Welcome to Day 5 of our Underrated Players in Each Division series which will focus on the AL Central, a division that is composed vastly of the haves and have nots. There's the Indians and Twins, both of whom look like legitimate contenders on paper again, the White Sox who could surprise people as soon as this coming season, along with the rebuilding Tigers and Royals who have lost several veterans the past year.
No matter how you slice it, this is a division that still has talent even if it might be in a bit of transition. Here is one underrated player from each of the five teams listed above.
1. Cleveland Indians: Cody Allen - Cody Allen has been a key cog at the back of the Indians bullpen with Andrew Miller and is a huge reason why the Indians went to the World Series in 2016 as well as why they had their historic 22-game win streak last year. Simply put, Allen has been underrated in the grand scheme of things especially when you start to look at his numbers the past three seasons. Dating back to 2015, Allen ranks 7th among relievers with 96 saves in 107 save opportunities, his strikeouts-per-9 rate of 12.22, puts him 12th among relievers over that span, and he has a 5.1 WAR over the past three season, good enough for 9th among qualified relievers. Allen saw his Opponent Batting Average Against go up a tick last year compared to 2016 (.177 in 2016 compared to .221 last year), but his career overall Opponent Batting Average Against is still an impressive .214 over 373.2 innings of work. Heading into this season, both Cody Allen and Andrew Miller will make up a lethal duo at the back of the Indians bullpen, but following this season, both are set to hit free agency.
2. Minnesota Twins: Brian Dozier - As Minnesota Twins fans refer to him as, The Bull Dozier, has been absolutely stellar for the Twins ever since making his MLB debut in 2012. Dozier, who turns 31 in May, is coming off a season in which he hit 34 home runs over the span of 705 plate appearances, the most for any second baseman, and recorded 93 RBI, putting him third behind Jonathan Schoop and Robinson Cano. Dozier's cumulative WAR last season was 5.0, third best among second baseman, and his cumulative career WAR is an impressive 20.8. Furthermore, dating back to the 2015 regular season, Dozier ranks third among second baseman with a .496 slugging percentage, ranks first with an Isolated Power (ISO) value of .238, and has a Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) value of 119. With the Twins eyes set on making the postseason again this year, Dozier will play a significant role in the success of the team and provides legitimate thump at the top of the Twins lineup to help compliment other offensive weapons including Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, and newly acquired first baseman/designated hitter, Logan Morrison.
3. Detroit Tigers: Jose Iglesias - The Detroit Tigers traded their easily most underrated player this winter in, Ian Kinsler, to the Los Angeles Angels and it might be hard to find someone underrated amid a rebuilding Tigers roster, but that doesn't take away from the greatness of Jose Iglesias defensively the past three years. Over that span, Iglesias has a 39.5 Defensive rating, good enough for 6th place among shortstops, and a Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) of 22.6 putting him fifth on the list. Sure, Iglesias might not be Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, or Corey Seager, but he is still among the Top 10 shortstops in the game right now even if he might not make those annual ranking lists. In addition, Iglesias has a RZR rating, which takes into consideration how many balls were converted into an out, value of .807 since 2015, 4th best among shortstops. The best part about Iglesias is that he is still out 28 years old and is still at the beginning of his peak meaning there is a chance he develops into an even greater defensive shortstop.
4. Chicago White Sox: Nate Jones - Nate Jones has quietly been one of the best relievers in all of baseball the past three seasons and gets little to no attention amid a young, but talented Chicago White Sox roster. Jones missed significant time last season with right elbow neuritis and was also on the 60-day DL back in 2015, but his numbers over that span are still impressive. Over the past three seasons, Jones has pitched to the tune of a 2.49 ERA, good enough for 13th place among qualified relievers, has a left on-base percentage of 85.6% which is fourth best over that span, and a 10.84 strikeouts-per-9 rate. Jones will have some work to do since he missed significant time last year, but he does currently sport a 0.00 ERA over 5.0 IP in Spring Training with a 10.8 strikeouts-per-9 rate. Regardless, looking at the White Sox on paper, Jones will once again be a very valuable piece for the White Sox going into this season and will help to provide a bridge to closer, Joakim Soria, who was acquired in a three-team trade from the Kansas City Royals this offseason.
5. Kansas City Royals: Alex Gordon - Alex Gordon might have fallen off the side of a cliff last year, but that doesn't take away from how great he's been defensively throughout his MLB career especially when you look at outfielders league wide. You won't find Gordon ranking highly among any offensive categories simply because he has an Offensive rating of -22.2 the past three years, but you will find that he has been superior from a fielding standpoint over that period of time. Left field is a difficult position to rank because of the number of platoon players that often occupy the position so we will look at all outfielders when ranking Gordon. Among all qualified outfielders, Alex Gordon ranks 12th with 23 Defensive Runs Saved dating back to 2015 and has an Ultimate Zone Rating of 27.4 over that span, good enough for 8th place on the list. Furthermore, Gordon has a career cumulative WAR of 32.8, but his WAR was 2.8 in 2015 before falling to 0.9 in 2016 and 0.1 last year. Heading into this season, Alex Gordon has a lot riding on his shoulders as he continues to prove to the Royals that they made the right decision in extending him two years ago.
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