The Brennan Boesch All-Stars Revisited

A few weeks before the All-Star break, I wrote about major league baseball players having unlikely breakout first halves. You can read it here. The purpose of this post was to see some of these guys come back to earth after an awesome first few months of the season. I will first restate the stats as of June 27, 2010 and then will compile their end of the season stats.

Brennan Boesch

.337/.389/.611 162 OPS+

.256/.320/.416 99 OPS+

Boesch essentially went from Albert Pujols numbers to a tick below average hitter.

Paul Konerko

.302/.396/.583 157 OPS+

.312/.393/.583 158 OPS+

Konerko had a very consistent season, and there's even talks about him for MVP. Those talks have softened a bit as the Chicago White Sox fell out of contention. Really, he's not even the best offensive first baseman in the American League. Still. There's nothing bad about those numbers.

Vernon Wells

.281/.336/.562 141 OPS+

.273/.331/.515 127 OPS+

Wells got off to a great start. He showed the skills that awarded him an insanely high contract. I called shenanigans. While he cooled off a bit, he had a fine season. His on base skills are average, but when he connects on a ball, he certainly drives it.

Alex Rios

.311/.369/.541 139 OPS+

.284/.334/.457 109 OPS+

The paragraph that describes Wells can be copy/pasted here. Minus the part where I wrote, "but when he connects on a ball, he certainly drives it."

Corey Hart

.272/.339/.576 144 OPS+

.283/.340/.525 132 OPS+

Hart made the All-Star team and was rewarded with a contract extension. He had a nice year, but I would be shocked if his production continues on to next season and beyond.

Josh Willingham

.277/.408/.498 144 OPS+

.268/.389/.459 129 OPS+

Did you know that Willingham's career OPS+ is 121? Did you also know that he is 31 years old? Nevertheless, he had a very good offensive season. The .408 on base percentage stuck out for me when I made this initial list, but a .389 on base percentage is very good.

Aubrey Huff

.298/.389/.520 138 OPS+

.290/.385/.506 138 OPS+

Huff remained consistent throughout the season, however, if you look at his career, there is nothing consistent about him. I wouldn't be shocked to see an OPS+ under 100 next season. That is, after San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean rewards him with a 3 year $40 million contract this off season.

Kelly Johnson

.264/.366/.494 121 OPS+

.284/.370/.496 128 OPS+

Johnson improved as the season went on. A second baseman with a good on base percentage and some power is a great commodity. He is truly an underrated player this season. It is hard to judge if he will continue this good performance or drop in production since there isn't a ton of games under his belt.

The Brennan Boesch All-Stars

With the All-Star game weeks away, I thought I would compile a list of deserving players who should make the All Star team but may or may not be All-Star worthy. Think of this list in terms of say Chris Coghlan robbing Andrew McCutchen in the Rookie of the Year last year. Sure Coghlan had a nice season and maybe deserved the award, but we knew that it was mildly flukey. Right?

Anyway, this isn't Rookie of the Year debate. I just wanted to post some numbers as of June 27, 2010 and then revisit this at the end of the season. For this post, I am focusing on hitters.

Brennan Boesch: .337/.389/.611 162 OPS+

Paul Konerko: .302/.396/.583 157 OPS+ At 34, he is having a career year, and the last two seasons indicated a downward trend.

Vernon Wells: .281/.336/.562 141 OPS+

Alex Rios: .311/.369//.541 139 OPS+

Corey Hart: .272/.339/.576 144 OPS+ and leads the national league with 18 home runs

Josh Willingham: .277/.408/.498 144 OPS+

Aubrey Huff:
.298/.389/.520 138 OPS+

Kelly Johnson: .264/.366/.494 121 OPS+