top 5 best current black MLB Players

Okay so we are closing to the end of black history month and i would like to cover some of the current black MLB players. Now its a shame the greats such as Hank Aaron and Ken Griffey Jr are long gone and big Papi has now left Fenway. But the saddest thing that despite the rich history of black MLB players they are now declining. Black players now only Make up 8% of the MLB and there were only 14 black pitchers in 2016 (7 starters 7 relievers). But i still feel lets honor our current black MLB players.

Now don’t get me wrong i am not saying baseball isnt diverse as in there are a ton of hispanic players from Latin American countries like Mexico,The Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba etc. There is also a growing number of MLB players coming From japan and South Korea. But i feel like i should honor some of our best black MLB players so without further Adieu here are the top 5 best current black MLB players.

1.  Boston Red Sox Starting Pitcher David Price: Okay David will be the only pitcher on this list but he is quite an accomplished pitcher. 5 all-star wins and he was also the AL CY Young winner in 2012. Now David appeared and started in 35 games in 2017. He managed to get a 17-9 win-loss record that season. Now his ERA dipped a lot from 2015 with him going from a 2.45 ERA to a 3.99 ERA. That is a HUGE drop in ERA. But he got 17 wins and 228  strikeouts in 2016 the 7th most by any pitcher in the MLB in 2016. He managed to get around 8.8 strikeouts per every 9 innings pitched.  David also got a 1.20 WHIP and 3.0 WAR.David should have a good year in 2017 and i am excited to see whats in store for him next season.

2.  Baltimore Orioles Center Fielder Adam Jones: Okay Adam Jones is another all-star on this list 5 all star appearances in fact. Along with 4 gold glove awards and a silver slugger award in 2013. In 2016 Adam managed to get 29 home runs along with a 164 hits,83 RBIS and 86 runs. He also got 19 doubles, 2 stolen bases,270 total bases and 48 extra base hits.

His batting average was also very subpar at just .265 and his other stats werent that great for him either only slugging .436 and just having a .310 on base percentage with a .746 on base plus slugging percentage. Adam has had a bit of a slump in 2016 but i feel is making a lot of improvements and will be playing at an all-star caliber this season

3.  Boston Red Sox Right Fielder Mookie Betts: At 5’9 and 180 pounds Mookie isn’t the biggest MLB player but he makes up for it in pure hitting power. Mookie was probably one of the biggest power hitters in 2016. He led all of the MLB in at bats in 2016 with 672 at bats. Out of those 672 at bats he got 214 hits falling two hits short behind Jose Altuve of first place. That gives him a 31% hit per at bat percentage and that is extremely high. Mookie also got the second most runs in the MLB right next to Mike Trout with a 122 runs. His RBI number was pretty high in 2016 with a 113 RBIS and he led all of the MLB in total bases in 2016 with 359 total bases. He also got 42 doubles,3 triples and 26 stolen bases.

Mookie also brought in 31 home runs not to shabby but wait there’s more (RIP Billy Mays) Mookie also got a .318 batting average that was the 7th highest in the MLB for 2016. But that’s not all he also got a .534 slugging percentage in 2016 along with a .363 on base percentage and a .897 on base plus slugging percentage. Mookie sure is getting to be a great MLB right fielder and could give Harper a run for his money in 2017 when it comes to reigning as the best right fielder in the MLB in 2017.

4.  Boston Red Sox Center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr: Okay first thing i gotta mention about jackie is his 29 game hitting streak in 2016 from april 24th to may 25th. It was amazing now back to jackie regular season in 2016 he made the all-star team for the first time in his career. Now lets dive into his 2016 stats. He got a 149 hits, 94 runs,87 RBIS and 26 home runs.

He also got 30 doubles and 7 triples along with 9 stolen bases, 271 total bases and 63 extra base hits. He managed to have a mediocre batting average with a .267 batting average along with a .486 slugging percentage, a .349 on base percentage and a .838 on base plus slugging percentage. Now hopefully jackie can have a better season in 2017 and maybe he will give Joe DiMaggio a run for his money and get another major hitting streak in 2017.

5.   St Louis Cardinals Center Fielder Dexter Fowler: Dexter Fowler is heading into 2017 to a new team the St Louis Cardinals but he is bringing with him a world series ring. Dexter is coming off an all time high being a part of the chicago cubs team that finally broke the Billy goat curse after a 108 year world series win drought. Now lets take a look at dexter 2016 season.

In 2016 he made it to the all-star game for the first time with the cubs. His stats were very mediocre at best with 13 home runs,a 126 hits,48 RBIS and 84 runs. He also managed to get 25 doubles, 7 triples, 13 stolen bases, 204 total bases and 45 extra base hits.Dexter also had a .276 batting average, along with a .393 on base percentage, a .447 slugging percentage and a .840 on base plus slugging percentage. Hopefully Dexter will make a good adjustment in 2017 to the cardinals.

 

the top 5 best catchers of the 2016 MLB season

“no baseball pitcher would be worth a darn without a catcher who could handle the hot fastball” – Casey Stengel. Ah baseball catchers you gotta love them. I mean who could handle kneeling down for three straight hours I mean hell i hate bending over and picking up a pencil off the floor but these guys will do it like its nothing.

 I mean without catchers we wouldn’t have the amazing pitcher and catcher batteries such as Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner or Clayton Kershaw and Yasmani Grandal. When god said thou shall not steal he created catchers so lets give a shout out to all those who put on the tools of ignorance each game so without further adieu here are the top 5 best catchers of the 2016 MLB season

1.  St Louis Cardinals Catcher Yadier Molina: with 7 all stats appearances, 8 gold gloves and 2 world series wins in just 13 seasons with the Cards since 2004 Yadier has already established himself as probably the most dominant catcher behind home plate and in the batters box.

Yadier led all catchers in batting average in 2016 with a .307 batting average and also in hits with a 164 season hits. He also had 8 home runs in 2016 along with 58 rbis, 56 runs, 38 doubles (he lead all catchers in the stat in 2016), 1 triple, 3 stolen bases, 228 total bases, 47 extra base hits.

He also boasted a .360 season on base percentage, a .427 slugging percentage and a .787 on base plus slugging percentage. He was also without a doubt the best pound for pound defensive catcher in 2016 leading all catchers in putouts and total catches with 1113 total putouts and 1175 total catches.

2.  San Francisco Giants Starting Catcher Buster Posey: I mean how could i write about catchers and not mention Buster Posey. I mean that is like talking about two and a half men and not mentioning Charlie Sheen he is the best (Sorry Ashton Kutcher but you know you killed two and a half men).

Just like Yadier buster has played his whole career with the san francisco giants a total of 8 seasons starting in 2009. In that time buster made it to the all-star game 4 times with his most recent appearance in 2016. He won 3 world series rings ( get two more and Gisele might give you a call), Won the NL MVP in 2012 and rookie of the year award in 2010 and he won the silver slugger award three times.

Buster had some pretty good stats in 2016 He got 14 home runs, a 155 hits,80 RBIS,82 runs (led all catchers in that stat in 2016), 33 doubles, 2 triples, 234 total bases and 49 extra base hits. He also had quite a good batting average for a catcher with a .288 batting average along with leading all catchers in on base percentages with a .362 on base percentage. He also has a pretty good slugging percentage with a .434 slugging percentage and a pretty good on base plus slugging percentage with a .796 on base plus slugging percentage. bonus stat he also lead all catchers in WAR (wins above replacement player) with a 4.7 WAR.

3.  Texas Rangers Catcher Jonathan Lucroy: Okay fun fact about Jonathan. He could have been a Cleveland indian last season. Last season while playing for the brewers they agreed to trade him to the cleavland indians during the annual august trade deadline since his 5 year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers signed before the start of the 5 year season was ending in 2016.

But however he choose to excercise his no trade clause agreement in his contract saying he could not be traded to a certain team. But he choose to exercise his no trade clause with the Milwaukee Brewers ( No trade clause is an agreement in a baseball contract that states that he the player has a right to veto trades to a certain team.)

Either way back to Jonathan Lucroy. Jonathan had a great season in 2016. He played for two teams in 2016 the aforementioned milwaukee brewers who he had been playing with since 2010 and the texas rangers his current team. Jonathan played the vast majority of his season with the Brewers (95 games) and then played 47 games with the Rangers. Jonathan put up great numbers in 2016. With 24 home runs, a 143 hits, 81 RBIS (he led all catchers in RBIS in 2016). He also came in second in most runs by a catcher in 2016 with 67 runs.

Jonathan also got 24 doubles and 3 triples in 2016. He also squeezed in 5 stolen bases and the most total bases out of any catcher in 2016 with 245 total bases and he also had 51 extra base hits. Jonathan is someone who i expect will get 25 home runs this year for a catcher he does seem to have consistent good stats.

4.  Tampa Bay Rays Catcher Wilson Ramos: Okay on december 12th 2016 Wilson left his home in DC where he played for the nationals for the last six years from 2010-2016. Wilson is an accomplished catcher who finally got major recognition in 2016 with making it to the all-star game and winning a silver slugger award.

Wilson played in a 131 games for the nationals in 2016 getting 22 home runs, 80 rbis, a 148 hits and 58 runs. Wilson definitely lacked in base running in 2016 while he did get 25 doubles he didn’t get any triples or stolen bases.But fear not he made up for that in total bases with 239 total bases in 2016 the second most out of any catcher that season right next to the aforementioned Jonathan Lucroy and 51 extra base hits as well that season.

When it came to his batting average and his slugging percentage it was go big or go home and he went big coming in at second most for any catcher in both of those stats in 2016 getting a .307 batting average and a .496 slugging percentage. He also got a .354 on base percentage in 2016 as well as a .850 on base plus slugging percentage. Wilson should be a good fit for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2017 and i am excited to se him play in 2016.

5.  Kansas City Royals Catcher Salvador Perez: okay this was a hard choose for the last one and i was in a 3 way tie with him and Stephen Vogt and Yasmani Grandal. But i choose Salvador and here is why he is a time all-star in his 6 seasons with the royals most recent all star appearance in 2016. He not only has a world series ring but he is also a world series MVP (all from the Kansas City Royals 2015 world series win.) 4 gold gloves and won a silver slugger award in 2016. Now lets dive into Salvador 2016 season.

In 2016 Salvador got 22 home runs, a 127 hits, 64 RBIS and 57 runs. Along with that he also got 30 doubles,2 triples, 1 stolen base, 225 total bases and 52 extra base hits (most out of any catcher in 2016. Salvador had a mediocre batting average in 2016 with a .247 batting average but made up for that with a fantastic .438 slugging percentage. He also got a .288 on base percentage and a .725 on base plus slugging percentage in 2016.

top 5 most underrated pitchers of the 2016 season

in a follow-up to my previous articles i thought i would give the pitchers a shout out. now the hitters article might have been a hit (cheesy dad joke). But i feel as if you pitchers are truly what makes a team because you can’t have a good offense without a good defense. so without further adieu here are the top 5 most underrated pitchers of the 2016 season ( note i am also going to put in closers)

1.  New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka: you know what time it is its #TanakaTime. Yup its time for me to talk about one of my favorite Yankees Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka is coming off his best season in 2016. Masahiro started in 31 games in 2016 for the yankees and got a 14-4 record in 2016. His most impressive stat was his 3.07 ERA which was the 12th best in the MLB out of any pitcher in the 2016 season. He had the 7th best WAR (wins above replacement player) out of any pitcher in 2016 with a 5.4 WAR in 2016.

He also had a 1.08 WHIP in 2016 which is the 11th best in the MLB in 2016. He also had a 165 strikeouts in 2016. Mashairo has been named the opening day starter for the Yankees on april 2nd against the Tampa Bay Rays in Tropicana field in tampa bay florida this will be his third consecutive opening day start for the yankees and he will be the one key starter for the yankees in 2017

2.  Washington Nationals Starting pitcher Tanner Roark: If you were to look up the words underrated or underappreciated in the dictionary you would find Tanner Roark name in the definition of each word. Tanner is 30 years old and has been in the MLB for 4 years now making his rookie debut back in 2013 for the washington nationals the team he has played for his whole career.  I mean Tanner had a killer season in 2016.

He pitched in a total of 34 games for the Nats and started in 33 of them pitching a total of 210 innings in 2016 and faced a total of 855 batters in 2016. He got a 16-10 win loss record in 2016. Tanner also had the 6th best ERA in 2016. The 6th best with a 2.86 ERA in 2016. Tanner also had the 6th best WAR in 2016 with a 5.5 WAR rating and a 1.17 WHIP. Tanner also managed to get a 172 strikeouts in 2016. Not to shabby right but unfortunately with Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg in you’re starting rotation it is easy to get under looked but baseball is just around the corner and i feel an all-star game.

3.  Chicago White Sox Starting Pitcher José Quintana: Hip Hip Jose Quintana. Jose is 27 years old and has been in the MLB since 2012 playing his whole career with the Chicago White Sox. 2016 was a good year for Jose he made the all-star team for the first time in 2016. He also pitched in and started in a total of 32 games in 2016.  He managed to pitch a total of 208 innings in 2016 and face a total of 837 batters. Jose got a 13-12 win loss record in 2016. Jose got a 3.20 ERA in 2016 along with a 1.16 WHIP and a 5.2 WAR as well in 2016 (the 11th best in the MLB in 2016). Jose even managed to squeeze in a 181 strikeouts in 2016. Jose has definitely come along way since his pitching in the Venezuelan summer league for the Venezuelan Mets to now pitching in america in the MLB for the Chicago White Sox.

4.  Miami Marlins Starting Pitcher Dan Straily: With a beard that legendary you know every batter is shaking in their boots (or cleats) when they go up to face him. All jokes aside Dan Straily is an amazing player for the Miami Marlins. A just recent Miami Marlin i should add since he was traded to the Marlins by the reds on january 19th for three top minor league prospects from the Miami Marlins organization. Dan has been in the MLB for 5 years now starting in 2012 with the Oakland Athletics and then going to the Chicago Cubs in 2014 and then going to the Houston Astros in 2015 and then his most recent team the Cinncanti reds in 2016.

Dan pitched in a total of 34 games in 2016 and started in 31 games pitching a total of 191 innings in 2016 and facing a total of 792 batters. Dan got a 14-8 win loss record in 2016. He also got a pretty impressive 3.76 ERA in 2016 as well as a 1.19 WHIP and a 4.3 WAR. Dan also had a pretty mediocre strikeout number getting a 162 strikeouts but he did have a decent number of strikeouts per 9 innings getting on average 7.62 strikeouts per every 9 innings pitched in 2016. I have a feeling dan is a natural shoo in for the 2017 Miami Marlins starting rotation and i know 8 pitchers will be duking it out in spring training to make one of the 5 roation spots but i have a feeling dan will get it.

5. 5. Cleveland Indians Relief Pitcher Cody Allen: Cody had a pretty good year last season with the tribe and he made it to the world series but unfortunately he did not win. Cody is the first relief pitcher on this list. I said i was going to put in relief pitchers on this list so i feel i should. Cody is an unsung hero for the indians in the bullpen but unfortunately he was outshined by the august trade from the New York Yankees Andrew Miller who dominated in the end of the season and in the post season for the Indians in 2016. Cody has been with the Indians since 2012.

He appeared in 67 games in 2016 and pitched a total of 68 innings and faced a total of 264 batters. Cody managed to get 3 wins in 2016 and 5 losses. He also snuck in an amazing 2.51 ERA and an amazing 87 strikeouts (the 17th most out of any MLB relief pitcher in 2016) and he also had the 11th most saves out of any relief pitcher in 2016 with 32 saves in 2016. Cody also pitched in 4 postseason games in 2016 and got 12 strikeouts and 1 save.

top 5 most underatted hitters of the 2016 season

okay there is 52 days until the 2017 MLB regular season begins and in 4 days pitchers and catchers will report to spring training on February 13th. So i thought i would look at the top 4 most underrated hitters of the 2016 season. So without further adieu here are the top 5 most underrated hitters of the 2016 season.

1. Houston Astros Right Fielder George Springer: George is definitely a player that i feel is overlooked. He is young at 27 and is in his third year in the big leagues all with the Houston Astros. George got the 7th most runs in the MLB in the 2016 regular season with a 116 runs and george also had the most plate appearances in all of the MLB in 2016 with 744 plate apperances and the 4th most at bats in the MLB in 2016 with 644 at bats. in those 644 at bats and 744 plate apperances he managed to get 29 home runs, a 168 hits, 82 RBIS, 29 doubles, 5 triples, 294 total bases and 63 extra base hits.

Along with that he managed to earn a .261 batting average, a .359 on base percentage, a .457 slugging percentage and a .815 on base plus slugging percentage. George has definitely flown under the radar a bit his last three seasons so far he hasn’t made the all-star team but he has had a really break out year for the Astros last season.

He managed to become the first MLB player since former Detroit Tigers third baseman and catcher Brandon Inge did on april 23rd 2004 against the Cleveland indians in 12 years to get a triple and a grand slam in the same inning  on june 24th at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City against the Royals.

He got a grand slam and a triple in the first inning giving them a 9-0 lead to start the game leading them to a 13-4 win against the royals and he also got the first grand slam of the 2016 season against the New York Yankees at yankees stadium on wednesday april 6th 2016.

2.  New York Yankees first baseman/ Designated hitter Chris Carter: Okay chris carter is the Yankees newest addition signing him to a 1 year 3.5 million dollar contract last Tuesday (february 7th) Now chris will most likely be a back up and with Matt Holiday all set at DH for 2017 Chris will have to compete with Greg Bird and Tyler Austin in spring training for a starting position at first base in 2017. Now chris was tied for most home runs in the NL for the 2016 season with Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado.

But he is often very overlooked and the Yankees got him as a steal in my opinion. I mean Chris had a .222 batting average last season and a low .321 on base percentage along with only a 122 hits. But he did have a .499 slugging percentage and 94 RBIS along with 84 runs, 27 doubles, 1 triple, 274 total bases and 69 extra base hits. Chris is someone I am excited to see play because he is bringing something to the table the Yankees desperately need and that is power hitting. I am very excited to see him play next season.

3.  Milwaukee Brewers Shortstop/Second and Third Baseman Jonathan Villar: Okay Jonathan Had a very descent season once again. Being a three position player he added a lot of versatility to the brewers infield in 2016. Jonathan had played the three previous season with the Houston Astros and as usual there is some adjustment time but i felt he did pretty well in 2016.

He led the MLB in stolen bases in 2016 with 62. Along with 19 home runs, a 168 hits, 63 RBIS,38 doubles, 3 triples, 269 total bases and 60 extra base hits. along with a solid .285 batting average, a .369 on base percentage, a .457 slugging percentage and a .826 on base plus slugging percentage.Jonathan is definitely making a name for himself and i feel that we will be hearing a lot more from him as we enter the 2017 season.

4.   Arizona Diamondbacks Shortstop/ Second Baseman Jean Segura: Another face and name you probably don’t see that much in the world of baseball.  Jean has been in the MLB for 5 years now starting in 2012 with the Los Angeles Angels and then going to the Milwaukee Brewers that same season and staying with them until 2016. Jean made the all-star team just once in his career back in 2013 But he in an incredible player and had an incredible season in 2016.

How good David you ask. Well he had the most hits in the national league in 2016 with 203 hits and the third most hits in the MLB that season.  Along with the 6th best batting average in the MLB in 2016 with a .319 batting average. Along with his impressive number of hits and high batting average he got a 102 runs in 2016.

His RBI number was less than favorable with just 64 rbis in 2016. But he made up for that with his 318 total bases in 2016 along with his 41 doubles, 7 triples and 33 stolen bases. His on base percentage wasnt to shabby either with a .368 on base percentage and he also had pretty good slugging percentage and on base plus slugging percentage with a .499 slugging percentage and a .867 on base plus slugging percentage.Jean is definitely a diamond in the rough and is an MLB all-star and he could have a real all star year in 2017.

5.  Atlanta Braves First baseman Freddie Freeman: Okay Freddie was an all-star on a no star team in 2016. The Atlanta Braves finished 68-93 in 2016.  But hey at least the atlanta falcons managed to win the Superbowl in 2017 (alternative fact ESPN may say its wrong and the patriots won but there fake news) okay back from the obvious joking Freddie was probably in the top 5 best first baseman in the MLB in 2016. Freddie was definitely a power hitter in 2016 earning the 4th best slugging percentage in the mlb in 2016 with a .569 slugging percentage. He also managed to get on base quite a bit with a .400 on base percentage in 2016 the 7th best in the MLB.

Freddie also managed to get a very good .302 batting average and a spectacular on base plus slugging percentage with a .968 on base plus slugging percentage in 2016 the 5th best in the MLB that season. He also got 34 home runs,a 178 hits, a 102 runs, 91 RBIS. He was also a pretty good base runner getting 335 total bases in 2016 tying him with miguel cabrera at 7th most in the MLB in 2016. He also got 43 doubles (tying him at 4th most in the MLB with Anthony Rizzo) along with 6 triples and 6 stolen base and his best stat in 2016 was his number of extra base hits with 83 extra base hits in 2016 which put him second in most extra base hits in 2016 right next to the one and only big papi David Ortiz.