Just like every other sports league in the world, we see players who have uneven amounts of hype for their performance on the field. That of course could mean they deserve less or more attention.
Now with the MLB season inching ever closer and media coverage ramping up, it becomes more apparent that some players are just treated differently. That is why for this list we are gonna go over 5 most overrated players in the MLB today… And the 5 most underrated.
Underrated: Ha-Seong Kim
Somehow on a team that includes Xander Boegarts, Fernando Tatis Jr, and Manny Machado who were all starting shortstops at one point in their careers, Kim will be the starter. Last year he had the fourth-best WAR of any second baseman yet MLB.com didn’t even list him in the top 10 at the position going into the season.
Now set to play at shortstop for 2024 you can expect him to be doubted more than ever despite his elite defensive skill.
Overrated: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
MLB social media has practically turned into a Los Angeles Dodgers fan page at this point with Yamamoto being a main contributor as to why. More likely than not he will turn into a great MLB player but he’s yet to throw a single pitch stateside and some people are already talking about his Cy Young case.
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What makes his case to be overrated worse is that the Dodgers gave him a $325 million contract while reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell can’t even get a contract that hits $300 million.
Underrated: Luis Arraez
Arraez is probably the best pure hitter the league has seen in quite some time. At one point in 2023, there was very high hope for him to finish the year with a batting average of .400. Of course it ended at .354 which led all of the major leagues but his lack of power keeps some fans uninterested in him.
That’s more of the fans’ fault though because, in today’s game, everyone just wants to see big plays instead of an elite hitting approach.
Overrated: Kyle Schwarber
Schwarber gets the exact opposite treatment as Arraez mentioned above. He will consistently get you a 30 plus homerun season when he’s healthy but that’s all you’ll get. Last season he couldn’t even hit the .200 in batting average finishing at .197.
He’s still a very valuable player on any team but his flaws are consistently overlooked because he has the ability to hit the long ball.
Underrated: Kodai Senga
It seems as though Japan has a monopoly on producing amazing pitchers and Senga has just been lost in the shuffle. Last year his 10.9 K/9 ranked fifth best in MLB trailing big names like Blake Snell and Spencer Strider. He also finished fifth best in ERA which shows in a lot of very important categories he’s a top 10 starting pitcher.
Now with a year under his belt hopefully he can start to catch more eyes and get the recognition he deserves.
Overrated: Jacob deGrom
It’s just an unlucky string of injuries that seem to almost always follow deGrom. Even after a change of scenery and signing his 5-year $185 million contract for the Texas Rangers he can’t escape it. He hasn’t pitched 100 innings in a season since 2019, but considering he’s so dominant when healthy it’s a risk many teams would make.
Despite that though we can’t consider someone to be one of the best at his position if he is consistently not playing.
Underrated: Yandy Diaz
Last year Diaz made his first All-Star appearance with a .932 OPS and a .330 batting average that led the American League. He also finished with a Silver Slugger and was sixth in MVP voting. Not something you see every day from a first baseman who doesn’t have that prototypical power for the position.
Diaz was quietly one of the best players in the league all season yet rarely was seriously considered for MVP.
Overrated: Byron Buxton
Buxton unfortunately falls into the same category as deGrom. He hasn’t played in 100 games since 2017 yet always gets talked about as a top-10 center fielder. MLB.com even ranked him at seven for the position right now. It’s just hard to argue that someone who can’t play at a high level for even three-fourths of a season is a top guy.
Underrated: William Contreras
Maybe it’s because he lives in the shadow of his older brother Wilson who happens to play the same position but he led every catcher in the majors last year with a 5 WAR. The next closest was Sean Murphy who had a 4.5 WAR and is consistently considered one of the best catchers. If the Brewers can put together a good season expect Contreras to get a lot more coverage.
Overrated: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
This is an opinion that has been getting a lot of talk ever since Guerrero was named as the cover athlete for MLB The Show 24. Similar to last year with Jazz Chisholm Jr. many are speculating if his performance on the field makes him deserving. He had the 24th-best WAR last year for first baseman (2.4), 16th-best OPS (.778), and 13th-most hits (123).
Certainly, not the superstar-caliber performance we see given the honor as a cover athlete.
