NL East, position by position

Today ye humble bloggers gaze about the National League East and ponder the best at each position. We rank the players 1 through 5.

Catcher

No contest here. It's McCann and a bunch of mediocrities.

1. McCann, super solid with the bat, could stand to improve with the leather.

2. LoDuca, who takes his gambling habit and young squeeze to the Kastens this year.

3. Brian Schneider, NY. Typical competent defensive catcher who hits .250 with 8 or 10 homers

4. Carlos Ruiz, Phillies. See above

5. Mike Rabelo, Florida. 27, unproven. Came from Detroit in the Dontrelle/Cabrera deal. Likely will fit the Schneider/Ruiz mold.

First base 

1. Ryan Howard, Phillies. A freakin monster.

2. Tex, not quite a monster, but a star at bat and afield.

3. Carlos Delgado, Mets. Slipped last season but still a good bet to be around 30-100.

4. Dmitri Young/Nick Johnson, Kastens. Young had a huge rebound but a repeat seems unlikely. Johnson's not bad but always hurt.

5. Mike Jacobs, Fish. Shrug.

Second base

1. Chase Utley, Phils. Easy call. A lock for .320-25-110 and not bad defensively.

2. Luis Castillo, Mutts. Still hits around .300 every year with good OBP, defense and 20 or so steals.

3. KJ. Nice first season at the position and better to come. I considered putting him ahead of Castillo.

4. Dan Uggla, Marlins. A lot of pop but whiffs alarmingly often, 167 times in '07.

5. Ronnie Belliard, DC. Solid player but others are better or have more upside.

Third base

1. David Wright, Mutts. The real deal, .325-34-107, 31 SB last year is typical.

2. Chipper. Dude can still swing it with anybody in the game when healthy.

3. Ryan Zimmerman, Kastens. Decent '07 -- .266-24-91 -- but still awaiting breakout year Could be '08.

4. Greg Dobbs, Phillies. Pedestrian.

5. Jose Castillo, Marlins. Somewhat less than pedestrian.

Shortstop

1. Jimmy Rollins, Phils. Reinging MVP does it all and is a leader. Plus I like him.

2. Hanley Ramirez, Fish. Might have a better year than Rollins. '07 numbers were astounding (.332, 29, 81, 51 SB)  and could improve.

3. Jose Reyes, Mets. As talented as the above but less power. Faded late last season.

4. Yesco. Our guy is climbing fast. Probably won't ever be in the class of the top 3 but figures to be damned good.

5. Felipe Lopez/Cristian Guzman, Kastens. Lopez has some speed, but was woeful last year. Guzman is, um, a major league player.

Left field

1. Pat Burrell, Phils. He wins by default. He won't hit better than .250ish but has averaged 30-103 the past 3 seasons.

2. Moises Alou, Mutts. A senior citizen but still a top-flight hitter when he plays.

3. Josh WIllingham, Marlins. Not all that special, but has some pop.

4. Matty D./Brandon Jones. I expect this duo to produce solid numbers.

5. Wily Mo Pena, Kastens. Still just 27 but uneven so far.

Center field

1. C. Beltran, Flushing. Not quite living up to billing but still quite good.

2. Shane Victorino, Phils. Stole 37 bags last year and missed a chunk of time.

It's all question marks from here. I'll go:

3. Lastings Milledge, Kastens. Still (somewhat) highly regarded talent. We'll see what he does with playing time.

4. Cameron Maybin, Miami-Dade. Elite prospect will probably struggle some if he starts.

5. Josh Anderson/Jordan Schafer/Lillibridge. We'll see. I have no idea what to expect. I'll be satisfied with a combined .270-15-75-15 steals and solid defense.

Right field

1. The Lilburn Flash. It's not close.

In fact, the rest you can shake in a bag and draw names. I'll say

2. Austin Kearns, Warshington

3. J. Hermida, Dolphins Stadium, plenty of potential

4. Geoff Jenkins, out behind Utley and Howard, oft-injured, decent offense

5. Ryan Church, 7 train, reasonably adequate, perhaps should be 4th but he's a Met.

Starting pitchers

This is a thin pool. My heart might be overruling my head just a tad here, but I say:

1. Smoltzie. Bad ass mutha.

2. Cole Hamels, Citizens Bank. Reminds me of the good Steve Avery.

3. Brett Myers, Citizens Bank. Slapped his wife around in public, but a good pitcher.

4. Huddy. A repeat of last season would work fine.

5. Pedro, Willie Randolphs. If healthy, he'd be higher. But he won't stay healthy.

Closers

Also not a particularly strong group.

1. Wagner, Queens. Old but still good

2. Kevin Gregg, Miami-Dade. Unknown but 32-for-36 last season.

3. Chad Cordero, Kastens. I think he's slipping.

4. Brad Lidge, Phils. Struggled mightily last year, but I suspect he'll rebound.

5. BMF. No slight, it's just that he's the most unproven as a closer.

--CD

Comments

[erikg]

Like your list. I think I might have moved Kearns down a bit in right field, but I agree with just about all of it.

[Jim M]

also,

ronnie belliard hit 290 with 11 HR last yr. he had a lower OBP and less steals, but a higher OPS (obviously), virtually the same FP, and a better zone rating. if he is 5 then castillo is 5A.

[Jim M]

just read back thru your post, forgot about replacements. i would've just gone internally. the mets have gotay and hernandez, both 25 and both with promise and an obvious platoon. they seem to love gotay as they wouldn't include him in trades thus far this offseason. damion easly isnt a pretty name, but he hit 280 with 10 HR last year and could provide spot duty.

i would take that trio going into the season way before i would pay luis freaking castillo 25M over 4 yrs (which would never happen). obviously omar loves a deep bench, speed, and defense, but i prefer building from within and giving opportunities to younger players rather than overpay declining average veterans.

[Jim M]

sorry im not big on trusting people. castillo just signed for 4 yrs/25 mil. eckstein got 1 yr/4.5 mil. i dont like either, all im saying is giving castillo 4 yrs is ludicrous (32 yr old speed-based 2b). and pretty sure the mets would take utley over castillo, just a hunch. also, if the braves traded KJ for castillo straight up, i would be bitter, regardless of anything past 2008. im sure the marlins would feel the same way about uggla.

your argument about winning a WS is confusing and laughable. utley, KJ, and uggla have been in the majors for 4 yrs or less, and winning a WS does not hinge on a 2B or any one position player.

out of castillo's 165 hits last year, 25 were for extra bases! .359 slugging is unreal. i am not saying it is his job to hit doubles, but the post is not team-based. it is the best at the position. his

not sure what the "KJ2" is all about, i said KJ 2, as in second.

Not big on citing espn analysts, but Keith law says it well:

"When his speed goes completely, he'll be a replacement-level player. Because of this, a long-term commitment to Castillo would be insanity. Two years would be the limit of reason, and he's a much better fit for a team that has a .380-400 OBP guy to lead off so it could bat Castillo eighth or ninth rather than succumbing to the temptation to put the formerly fast guy in the leadoff spot."

[The real Fred]

Jim you are all wrong with Castillo and the Mets totaly wrong. If you are going to move Castillo down dont think your going to move "KJ2" up to 2nd and Uggla 3rd. See cause "KJ2" did nothing in august and sept while Castillo along with Wright and Alou were the best players the Mets had down the stretch. You have to look at the team 1st. The Mets do not need Uggla or Utley Castillo is perfect for the Mets 2 hole he switch hits and hits just as good with 2 strikes as with no strikes so it allows the best base stealer in the game to pick his pitch to run. And although he has declined a bit defensively he's still the best def 2ndbaseman in that group. It went from making the spectacular plays to make every play by him wich everyone is fine with. He's the only in that group who has won a WS also and proved it down the stretch last yr. He stays at 2 trust me. And who were the Mets going to replace him with that would bat 2nd switch hit and defend like him? They tried to get Eckstein but we wanted Castillo money and Castillo was the better fit. Also Alou i'd much rather have at the plate then Burrel not even close. I understand he gets hurt.

[Willie Montanez]

Good post for discussion.

What a sad collection in LF.

[Jim M]

agree with most, but 2B is questionable. castillo is an utterly useless singles hitter with diminishing defensive skills. i guess he works with their lineup as a 2 hitter, but i would rather sign a cheap replacement or promote a younger player from within than pay ridiculous money to somebody on the downside who was also rumored to be a bad influence on reyes over the second half of the season.

i realize there is no future element involved here, but as of today i would put KJ 2 and Uggla 3 (or vice versa) with castillo four. i can't believe the mets gave him a multi-year deal. it isnt a ton of money (i think 6 mil per) for the mets, but a really bad deal nonetheless.

i would also put hanley above rollins, but that is more a matter of preference.