Daniel Murphy Is Awesome**********

by Duece on Nov 8, 2008 7:55 PM EST Comment 40 comments

So after Murphy tore up AA and continued his dominance in the majors he was sent to the AFL to improve his 2B defense.

However, it's pretty hard to ignore the line he has put up thus far..

.414/.507/.638/1.145 (24 for 58, 21 runs, 7 2b, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 13/5 BB/K)

Obviously, he loses some pazzaz because he doesn't have a defensive position, but if you had to rank him purely on hitting ability, where would you put him amongst all prospects (i know he as 2 AB's over limit)

Awesome

ADD:

AA: .308/.374/.496

MLB: .313/.397/.473

And unless Murphy is a complete butcher at 2B the Mets will be STUPID to not give him the 2B job going into next year.

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[facepalm]

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Nov 8, 2008 7:56 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

heyy

i fixed it! gotta give me a sec!

by Duece on Nov 8, 2008 7:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You fixed it?

That’s funny, I still see an AFL hitting line in this post.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Nov 8, 2008 8:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Should I

Post his AA hitting line and MLB hitting line?

Fact remains he’s an excellent hitter and his AFL stats just back that up.

by Duece on Nov 8, 2008 8:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I figured...

you meant the mispelling of “awesome”. And while writing that… I realized that I don’t know if “mispelling” has one ‘S’ or two. Irony.

"My mom always taught me it's better to laugh at yourself than to laugh at others. She was so wrong. ;)" -Pedrophile

by Boxkutter on Nov 8, 2008 8:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

spell check

not working :(

by Duece on Nov 8, 2008 8:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No... I don't give a crap about spelling unless it makes something illegible

although it is amusing that the link to SBN fanposts preserves misspellings in the title of FPs even if they get edited by the author later…

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Nov 8, 2008 8:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I see the future, and it is Pablo

by CB30 on Nov 8, 2008 9:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Why do you say Murphy has no defensive position? I thought he was a decent 3B.

He may not have a position with the Mets but he would with most other teams.

It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver

by WaddellCanseco on Nov 8, 2008 8:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

You answered you're own question.

by METSMETSMETS on Nov 8, 2008 9:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He wasn't that good at 3B either

He first played 3B his last 2 years of college, and split time between there and RF. His first full minor league season, in the FSL, he looked like he had decent potential for 3B, but made a lot (35) of errors. I actually think he looks like he’ll be fine in LF, if they just leave him there.

by acerimusdux on Nov 9, 2008 12:17 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Murphy

is most valuable at second. He’s cheap, he can do a decent job defensively, has a pretty good bat and good discipline. He’s not nearly as valuable a 1B or LF than he is at 2B.

by METSMETSMETS on Nov 8, 2008 9:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

He's good.

I wouldnt say “awesome” though. Could be a nice little find here, but he’s not exactly a cornerstone player or anything…

by alskor on Nov 8, 2008 11:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

My first reaction

was to say “of course.”

but in the end it depends what you consider awesome. If you think a .300/.380/.480 hitter out of the 2B position is awesome, then Murphy’s upside is awesome. If you think a .280/.360/.440 hitter out of left field or first base is not awesome, then Murphy will probably just be good. Personally I think it will be in between.

by METSMETSMETS on Nov 9, 2008 12:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

280/360/440

is below average for a LF/1B. I think he should be better than that, but I also think he will end up in LF. I expect him to have an average line of .285/.380/.460. Upside a little higher, downside lower.

by supermets on Nov 9, 2008 1:13 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

What do I call a .280/.350/.450 hitter in LF/1B?

“Replacement Level”

I like Murphy, but he is far from “awesome” any way you cut it.

by alskor on Nov 9, 2008 2:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

that's hardly replacement level.

1941 .406

by FrozenTed9 on Nov 9, 2008 11:29 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Its pretty close to replacement for a 1B

actually. Im exaggerating for effect… he’d be a useful player but not “awesome.”

Im not sure what it was this year, but its usually something like .275 with 18 HRs.

by alskor on Nov 9, 2008 11:33 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He'd be below average at 1B

But it looks to me like he could be an average all around LF. He needs more experience there, but his defense wasn’t bad there. His reads will improve with experience. I don’t think he’ll be a big defensive liability.

by acerimusdux on Nov 9, 2008 11:52 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Replacement level in LF is about a .700 OPS

assuming the guy is league average defensively.

At 1B, it’s about a .725.

An .800 OPS is actually better than league average at corner OF.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Nov 9, 2008 2:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think this is one of the places where fantasy baseball skews one's vision

An .800 OPS is a hell of a lot better than people think. There are a number of teams that can’t even get that from their 1B

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by OldProspects on Nov 9, 2008 7:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

mini-utley

if he can turn the dp, etc., he’ll be damn good. not that much power, but he will definitely hit for average.

Can’t bunt for shit, though. I was at the pedro/harden game late in the season, where church scored by dodging the tag, and they asked him to bunt. he was awful. No big deal.

by wobatus on Nov 8, 2008 11:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Utley is a spectacularly good defensive 2B

He’s basically as good as Mark Ellis, which is saying a lot. Relative to his position, he’s one of the 4 or 5 top fielders in MLB (along with Pedro Feliz, Ellis, Franklin Gutierrez and Pujols).

Utley without the glove is a pretty good player. Utley with the glove is a perennial true-talent MVP candidate.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Nov 9, 2008 12:53 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

good point

meant the bat

by wobatus on Nov 9, 2008 9:00 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

but remember

when utley came up he was viewed the very same way murphy is: definitely a hitter but can he play second. thats why the phillies didn’t give him a permanent spot for his first couple years, instead opting for the david bell/placido polanco combo at 2b and 3b.

when they finally gave him 2b (making the mistake of getting rid of polanco instead of bell) he improved each season and now utleys probably the best in baseball.

IMO if a natural (and athletic) IF with even an average glove gets enough reps at 2B he can become an above average fielder at the position. 2B is just not a relatively difficult position.

by robcast23 on Nov 9, 2008 2:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree about the difficulty of second

I think one can play 2b with a weak arm, but you need to have great range and instincts. Additionally, positioning yourself is vital, which is where that experience comes into play. Plus there’s a ton of wear and tear out there.

by JayWise on Nov 9, 2008 3:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I thought I should point out

1) That he is undervalued by pure OPS, because OPS inherently undervalues OBP. Some more advanced metrics multiply OBP by 1.8

2) He also gets very deep into counts, which helps his team get to the SP that they face

by JayWise on Nov 8, 2008 11:28 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I guess then so are

Tyler Flowers, Mike Baxter, and Logan Morrison.
:)

I love the AFL. Just take the top dozen batters there, and in 2-3 years 5-6 of them will likely be very good MLB players.

by acerimusdux on Nov 9, 2008 1:10 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Morrison and Flowers

are awesome. :)

by supermets on Nov 9, 2008 1:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think we can all agree

That acerimusdux is awesome. too.

by JayWise on Nov 9, 2008 2:27 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Murphy's Awesomeness

I’m a Mets fan and I love Murphy. Watching him play, you can see how his walks are the result of a really terrific approach and maturity at the plate.

With that said, let’s not let him become one of those players who becomes wildly overhyped just because he plays in New York. He’s a nice role player. We don’t need to do silly things like cite AFL stats.

by aap212 on Nov 9, 2008 3:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Murphy

He’s the kind of guy who should become underrated by the average fan because he has a high OBP but not so many homers.

by supermets on Nov 9, 2008 4:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

True but...

The memory of Paul O’Neil haunts me.

by aap212 on Nov 9, 2008 4:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It does us all

Incidentally, I just looked at his stats, and his SB numbers are the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. Has there been any other player who after stealing some in his first years, simply stopped, and then began stealing again at age 34, and had his best SB year in his last year in the majors when at age 38 stole 22 bases and got caught only 3 times?

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by OldProspects on Nov 9, 2008 7:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

spot on

“nice role player”

Couldn’t have said it better myself

by El Duq of Hurl on Nov 9, 2008 5:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

More than that

He can be more than a role player. Any guy with a .380 OBP which I think he can do should be a regular player. Not the leader of an offense, but a great number 2 hitter.

by supermets on Nov 9, 2008 7:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs