FanPost

AL EAST WAR Projections - Positional

Breaking down the AL EAST using WAR Projections. I took the CHONE Projection and the FANS projection from www.fangraphs.com and averaged the 2. CHONE tends to be a bit on the low end and FANS tends to be a bit on the bloated end, so I figured the average of the 2 might have some basis in reality. I've broken down each team's potential 25-man roster, starting with a 14-man positional roster. In no way am I arguing that WAR is the best stat or that these projections give any clarity to what will actually happen.....but fun to speculate, nonetheless

YANKEES
Player 09TM WAR
Posada, Jorge NYY 3.2
Texiera, Mark NYY 5.4
Cano, Robinson NYY 4.1
Rodriguez, Alex NYY 5.8
Jeter, Derek NYY 4.2
Swisher, Nick NYY 3.1
Granderson, Curtis DET 5.0
Winn, Randy SF 1.2
Johnson, Nick FL 2.9
Cervalli, Francisco NYY 0.7
Pena, Ramiro NYY 0.8
Gardner, Brett NYY 2.3
Golson, Greg TEX -0.1
Miranda, Juan NYY 0.8
POSITIONAL   39.4

Comments: Yankees take the top spot from a positional perspective. I had to fill in the 5th outfielder and the last utility slot from the 40-man and just choose Golson and Miranda. I think Granderson is a bit high here due to a very high fan rating. A-Rod was the second highest rated player in the East behind Longoria.

REDSOX
Player 09TM WAR
Martinez, Victor BOS 4.9
Youkilis, Kevin BOS 4.7
Pedroia, Dustin BOS 5.3
Beltre, Adrian BOS 3.5
Scutaro, Marco TOR 2.9
Ellsbury, Jacoby BOS 3.8
Cameron, Mike MIL 2.5
Drew, JD BOS 3.5
Ortiz, David BOS 2.2
Varitek, Jason BOS 1.0
Hall, Bill SEA -0.3
Hermida, Jeremy FL 1.2
Bates, Aaron BOS -1.0
Lowell, Mike BOS 1.9
POSITIONAL   36.1

Comments: The Sox take the second spot barely over the stubborn Rays. Two players stand out here - both Youkilis and Cameron came in very low relative to their career rates (CHONE was low for both of them). I chose Bates as the "14th" man assuming Lowrie would be starting in AAA. Sox are much more consistent than other clubs with every starter coming in 2.0+

RAYS
Player 09TM WAR
Shoppach, Kelly CLE 2.2
Pena, Carlos TB 3.1
Zobrist, Ben TB 4.8
Longoria, Evan TB 6.2
Bartlett, Jason TB 3.2
Crawford, Carl TB 4.3
Upton, BJ TB 4.5
Kapler, Gabe TB 0.5
Burrell, Pat TB 0.9
Navarro, Dionar TB 1.5
Brignac, Reid TB 0.9
Perez, Fernando TB 0.9
Joyce, Matt TB 1.3
Aybar, Willy TB 1
POSITIONAL   35.3

Comments: Rays come in right behind the Sox with numerous bounce-back type seasons predicted (Upton, Navarro, Shoppach to name a few). Really no clue as to the bench - Brignac will probably be starting in the minors.

ORIOLES
Player 09TM WAR
Weiters, Matt BAL 4.4
Atkins, Garrett COL 1.8
Roberts, Brian BAL 3.6
Tejada, Miguel HOU 2.0
Izturis, Cesar BAL 1.3
Pie, Felix BAL 1.9
Jones, Adam BAL 3.6
Markakis, Nick BAL 4.4
Scott, Luke BAL 1.3
Tatum, Craig CIN -0.5
Andino, Robert BAL 0.0
Reimold, Nolan BAL 2.5
Montanez, Luis BAL 0.7
Wigginton, Ty BAL 0.7
POSITIONAL   27.7

Comments: Baltimore has reason to hope for the future with good young pitching on its way to go with a strong nucelus of positional players. Atkins & Tejada are just keeping spots warm for the youngsters. Baltimore probably wont challenge in 2010 but could get to .500 if everything breaks right.

BLUE JAYS
Player 09TM WAR
Buck, John KC 1.0
Overbay, Lyle TOR 1.9
Hill, Aaron TOR 3.7
Encarnacion, Edwin TOR 1.5
Gonalez, Alex BOS 0.6
Batista, Jose TOR 0.8
Wells, Vernon TOR 1.6
Snider, Travis TOR 1.5
Lind, Adam TOR 2.9
Chavez, Raul TOR 0.6
McDonald, John TOR 0.2
Bautista, Jose TOR 1.9
Gathright, Joey BOS 0.6
Ruiz, Randy TOR 0.9
POSITIONAL   19.7

Comments: WOW! How awful is that, a 19.7 WAR from the offense/defense. Toronto may battle KC for the worst record in the AL primarily because they are in the East and primarily because this is just a bad offense/defense. Lind is o.k., Hill is due for a drop back to Earth but the rest of the team is marginal.

Top 10 Projected AL East Positional Players

1. Longoria - TB - 6.2

2. Rodriguez - NYY - 5.8

3. Teixeira - NYY - 5.4

4. Pedroia - BOS - 5.3

5. Granderson - NYY - 5.0

6. Martinez - BOS - 4.9

7. Zobrist - TB - 4.8

8, Youkilis - BOS - 4.7

9. Upton - TB - 4.5

10. Weiters, Markakis - BAL 4.4