Interesting Silver Slugger Races 90 Games In

Ninty games in, some of the Silver Slugger races seem to be over. Carlos Delgado is an incredible hitter, but I cannot see him catching Rocky Mitchell. Some races, are significantly closer. These races, that may not be decided till the last game of the season, are what this article is all about.

Second Base: Pengu Flipperson vs Bobby Boucher

The race for the Silver Slugger award for 2nd base comes down Flipperson and Boucher. Boucher seems like the obvious choice to the casual fan. Throughout much of the season, his name has been featured on the top 5 leaderboard for both homeruns, and RBIs. With 23 and 62 respectively, he now sits tied for 5th in both categories. But overall, his batting stats have been mediocre. His triple slash line sits at .241/.306/.450. His .756 OPS isn't great. His 110 wRC+ suggests he isn't that much better than average. However, home runs and RBIs are attention grabbers. He has a shot.

Flipperson bats for average. A prototypical leadoff guy, the Centurions 2B boasts a .287/.360/.420 line and 10 bombs. His .781 OPS surpasses the .756 mark of Boucher. "Flip" carries a 124 wRC+. Flipperson is a high volume steals guy; but I'm not sure that baserunning should be factored into the Silver Slugger debate. If the season ended today, Flipperson would have my vote, but Boucher could easily make up the difference with 30 games.

Third Base: Tracy Prezzy Jr vs Jason Bourne

We all expected Tracy Prezzy Jr to dominate, right? But who would have called a Jason Bourne season of this magnitude. Prezzy leads the league in average, batting.320; his combined slash line is .320/.361/.484. TPJr hit 16 bombs so far this season and has driven in 50 runs. With a 140 wRC+, it's safe to say Prezzy Jr. is elite.

However Bourne has been just as good if not better. His slash line of .290/.362/.522 is superb. It's important to note that despite a .030 Point disadvantage in batting average, his OBP is nearly identical to Prezzy's. With much better power numbers, Bourne easily outpaces TPJr in OPS and wRC+. Also, Bourne is second in the league with 73 ribbies and fourth with 24 homers. Thus far, I believe it's safe to say Jason Bourne has been better at the plate than Tracy Prezzy Jr. However, I do not believe that the race is out of reach. A hot stretch from Prezzy or a slump from Bourne, and this race could look totally different down the stretch.


Shortstop: Lucas Peterson vs Hunter Scott vs Sphyrna Lewin vs Ajax Mohran

Yes... I listed all 4 non bot shortstops. All 4 have 6 or 7 home runs, and all 4 sport OPS's within a .070 roint range. Ajax Mohran's .265/.331/.355 slash line and .686 OPS probably won't win the award. But he still has time. Lucas Peterson's .273/.362/.353 line which results in .716 OPS (wow that's a lot of walks from Lucas), and Sphyrna Lewin's .285/.337/.365 line or .702 OPS are both within range of the leader. Yes, the man who puts forth the least effort off of the field has the best numbers on the field. Hunter Scott sports a .292/.372/.376 slash line. His OBP is top 5 in the league. None of the 4 are home run threats. Unless someone overtakes Scott and his .748 OPS, he will take home the Silver Slugger award at the shortstop position.

Let's just factor in baserunning

Pingu wrote:Let's just factor in baserunning

··· Then I'd have to mention that 72% success rate

Psanchez55 wrote:

Pingu wrote:Let's just factor in baserunning

··· Then I'd have to mention that 72% success rate

Improved, he had 65% few sims ago.

A truly extraordinary article! The only thing I'm wondering about is why wasn't the pitcher silver slugger award mentioned? Do you believe that one of the pitchers is running away with it? Cause imo it's a tight race between a couple pitchers.

JorgTheGoat03 wrote:A truly extraordinary article! The only thing I'm wondering about is why wasn't the pitcher silver slugger award mentioned? Do you believe that one of the pitchers is running away with it? Cause imo it's a tight race between a couple pitchers.

I still don't know where to find pitcher batting stats

Only a fool would count out Carlos Delgado. But a solid read nonetheless

Psanchez55 wrote:

JorgTheGoat03 wrote:A truly extraordinary article! The only thing I'm wondering about is why wasn't the pitcher silver slugger award mentioned? Do you believe that one of the pitchers is running away with it? Cause imo it's a tight race between a couple pitchers.

I still don't know where to find pitcher batting stats

I didn't either until a little bit ago. You go to each individual team's page and then click on batting stats. That's how you do it.