As the season winds down, the contenders start positioning their pitching staffs, the MVP leaders solidify their candidacies and PNC park makes its annual Octoberfest plans, it's time to look at some overlooked performances of the 2009 season.
Rookie flamethrower Neftali Feliz isn't exactly a state secret, especially in the Metroplex. He was a highly acclaimed minor leaguer and has provided an encore performance in the bigs. Cranking it up to 100 mph, Feliz has faced 82 batters in 24 innings and dismissed 29 of them on strikes. Just 11 batters have reached base, only eight by hits. Pity the one fool who reached base by getting in the way of one of Feliz's pitches.
Feliz has relinquished just two runs. That's an 0.76 ERA. He's got a 29/2 K/BB ratio. The AL is batting .101 against him. Oh yes, the guy is 21.
None of this surprises the cognoscenti, who clamored for Feliz's call-up. Even as a reliever, his workload has been subject to a version of "the Joba Rules" by the Rangers' brass. For every inning Feliz pitches, he gets a day off, so don't expect to see a lot more of him this year. If you do, don't blink.
Next up, not exactly a rookie. Oriole second-baseman Brian Roberts may be the most under-rated player in baseball. The 32-year-old veteran is stringing together another exemplary performance, posting a batting line of .286/.354/.463 that would play in the outfield. Add 29 steals and a reputation for excellence afield, it's hard to see why the Orioles wanted to unload him and also why they couldn't.
This is not a 2009 phenomenon. This is Roberts' fifth year in six with more than 40 doubles and third in a row with 100 runs scored. He's swiped 36, 50, 40 and 29 so far with an 84% sucess rate. His value to the O's, realtive to his position, between three and four wins, is about the same as Mark Teixeira's value to the Yankees relative to first basemen. No kidding.
So how does Roberts fly under the radar? Players who hit doubles but not home runs, score runs but don't knock them in, lay down leather without flashing it and play on a lousy team, are prime candidates for overlookage.
The last guy is Josh Johnson, a right-handed Redwood for the Marlins who's been on a whirly-gig ride up and down the Florida system, back and forth between starts and relief, and on and off the DL for four years. Throughout it all, the 6'7" righty has been a slam dunk. His three semi-full seasons of MLB experience book-ending Tommy John surgery look like this: 12-7, 3.10 and a 2-1 K/BB ratio; 7-1, 3.61 and a 3-1 ratio; and this year 14-4, 3.06 and a 3-1 ratio, all in front of a defense featuring Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla. It don't get much ugglar than that.
As a 25-year-old in 2009, Johnson has already tallied 31 more innings than his previous high, so the Fish will want to watch him like a Fishawk. Should he avoid injuries, Johnson has an oportunity to become next year's "overnight sensation," especially if Florida can field a contender and convince more than an occasional South Beacher to stumble into their stadium.
There are some other stars toiling in relative obscurity in the majors. They everyday players populating this demographic are often jacks of all hitting categories, masters of none. They often play in cavernous parks for non-contending teams or surrounded by fey lineups. Their mound counterparts throw middling 90-heat, in front of bumbling defenses in ballparks built into the trade winds and burdened by bullpens filled with arsonists.
But they can be found...if we look beyond the usual numbers.
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