be fine with Anibal as their best pitcher.
JacobyWanKenobi
Tomas seems like the exact player NY needs to be going after once their infeild is taken care of. Of course that depends on what Beltran’s throwing arm is like and if the DH spot isn’t clogged.
Mickey Jennifer Wind
Mets should be in on both Tomas and Melky. With CY coming off the books, as well as Dice-K and a probable move of Colon, the Mets should be in position to afford one of them. Mets will also be in on Cabrera or Drew again. Both have plus side to them and should have price drop considering competition in the market that is above them. I would be shocked to see the Mets reach higher than Cabrera for SS.
Mickey Jennifer Wind
Mets should be in on both Tomas and Melky. With CY coming off the books, as well as Dice-K and a probable move of Colon, the Mets should be in position to afford one of them. Mets will also be in on Cabrera or Drew again. Both have plus side to them and should have price drop considering competition in the market that is above them. I would be shocked to see the Mets reach higher than Cabrera for SS.
andrejones
Looking back this ranking today, it was a pretty decent top 10.
Andre from Standardzilla