The best way to evaluate MLB talent differs depending on who you ask.
While the eye test might matter most to one person, cold hard data might be the end-all-be-all for someone else.
Subjectivity is a major factor which often leads to disagreements and controversial takes.
We’re going to be ranking the three most overrated players in baseball today, but there are no guarantees that you will like what you see.
3. Joc Pederson
Joc Pederson has always been a fan favorite, but his numbers don’t exactly explain why.
The 29-year-old is currently in the midst of his first season with the Chicago Cubs after spending seven years with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Pederson is capable of providing some pop in any lineup, as he has four 25-plus home run seasons to his credit.
Beyond that, however, Pederson doesn’t bring a whole lot to the table.
He doesn’t hit for average (.231 career clip) and he often struggles to reach base, which has led to a below-average OPS+ in four of his eight seasons.
He’s also a net negative defensively with a -2.5 career defensive WAR.
Joc Pederson… overrated?
— TiltedFrank (@VGo07) August 14, 2020
Pederson is a free agent after this year and the Cubs are struggling to stay afloat thus far, so we could see him moved at the trade deadline.
2. Brandon Crawford
Brandon Crawford has spent his entire 11-year MLB career with the San Francisco Giants.
The two parties have accomplished a lot together, winning World Series titles in 2012 and 2014 to cap off the Giants’ dominant dynasty run.
Crawford’s legacy has grown a lot as a result, but if you look at his individual performance on a year-by-year basis, it’s hard to justify the hype.
Crawford is a career .250 hitter with a .715 OPS who averages just 11 home runs a season.
He has a career OPS+ of 97 (which is three percent below league average) and has never finished a season with a traditional OPS higher than .782.
To be fair, Crawford is an outstanding defensive outfielder.
He is a three-time Gold Glover and has had two seasons with a defensive WAR above 3.0.
But on the whole, Crawford isn’t the player that many fans like to think he is.
1. Eric Hosmer
Eric Hosmer is unequivocally the most overrated player in baseball.
The 31-year-old is currently in the second season of an eight-year, $144 million deal with the San Diego Padres.
He’s certainly an important part of that club’s success, but he’s worth nowhere near that amount of money and he’s also regarded by many fans as a superstar-caliber player, which he is not.
Over his 11 years in MLB, Hosmer has compiled a .278 average and .770 OPS.
In seven of Hosmer’s seasons, he’s posted an OPS below .800, a number which is typically the benchmark for a good offensive season.
He also averages just 16 home runs a year.
On defense, Hosmer is just as underwhelming.
He’s oddly a three-time Gold Glover, which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense considering he had a negative defensive WAR in each of those Gold Glove seasons.
The only positive defensive WAR season of Hosmer’s career came in the COVID-shortened 2020 season when he finished with a 0.1 defensive WAR.
Can we all agree that Eric Hosmer is very overrated
— M.A.K 🇺🇸🇯🇵⚾️ (@maktheknife2000) July 23, 2018
The goal here is not to rag on Hosmer, who is a serviceable MLB player, but there is no denying that he is very overrated.
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