This comment in Jeff's positional averages post got me thinking about what this blog really needs: more tables!
Specifically, I thought tables showing how various projections stack up against last year's positional averages would be pretty nifty, so I made some. Every position player who can be reasonably expected to accrue at-bats for the Brewers next year is included, save Vinny Rottino, because he plays too many positions and doesn't hit well enough to be interesting anyway.
Notes: Gabe Gross and Kevin Mench are measured against the mean of the LF & RF averages, and Craig Counsell likewise is compared to a combination of 2B & SS. Also, for the purpose of this frivolity, I'm considering Tony Graffanino a third baseman. As for the numbers themselves, 1.00 is exactly average, 1.01 1% better than average and 0.99 1% worse. Behold:
Ryan Braun:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 1.02 | 0.98 | 1.10 | 1.05 |
| ZiPS | 0.95 | 0.93 | 0.96 | 0.95 |
| CHONE | 0.93 | 0.90 | 0.95 | 0.93 |
Brady Clark:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 1.00 | 1.03 | 0.90 | 0.96 |
| ZiPS | 1.01 | 1.09 | 0.85 | 0.95 |
| CHONE | 0.96 | 1.03 | 0.84 | 0.93 |
JD Closser:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 0.93 | 1.00 | 0.94 | 0.97 |
| ZiPS | 0.90 | 0.98 | 0.90 | 0.93 |
| CHONE | 0.90 | 0.99 | 0.91 | 0.94 |
Craig Counsell:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 0.94 | 1.02 | 0.87 | 0.94 |
| ZiPS | 0.91 | 1.02 | 0.83 | 0.91 |
| CHONE | 0.90 | 1.00 | 0.84 | 0.91 |
Johnny Estrada:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 1.05 | 0.99 | 1.02 | 1.01 |
| ZiPS | 1.03 | 0.98 | 0.97 | 0.98 |
| CHONE | 1.03 | 1.00 | 0.99 | 0.99 |
Prince Fielder:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 1.03 | 1.03 | 1.09 | 1.06 |
| ZiPS | 0.98 | 0.99 | 1.05 | 1.02 |
| CHONE | 0.97 | 1.00 | 1.02 | 1.02 |
Tony Graffanino:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 1.00 | 0.99 | 0.89 | 0.94 |
| ZiPS | 0.93 | 0.97 | 0.81 | 0.88 |
| CHONE | 0.93 | 0.95 | 0.82 | 0.88 |
Gabe Gross:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 0.95 | 1.02 | 0.97 | 0.99 |
| ZiPS | 0.96 | 0.99 | 0.89 | 0.93 |
| CHONE | 0.91 | 0.99 | 0.87 | 0.92 |
Tony Gwynn:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 0.95 | 0.96 | 0.83 | 0.89 |
| ZiPS | 0.91 | 0.93 | 0.75 | 0.83 |
| CHONE | 0.96 | 1.00 | 0.82 | 0.90 |
Bill Hall:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 1.03 | 1.03 | 1.22 | 1.14 |
| ZiPS | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.16 | 1.09 |
| CHONE | 0.98 | 0.99 | 1.14 | 1.07 |
JJ Hardy:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 0.96 | 0.99 | 1.03 | 1.01 |
| ZiPS | 0.90 | 0.98 | 0.96 | 0.97 |
| CHONE | 0.95 | 1.02 | 1.03 | 1.02 |
Corey Hart:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 1.04 | 1.02 | 1.12 | 1.08 |
| ZiPS | 0.95 | 0.96 | 1.00 | 0.99 |
| CHONE | 0.98 | 0.97 | 0.98 | 0.97 |
Geoff Jenkins:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 0.97 | 0.97 | 0.97 | 0.97 |
| ZiPS | 0.94 | 0.95 | 0.94 | 0.94 |
| CHONE | 0.94 | 0.97 | 0.95 | 0.96 |
Corey Koskie:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 0.94 | 1.00 | 0.99 | 0.99 |
| ZiPS | 0.89 | 0.98 | 0.94 | 0.96 |
| CHONE | 0.86 | 0.96 | 0.91 | 0.93 |
Kevin Mench:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 1.00 | 0.98 | 1.05 | 1.02 |
| ZiPS | 0.98 | 0.94 | 1.00 | 0.98 |
| CHONE | 0.93 | 0.92 | 0.94 | 0.93 |
Damian Miller:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 0.94 | 0.99 | 0.95 | 0.97 |
| ZiPS | 0.92 | 0.97 | 0.89 | 0.92 |
| CHONE | 0.90 | 0.97 | 0.89 | 0.93 |
Laynce Nix:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 0.97 | 0.92 | 1.05 | 0.99 |
| ZiPS | 0.93 | 0.89 | 0.96 | 0.93 |
| CHONE | 0.94 | 0.89 | 1.00 | 0.96 |
Mike Rivera:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 0.90 | 0.88 | 0.96 | 0.93 |
| ZiPS | 0.90 | 0.88 | 0.98 | 0.93 |
| CHONE | 0.92 | 0.91 | 1.00 | 0.96 |
Rickie Weeks:
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 1.00 | 1.03 | 1.00 | 1.01 |
| ZiPS | 0.95 | 1.03 | 1.06 | 1.04 |
| CHONE | 0.99 | 1.12 | 1.10 | 1.11 |
And by anticipated popular demand:
Bill Hall (3B):
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 1.01 | 1.00 | 1.14 | 1.08 |
| ZiPS | 0.97 | 0.96 | 1.08 | 1.03 |
| CHONE | 0.96 | 0.95 | 1.06 | 1.02 |
Rickie Weeks (CF):
| Proj | AVG% | OBP% | SLG% | OPS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PECOTA | 1.02 | 1.07 | 1.07 | 1.07 |
| ZiPS | 0.97 | 1.02 | 1.01 | 1.02 |
| CHONE | 1.02 | 1.12 | 1.06 | 1.09 |
As you can see, despite Johnny Estrada's healthy batting average ratios, he's really just an average catcher (or at least is projected as such).
Only Hall, Fielder and Weeks clear 1.00 in each projection. Surprisingly, JJ Hardy emerges as probably the fourth-best hitter on the team after adjusting for position, depending on how you take Corey Hart's PECOTA projection--and we'd never have known it without tables!