Russell Branyan Rankings

We all know that signing Russell Branyan was an absolute bargain for the Mariners. We signed him for $1.4 million, and based on WAR he’s been worth $11.4 million – and it’s not even September yet. So no matter where he ranks among AL first basemen we should still be extremely happy to have him, but I’ve been curious for quite awhile now as to how he compares to others – and I would assume some of you have too. So let’s take a look at where this 1.4 million dollar journeyman stands. All rankings are among first basemen.

Offense:

Stat            A.L. Rank                     M.L. Rank           Number (stat)

wOBA           9th                             17th                          .367

ISO               3rd                             8th                            .270

OPS              7th                             15th                          .867

BB%             5th                             12th                           11.8%

WAR             7th                             13th                           2.5

HR                3rd                             8th                             30

Defense:

UZR             6th                             12th                          -0.3

RNG             4th                             7th                            1.1

E                 11th                           23rd                          10

So aside from errors and wOBA he’s in the top half of the AL in every category. He’s about where I would expect with numbers like ISO and HR, but the ones that really stand out to me are his range and his BB%. I had absolutely no idea that his range was so good – if it wasn’t for all of the errors he’d probably be looked at as one of the best defensive first basemen in the game. Now errors are by no means a good measure of overall defense, but they do still mean something – when it comes to having good hands and being able to play the ball well, especially in the infield, errors is, as of now, the only good stat for measuring it.

I didn’t bother putting in the strikeout numbers, as you can probably figure those out by yourself, but the high walk percentage is impressive. It’s been said a million times – he’s a true three outcome guy, but he manages to hit home runs and walk enough that the 3rd outcome, when it happens, is less frustrating.

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