Sunday, October 30, 2011

Is Robinson Cano worth 14 million dollars?

The Yankees announced that they are picking up the 14 million dollar option on Robinson Cano's contract. Cano had a 4.6 WAR in 2011, worth 13.8 million. His 2010 season was worth 18.9 million with his 6.3 WAR. However, Cano has career OBP of .347, .349 in 2011, career high .381 in 2010. For a player that is heralded as one of the tops in the league, these numbers are pretty low. His Career OPS is .843, and he has walked just 5.1% in his career, far below league average (career best in 2010 at 8.2%, still slightly below league average of 8.5%. He has a Secondary Average of just .243 in his career (was slightly above .300 in both 2010 and 2011). His career BABIP is extremely high at .321 (had a .326 BABIP in 2010). He seems to have improved as a overall hitter in the past two seasons, but he seems to be profoundly overrated. I have heard comparisons to Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, and dozens of other great hitters. He simply does not have those numbers. Those comparisons are completely unfounded. He is an above average power hitter, homering over 4% of the time in the last 4 years, with an ISO of .231 in 2011 (.188 in his career). He has a career number of 5.8 runs created per game, and a .579 Offensive winning percentage. These numbers are good for sure, but maybe not as good as Cano is hyped to be. His PPS is absolutely pathetic at 80.98 for his career. An offensive of too many Cano type hitters would be an offensive a pitcher could face all day. The lack of patience and walks truly is concerning, and one wonders if his BABIP will come back to earth. It may never, because he certainly hits the ball hard, but if it does, Cano is in serious trouble. I want to repeat that obviously Cano is a good player, but he is obviously overrated, and may soon be overpaid.

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