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Juiced Ratings: MLB Players Who Will Be on the Rise

11:08 AM - January 14, 2009 by RaychelSnr

The Major League Baseball season is long and grueling, and players go hot and cold at the drop of a hat. But while most starting players get hot at some point, most fans do not expect them to keep it up. The players being highlighted in this article were not expected to take their streaks through most of the 2008 season, but they did. Some of them have been in the league for years, some of them are younger guys who never reached their potential, and the others will be tearing up the league for seasons to come.

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Member Comments

# 1 rudyjuly2 @ 01/14/09 12:55 PM

Nice info.

# 2 teebee @ 01/14/09 02:19 PM

Two Words: Alexei Ramirez

# 3 WatchdogXC @ 01/14/09 02:40 PM

It still seems crazy to me the turnaround Cliff Lee had. I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't as good this year, but he will be better than he was in the years leading up to his terrible 2007 that was hampered by an oblique injury in spring training where he never looked the same. He definitely learned to be a better pitcher last year.

# 4 slickkill77 @ 01/14/09 03:21 PM

He doesnt fit in with this....useful....article but Albert Pujols should have some mention. The guy tore a ligament in his arm, and he still proved he was the best player in baseball.

# 5 SuperKyle @ 01/14/09 04:31 PM

So I guess nobody on the Rays will be above the 92 that Carl Crawford shipped with last year on 2K8.
Right.

Expect Evan, Carlos, Shields, and maybe even B.J. to be in the 90s.

# 6 Saber @ 01/14/09 06:33 PM

No way on Carlos, and doubtful on Sheilds... and honesly not even BJ. Evan will crack the 90 plateau, but Crawford might drop out. In the end though, they'll have a ton of 80-89 rated players.

# 7 Saber @ 01/14/09 06:47 PM

As for some other guys who get some rating jumps:
John Danks (12-9, 195 IP, 159 K, 1.23 WHIP, 3.32 ERA)
Armando Galarraga (13-7, 178.2 IP, 126 K, 1.19 WHIP, 3.73 ERA)
Ian Kinsler (.319 BA, 102 R, 41 2B, 28 SB, .892 OPS)
Cristian Guzman (.316 BA, 35 2B, .786 OPS)
Brian Wilson (41 Sv, though the rest of his numbers suck)

# 8 slickkill77 @ 01/14/09 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saber


	No way on Carlos, and doubtful on Sheilds... and honesly not even BJ. Evan will crack the 90 plateau, but Crawford might drop out. In the end though, they'll have a ton of 80-89 rated players.

Why doubtful on Shields? He may not be a 90 in the game but he should be. He's very underrated. He's better than Felix Hernandez and yet he's always rated over 90.

2007: 215 IP, 202 Hits, 36 BB, 184 K's, 3.85 ERA, 1.11 WHIP
2008: 215 IP, 208 Hits, 40 BB, 160 K's, 3.56 ERA, 1.15 WHIP
Zero injuries

Why would Carl drop? He was injured. Hamstrings and wrist. Thats not very fair.

Bj is debatable. He upped his steals but his power went down because of a torn labrum in his shoulder. He should return to 20 HR being healthy. He will miss the first week of the season.

Pena is also borderline. His power is indisputable. His defense is amazing. He also takes a lot of walks. His average isn't great and he k's a lot. He should be rated higher than guys like Dunn though because of his defense.

# 9 xNobleEaglex @ 01/14/09 11:37 PM

Umm...Jair Jurrjens anyone?! All he did was lead a Braves rotation that was depleted by injury, and keep the franchise in the playoff hunt until right before the trade deadline.

# 10 Lintyfresh85 @ 01/15/09 12:01 AM

Good article... but McLouth is one of the worst CF's in baseball defensively.

# 11 teebee @ 01/15/09 01:14 AM

BJ Upton will be a 90+ hitting, 90+ fielding, 90+ speed, 80+ power, 90+ arm, i think that translates to a 90+ overall??

# 12 bxpapito @ 01/15/09 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lintyfresh85


	Good article... but McLouth is one of the worst CF's in baseball defensively.

Are you 100% sure on that?.Because I heard Mike Francesa on his radio show, talking on how he loves this guy offensive and defensive skills.
I saw him played a couple of times, so I don't really know if he's that good in CF but there are some people here in NY that want the yankees to bring him in.

# 13 ChaseB @ 01/15/09 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pope300hitter05


	Umm...Jair Jurrjens anyone?! All he did was lead a Braves rotation that was depleted by injury, and keep the franchise in the playoff hunt until right before the trade deadline.

I like the Jair pick, really like him.

Depending on who you ask and what stats you use, Nate either is a good CF or a bad one.

# 14 texbuk84 @ 01/15/09 12:53 PM

great cant wait to play with my mets, i hope this years game is good because last years game wasnt that good. if not then its a ps3 and mlb the show for me.

# 15 JoeCoolMan24 @ 01/15/09 02:18 PM

John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Carlos Quentin, Alexei Ramirez. All those 4 will/should have BIG increases in overall for the next game. I really can't wait!

And I hope they finally gave Danks a cutter, even though I mentioned it a lot when they asked for player changes last year.

# 16 SuperKyle @ 01/15/09 04:27 PM

By the way, I wasn't suggesting that all those Rays should be 99s or even above 95.
But when healthy (the number 1 if in sports), Carl should be 93, B.J. 91 (i hope there's not a hustle rating), Carlos Pena 93-94, Evan a 92, and Shields or perhaps Garza a 90.
I agree that we'll see lots of Rays rated in the 80s. The weakest positions will be RF and SS, at least ratings wise.

# 17 slinger45 @ 01/15/09 04:44 PM

http://www.billjamesonline.net/field...eaders2-08.gif

# 18 bigfnjoe96 @ 01/15/09 04:44 PM

Mike Aviles form the Royals is gonna be a STAR. He definitely should be getting a Ratings Boost

# 19 dvazquez190 @ 01/22/09 12:50 PM

The poster above who said Nate Mclouth is a terrible CF is right. His advanced defensive ratings are way below that of an average CF. He deserved a GG about as much as Jeter did (sorry Jeter you are still my boy). I have questioned Francescas use of a radio show for quite a while. I wouldn't put much credence into what he says. This is the same guy who said he never heard of Joba Chamberlain then latter denied it. Back to Nate Mclouth here is a paragraph from Matt Bandi Who at the time was covering The pirates CF situation
"McLouth, despite making only one error on the season, was near the bottom of the list in most advanced fielding metrics. While defensive stats are not perfect, and I think they shortchange McLouth a bit, he clearly hurts the Pirates in center. Justin Inaz calculated each player's total value at On Baseball and the Reds, combining offensive and defensive performance. McLouth came in at 15.8 defensive runs below average and a total value of 31.7 runs. When Sky Kalkman used Justin's stats to compare players by position, McLouth ended up in a tie as the eighth best center fielder in baseball. His defensive numbers should certainly improve with a shift to left field."

A name I haven't seen mentioned was Ervin Santana. He had a great season last year and he should look to build on it. Another name I would like to see is Edison Volquez. He had a breakout season with the Reds and if he starts well they may look to move either Harang or Arroyo for some future talent.

# 20 ZigZagMan @ 01/22/09 01:49 PM

How about Ryan Ludwick?

All-Star season: .299 AVG, 37 HRs, .966 OPS

Maybe he'll even get his face in the game this year too...

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