Tuesday, November 16, 2010

True Value of AL Rookies

As you know by now, Brian Matusz came in tied for 5th in the 2010 AL Rookie of the Year voting. Not that it matters much but Matusz probably deserved better.

I don't care too much about the postseason awards but wanted to chime in on Matusz's behalf in regards to his value over the other candidates. WAR rankings of the seven rookies to appear on the ballot

                  WAR (Baseball-Reference.com)  WAR (Fangraphs.com)
Brian Matusz                3.1                           2.7
Austin Jackson              2.5                           3.8
Danny Valencia              2.5                           2.7
Neftali Feliz               2.4                           1.7
John Jaso                   2.4                           2.5
Wade Davis                  1.8                           0.8
Brennan Boesch              1.3                           0.6

Matusz was right up there with Austin Jackson as the best rookie in the American League with a nod to Twins SS Danny Valencia as well.

In addition, Matusz finished the season strong. His numbers for August and September:

             IP     BB    K   HR   ERA   FIP   W-L
Matusz      62.0    16   52    5  2.18  3.34  10-1

Awards aside, I'll take Brian Matusz over Netali Feliz seven days a week. His future looks brighter and he's already more valuable.
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2 comments:

  1. The Oriole WayNovember 16, 2010 at 2:22 PM

    I would absolutely take Matusz the starter over Feliz the reliever. If the Rangers convert him back to a starter, though, then I'd say it's probably a really tough call. Both guys are going to be really good pitchers. Wish more voters had realized how good Matusz was down the stretch, though.

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  2. BillNovember 16, 2010 at 2:23 PM

    Twins 3B Danny Valencia, but otherwise, yeah. Feliz's ceiling is almost unlimited as a starter, but if they keep him as a reliever, he'll go on getting undeserved acclaim while Matusz continues being the much more valuable player.

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