Position Success Rate

by gore51 on Feb 7, 2009 11:57 PM EST

Hey.

Does anybody have a statistic for what positions have the highest success rate for top prospects. What I mean is that for all the positions, which have their top prospects achieve a level of success. I'll let you determine success. Usually I say that success is a player than is over league average for 8 or more years (at least for a top prospect). I'll let you determine what you call a "top prospect," but I usually say anybody on a top 75 list.

Also, what positions do you think have most value as a prospect. What I mean is that, given player X at position Z and player W at position Y, which would you rather have?

Poll

Which position is most valuable for prospects?

Starting Pitcher

23 votes

Relief Pitcher

2 votes

Catcher

28 votes

First Base

7 votes

Second Base

3 votes

Third Base

10 votes

Shortstop

57 votes

Outfield

15 votes

145 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Could somebody tell me...

1. Why are SS so valued while 2B are not? I understand why RP and 1B aren’t but I don’t understand that.

2. Does anybody have an answer to my first question in the original post?

Thanks.

by gore51 on Feb 8, 2009 3:53 PM EST reply actions

Shortstops...

I voted for SS because they are usually some of the better athletes and have the best defense at the time of being drafted. As long as their bat develops you will always be able to find a place for them, even if their defense doesn’t. If they can’t handle SS, then you can move them to 2B (or 3B if their bat is good enough). If that won’t work (i.e BJ Upton), then you can move them to the OF. And if they just get too big, you can always try them at 1B. OF rarely move to the IF, and 3B usually only move to 1B. And the reason I did not choose 2B, is because of defense. SS is the hardest position on the Defensive Spectrum, it’s much more rare for a 2B to move to SS than to have a SS move to 2B.

"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 Feb 8, 2009 5:18 PM EST up reply actions

Look no further than the amount

of balls in play fielded by each position.

by slurve on Feb 9, 2009 8:28 AM EST up reply actions

+1

Its very simple, they field the ball most, so you need themto be the best defensivly.

I voted catcher, however to answer the question “what position makes prosects most valuable”.

by jsmall404 on Feb 9, 2009 4:41 PM EST up reply actions

SS

It is such a valuable position because pretty much ever HS and college uses their absolute best athlete at that position. 2B, meanwhile, is for the most part made up of a bunch of SS’s that just couldn’t cut it at SS (Ian Kinsler and Brandon Phillips being 2 great examples). Meanwhile, other SS’s move to the OF (the Upton brothers being good examples).

So while you may not see a ton of SS’s become great SS’s in the bigs, they oftentimes find themselves somewhere else on the defensive spectrum (2B, 3B and OF being 3 likely areas). THAT is why SS is the most “valuable”.

by guru4u on Feb 9, 2009 3:24 PM EST up reply actions

Outfield..

.should really be changed to “Corner outfield” and “Center field” as separate categories.

That being said, shortstops and catchers are the most valuable positions to develop.

Looking back at BA, 1Bs and Corner outfielders have the highest rate of returning no value whatsoever, which makes sense given the high offensive demands of the respective positions and the tendency to overrate minor leaguers with lofty HR totals.

by slamcactus on Feb 9, 2009 1:19 PM EST reply actions

Yeah.

I was thinking about doing it that way, but I shied away at the last moment because I thought it would be too many options

by gore51 on Feb 9, 2009 9:37 PM EST up reply actions

Your last statement...

is why the Community List is likely going to look very ridiculous in a few years.

"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 Feb 10, 2009 5:55 AM EST up reply actions

Pitchers

Starting pitchers, do to the fact that Pitching wins championships and with the attrition rate of pitchers when u do get a good one its extremely valauable

by FishHead on Feb 9, 2009 2:57 PM EST reply actions