Welcome to the final day of our Underrated Players in Each Division series! Today's spotlight is on the AL East a division that will likely be ruled by two powerhouse teams this year in the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. In addition, the Toronto Blue Jays are ready to show everyone that last year was a fluke thanks to injuries, while the Baltimore Orioles are being their stubborn selves and not going away and the Tampa Bay Rays continue to try to field a contender albeit with a very small payroll.
Regardless of how the division landscape might look from top to bottom, there is plenty of talent riddled throughout. Here is one underrated player from each of the five teams listed above.
1. New York Yankees: Didi Gregorious - There is no question that Didi Gregorious is by far the most underrated player on the New York Yankees given the type of year that he had last season. Gregorious often gets overlooked because of the tremendous amount of depth and talent at the shortstop position, but don't sleep on him heading into this season. Since joining the Yankees three years ago, Gregorious has hit: .276/.313/.432 over 1,745 plate appearances with 447 hits, 54 home runs, 213 RBI, 15 stolen bases, 77 walks, and 237 strikeouts. Last year alone, he recorded 25 home runs and 87 RBI which is tremendous for a shortstop! In addition, since joining the organization Gregorious has a 9.7 WAR, which ranks 7th among active shortstops, and does an average job from a defensive standpoint. Dating back to 2015, Gregorius has a Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) of 9.8, 9th best among shortstops, and has a Defensive Runs Saved value of -3, putting him 12th on the list. Gregorious might not be at the top of the list amid a deep position, but don't sleep on the potential that he has as the Yankees look to win the AL East this season.
2. Boston Red Sox: Xander Bogaerts - For the Boston Red Sox, the most underrated player on their squad currently is shortstop, Xander Bogaerts. Bogaerts over the past three seasons has a .352 on-base percentage along with a .424 slugging percentage over 2,008 plate appearances. In terms of plate appearances, he leads all shortstops and ranks fourth among shortstops with a 12.4 WAR, over that period of time. Furthermore, Bogaerts has a Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) value of 107, 6th best among shortstops, and leads all shortstops in base running with a (BsR) value of 18.0. Often times, when you look at the Boston Red Sox on paper or are having a discussion with someone, the conversation typically centers around the likes of Chris Sale, Craig Kimbrel, and the impressive outfield trio that Boston has in Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley, Jr., and Mookie Betts. However, Bogaerts has been a key cog piece of the Red Sox infield dating back to 2013, when he first made his MLB debut, and the best part is he is still only 25 years old meaning that he has yet to reach his peak and has plenty of potential left in the tank.
3. Toronto Blue Jays: J.A. Happ - If I could list the entire starting rotation for the Toronto Blue Jays right here, I certainly would because everyone seems to undervalue how great they've been and the potential they have heading into this season. J.A. Happ, who gets the Opening Day nod for Toronto this season, joined the organization as a free agent prior to the 2016 season and will be a free agent following this season. Over the past two seasons, Happ has recorded a 3.33 ERA over 340.1 innings of work with 305 strikeouts and a 6.0 WAR. Among starting pitchers since the start of the 2016 regular season, Happ has a 78.3 left on-base percentage, tying him with Kevin Gausman of the rival Baltimore Orioles, for 8th place on the list. Furthermore, one reason why Happ has been so successful is because he has relied on his fastball more often (73.5% of the time in 2016 and 70.2% of the time in 2017 compared to 66.7% of the time in 2015) and is tied for fourth among starting pitchers, with Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals, the past two years with a Medium Contact Percentage Rate of 51.6%. Happ has a lot riding on his shoulders this season, but with the help of Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Marco Estrada, and Jamie Garcia, he should do just fine.
4. Baltimore Orioles: Jonathan Schoop - The Orioles might be headlined by names like Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo, and Adam Jones, but one guy that never gets enough attention is second baseman, Jonathan Schoop. Schoop, who is coming off a career year offensively, finished last season batting: .293/.338/.503 over the span of 675 plate appearances with 182 hits, 32 doubles, 32 home runs, 105 RBI, 35 walks, and 442 strikeouts. That offensive success accumulated to a career high 5.2 WAR for Schoop and an Offensive Wins Above Replacement (oWAR) amount of 5.0. Among second baseman the past three seasons, Schoop ranks fourth with 72 home runs over 1,643 plate appearances, comes in fifth with 226 RBI over that span, and is fifth with a .479 slugging percentage. One negative to Schoop's game play is his base running ability as illustrated by his (BsR) value of -5.1 and the fact that he has only recorded 4 stolen bases the past three years. However, Schoop will still play an integral role in how successful or unsuccessful the Orioles are in their continued pursuit of the postseason this year.
5. Tampa Bay Rays: Alex Colome - Alex Colome is a name that seems to fly under-the-radar, but was someone that has been mentioned in trade talks numerous times over the past couple of seasons. With that being said, Colome has been one reason why the Rays haven't completely fallen off the side of a cliff as of late and were able to stay relevant last year with a third place finish in the AL East. It's hard to get accurate data for Colome over the past three seasons because he was originally a starting pitcher with the Rays for the first half of the 2015 season before being converted to a reliever during the second half of that season and beyond, but from a league wide perspective, Colome ranks 12th over that span with 84 saves in 98 save opportunities and has a 2.63 ERA over that span along with a 2.80 FIP, which ties him with Chris Devenski of the Houston Astros. Prior to the start of last season, Colome relied on four different pitches, but last season he introduced his Cutter, which he threw 67.3% of the time, and continued throwing his fastball, 32.7% of the time. Eventually, Colome could find himself in a new uniform depending on how the Rays perform this year, but for now, he continues to be a valuable asset at the back end of their bullpen.
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