Eddie Bajek has reverse-engineered the Elias Rankings, and his work is available exclusively at MLB Trade Rumors. This snapshot runs from the beginning of the 2009 season through May 22nd, 2010. There are tabs for each position group.
MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com
scroll to top
how are Jason Kubel and Denard Span As but Justin Morneau a B?
Interesting question. It must really skew some of the things they do well, and really undervalue some of the things that Morneau does really well, because it doesn’t make any sense to me either, and their paychecks would support that as well.
I also thought it interesting that the Red Sox have 2 catchers in Varitek and Victor Martinez in Type A and B status, and the Rangers are said to be looking for help there. Perhaps there is a trade in the making there? If so, is Lowell included in the deal or is that over and done with now?
Eddie mentioned Morneau specifically to me:
If anybody asks, Morneau is so low because he missed the last month of last season without going on the DL, so no adjustment. Also because his numbers don’t compare with Cabrera and Youk.
He leads the majors in OPS. How is he not an A? Seriously, he has an 1198 OPS at the moment.
Because the rankings aren’t just for only the 6 weeks of 1 season, that’s how.
And Kubel’s barely hitting over .200, there’s no way he could be ranked that high. In fact, I think these are last year’s season ending numbers.
I’d be interested to see if the Dodgers offer Kuroda arbitration.
In normal situations, I think it’s a no-brainer. I think the only thing that COULD stop them is their ownership situation. It shouldn’t stop them, because you’ve got to field a team, and the guy is still bringing it and is definitely worth another year at that price, but this is the Dodgers we are talking about, and apparently, money is a huge issue right now.
I’ll need to change that… Kuroda, as he’s not a 6 year guy, is not eligible for traditional free agency.
How is Joe Nathan first?
And how the heck is Michael Wuertz ahead of Rivera?
I’m almost positive these are last year’s numbers. What’s there just doesn’t correlate with this year’s stats.
Nor should they correlate with this year’s stats, as they only make up about 20% of the numbers.
Morneau gets his score ranked against the AL 1B. Kubel gets his ranked against the AL DH. That’s why Kubel is higher. Morneau also missed all of last September without going on the disabled list.
Well the article says it’s numbers last year through May 22nd of 2010, which if I’m not mistaken, is the year that we are in right now lol
how in the world is Melky Cabrera rated higher than Jason Heyward? How is Heyward listed at 51 some-odd points? Seems completely ridiculous
“The rankings are compiled based upon player performance over the past two seasons”
So I guess it’s just an inherently flawed system then. I suppose there is a reason there becomes a new stat everyday to rank a player. They all have a time and a place and are selectively used to convey a statistical point regarding a player.
certainly if you are a rookie, this is a less than flattering statistical analysis. And even if you suck in year two, a killer fist year can certainly skew your ranking for the better.
I’l just stick with accumulated numerical stats, instead of a value system based on opinion and letter grades, and not necessarily current production.
different strokes’d
There are a ton of legitimate gripes about these rankings, but none so far in this comment thread. The answer to almost anybody’s gripe is that the rankings comprise TWO YEARS of data… These projections run from the start of 2009 through Saturday. Again, two years, 2009-2010. Two years, 2009-2010.
i got it, clearly. Two years. yup. Two years, two years.
i’d say I had a pretty legitimate gripe, unless you consider yourself a ranking czar.
don’t forget it’s two years.
p.s. two years
What would you prefer? 1 year?
I think many people griping are also forgetting that these are reverse engineered ELIAS rankings. I’m sure these folks can speak for themselves, but I doubt that Eddie or Tim are saying that this is how they would personally rank the players on their performance to date. This is just a representation of the Elias rankings, which are used by MLB to determine type A/B status for free agency purposes. It seems like some of you guys are personalizing your gripes, which to me reeks of shooting the messenger.
You want YOUR favorite player to be ranked higher…..but this isn’t really a matter of argument or debate. The rankings are what they are, and if I’m not mistaken Eddie has only been wrong on 3 players in the last two years (he’ll correct me if I am mistaken), so clearly he knows what he’s doing here. I think many of us would agree that the Elias rankings are highly flawed, but the purpose of posting them is to give a clearer picture of what the free agency period may look like if the season ended today. Not to create a debate over which player is the best.