Standings as of May 23rd:
EAST W L PCT GB Florida 24 16 .600 - Atlanta 24 19 .558 1.5 Washington 24 20 .545 2.0 NY Mets 23 21 .523 3 Philadelphia 21 24 .467 5.5
Here's everybody's favorite chart! (ok, so it's probably just me)
In this installment of the NL East update we'll take a look around the infields of each of the teams. VORP is from Baseball Prospectus, and stats are through the games of May 21st.
Atlanta BravesOverall Record: 24-19 Run Differential: +46 Record in last period: 4-8
NAME POS PA AVG OBP SLG VORP Chipper Jones 3b 147 0.339 0.469 0.627 24.0 Marcus Giles 2b 153 0.284 0.340 0.418 7.0 Adam Laroche 1b 133 0.261 0.331 0.496 6.7 Wilson Betemit 3b 39 0.312 0.436 0.562 4.7 Pete Orr 2b 57 0.315 0.351 0.481 4.3 Julio Franco 1b 72 0.239 0.292 0.328 -1.1 Rafael Furcal ss 189 0.211 0.259 0.303 -2.0
Overall, the Braves infield is about where one would expect them. However, how they got there is a little unexpected. Chipper Jones has had a tremendous start after declining slightly each of the last three years. Wilson Betemit and Pete Orr have both chipped in nicely helping to overcome the awful start by Rafael Furcal.
Florida MarlinsOverall Record: 24-16 Run Differential: +49 Record in last period: 7-5
NAME POS PA AVG OBP SLG VORP Carlos Delgado 1b 167 0.312 0.395 0.535 17.5 Luis Castillo 2b 108 0.289 0.407 0.356 6.8 Alex Gonzalez ss 134 0.258 0.306 0.395 5.9 Damion Easley 2b 86 0.237 0.291 0.487 4.4 Mike Lowell 3b 143 0.183 0.231 0.305 -7.2
Carlos Delgado has made a seemless transition to the National League. Luis Castillo has the most interesting line, with his OBP over 50 points higher than his slugging percentage. The dreadful start on this team belongs to Mike Lowell who is 5th from the bottom in all of baseball in VORP.
New York MetsOverall Record: 23-21 Run Differential: +8 Record in last period: 6-6
NAME POS PA AVG OBP SLG VORP David Wright 3b 162 0.283 0.389 0.522 14.5 Jose Reyes ss 190 0.266 0.289 0.408 8.0 D Mientkiewicz 1b 153 0.208 0.314 0.369 -0.9 Kazuo Matsui 2b 155 0.243 0.284 0.340 -1.0 Miguel Cairo 2b 63 0.228 0.270 0.351 -1.1
If Miguel Cabrera is the best young player in the division, David Wright is next in line. He's carrying the infield at the plate right now. Jose Reyes has been solid, and healthy, while the remainder of the infield has been at replacement level.
Philadelphia PhilliesOverall Record: 21-24 Run Differential: -24 Record in last period: 7-6
NAME POS PA AVG OBP SLG VORP Chase Utley 2b 119 0.287 0.345 0.546 9.4 Jimmy Rollins ss 195 0.236 0.287 0.346 4.9 Placido Polanco 2b 129 0.267 0.341 0.345 2.1 Tomas Perez 1b 54 0.300 0.352 0.340 1.4 David Bell 3b 164 0.250 0.323 0.338 0.1 Ryan Howard 1b 30 0.214 0.267 0.393 -0.4 Jim Thome 1b 102 0.205 0.343 0.301 -1.0
Chase Utley continues to make the case that he should play everyday as he leads the Phils infield in VORP while playing both 2B and 1B. The remainder of the infield has been a disappointment. Jim Thome returned to the lineup on Saturday after a DL stint with a back injury.
Washington NationalsOverall Record: 24-20 Run Differential: -5 Record in last period: 7-6
NAME POS PA AVG OBP SLG VORP Nick Johnson 1b 179 0.316 0.419 0.507 16.6 Vinny Castilla 3b 161 0.292 0.366 0.479 12.8 Jose Vidro 2b 115 0.290 0.365 0.510 9.8 Jamey Carroll 2b 89 0.272 0.326 0.309 -0.7 Cristian Guzman ss 155 0.192 0.232 0.247 -8.1
Nick Johnson's always had the talent, it's been a matter of staying on the field for him. So far, so good this year. Vinny Castilla continues to play like he was still at Coors field while Vidro was hitting well before heading to the DL. Christian Guzman looked like a bad signing this offseason, but not this bad. He's third from the bottom in all of baseball in VORP (A Boone, Olivo).
Wrap up:
In total here are how the five infields in the NL East stack up:
Team VORP Atlanta 43.6 Washington 30.4 Florida 27.4 New York 19.5 Philadelphia 16.5
