Continuing on in the week long series on the 50 most valuable assets in major league baseball. If you missed the introduction, it can be found here.

Ranking, Player, Position, Franchise, 2006-2008 WPA/LI
30. Prince Fielder, 1B, Milwaukee, 7.32 WPA/LI
29. James Shields, RHP, Tampa, 3.20 WPA/LI
28. Geovany Soto, C, Chicago Cubs, 1.14 WPA/LI
27. Dan Haren, RHP, Arizona, 3.45 WPA/LI
26. Justin Verlander, RHP, Detroit, 3.91 WPA/LI

Fielder hit .288/.395/.618 as a 23-year-old and he makes $670,000 this year. On a per dollar basis, there aren’t many players who are earning less for what they produced last year. Concerns about his size and how well he will age, as well as the fact that Milwaukee wasn’t able to buy out any of his free agent years with a long term deal, suppresses his value a bit. He’s going to become decently compensated once he hits arbitration this winter, and getting a deal done now is going to be a lot harder.

When describing Shields a few years ago, I called him the new Brad Radke, and while he’s posting a bit better strikeout rate, the comparison still holds. Shields has a devastating change-up and impeccable command, and the combination has been a great one for the Tampa youngster. He’s proven to be a durable, consistent starter, and while he doesn’t have lights out stuff, his level of production makes him one of the league’s best young starters. Toss in the fact that Tampa signed him to a contract extension that will pay him at most $38 million through 2014, and you have one of the league’s great bargains.

Soto had 87 plate appearances as a major leaguer heading into the 2008 season, so it says something for how good he’s been this year that he finds himself in the 28th spot on this list. Offense from a catcher is a huge advantage, and Soto hasn’t stopped hitting since arriving in Chicago last year. His offensive surge is one of the main reasons the Cubs have the best record in the National League, and as a 25-year-old backstop who won’t qualify for free agency until after 2013, some might say that Soto is too low at this placement. However, we can’t ignore the fact that two years ago, he was struggling to hit Triple-A pitching and his track record is pretty mixed. I’m pretty sure Soto is for real, but I’m less sure about him than I am the guys in front of him.

Another player who was fairly easy to place on the list considering that he was traded last winter for a bevy of prospects, giving us a pretty good idea of what teams would give up to acquire Haren. Oakland received six players, including several who are making key contributions this year, in a much better package than what the Twins got for Johan Santana. Arizona decided it was worth the significant haul to get Haren into their rotation, and since he’s signed through 2010 at bargain basement prices, it’s easy to understand why.

Verlander was a bit tougher. As we documented early in the season, his velocity didn’t leave spring training with him, and it’s never good when a young pitcher suddenly loses his fastball. However, Verlander has shrugged off the injury concerns, rebounded from a poor start, and is reminding everyone why he was in every conversation about the best young pitchers in baseball. He signed a major league contract coming out of college that locked him up for nothing through 2009, but it contains a clause that lets him void the deal if he’s eligible for arbitration, which he will be.

Continuing on in the week long series on the 50 most valuable assets in major league baseball. If you missed the introduction, it can be found here.

Ranking, Player, Position, Franchise, 2006-2008 WPA/LI
35. Lance Berkman, 1B, Houston, 13.93 WPA/LI
34. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, San Diego, 6.91 WPA/LI
33. Ian Kinsler, 2B, Texas, 2.03 WPA/LI
32. Clayton Kershaw, LHP, Los Angeles, -0.13 WPA/LI
31. Joba Chamberlain, RHP, New York Yankees, 1.93 WPA/LI

Just to make sure that no one thought his .896 OPS last year was the beginning of a decline, Berkman has gone on a super human tear in 2008, posting the best half year of his life and putting himself firmly in the race for NL MVP. A power hitter who also controls the strike zone, Berkman is Pujols-lite, and his glove work at first base is a lot better than it was in the outfield. He gave the Astros a home town discount when they re-signed him, and considering how reasonable his contract is for a player of his abilities, he’d be one of the most coveted hitters on the market if Houston ever made him available. Which they won’t.

Gonzalez has established himself as a real star by doing the impossible – posting a .500+ SLG% while playing half his game in Petco Park for three consecutive years. If he played in any other park in baseball, the world would know Gonzalez as one of the game’s best hitters, but his environment and the Padres relative anonymity have kept him flying below the radar. However, at age 26, Gonzalez has become a real offensive force and also one of the game’s best defensive first baseman. He’s signed through 2010, but I’m betting that San Diego will pick up the $5.5 million option they have for 2011 as well.

Kinsler is known for his power, but did you know he’s got 54 career stolen bases while only being caught 7 times? He has a chance to go 30-30 this year, and while his home park certainly helps him, he’d be a good player on any field in America. He’s not as good as he’s hitting right now, but he doesn’t have to keep up this level of performance to establish himself as an all-star. The Rangers decision to lock him up through 2013 looks like a very good one.

Kershaw is one of the better young left-handed starting pitching prospects we’ve seen in years. He’s often compared to Scott Kazmir, though it’s quite possible that Kershaw could be even better. At just 20-years-old, he’s showing that he’s not quite ready to carry a rotation yet (his command, in particular, needs some work), but the talent is obvious, and the ceiling with this kid is very, very high.

How much do I really need to write about Joba? If you’ve been alive for the last year, you know the deal – top prospect becomes dominant reliever, steals the hearts and minds of New York, and is now making the transition back to the starting rotation. Despite some normal bumps in the road while getting stretched out, his recent starts have shown why the Yankees want him on the hill every five days instead of keeping him in the bullpen. His stuff is still top shelf, and his ability to miss bats and throw strikes give him the chance to be an elite starting pitcher. That’s just simply more valuable than any reliever, and the Yankees made the right choice.

Continuing on in the week long series on the 50 most valuable assets in major league baseball. If you missed the introduction, it can be found here.

Ranking, Player, Position, Franchise, 2006-2008 WPA/LI
40. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, New York, 10.06 WPA/LI
39. John Lackey, RHP, Anaheim, 7.48 WPA/LI
38. Dan Uggla, 2B, Florida, 4.01 WPA/LI
37. Edinson Volquez, RHP, Cincinnati, 1.18 WPA/LI
36. Curtis Granderson, CF, Detroit, 4.14 WPA/LI

There wasn’t a harder player on this list to place than A-Rod. On talent, he’s still top ten, even at age 32. He’s one of the greatest players of all time, and he would be a first ballot Hall of Famer if he never played another day in his life. However, that contract he just signed with New York last winter – no other team in baseball even came calling when they had a shot to acquire him without giving up any talent, and at the price he’ll now command through 2017, there are a lot of teams that wouldn’t claim him even if he were placed on waivers. However, for those few teams that would be willing to take on that deal, he’s remarkably valuable, and we can’t overlook that he’s still among the league’s absolute best.

I talked about Lackey last week, and really, if he wasn’t a free agent after 2009, he’d rank quite a bit higher. He’s very good, very durable, and a bargain for the next year and a half. He’s going to get a huge paycheck whenever he signs his next extension, though, so his window as a significant financial asset is closing rapidly. Teams looking for an ace to make a run the next two years would pay a lot for Lackey, but his value is on the way down, and he almost certainly won’t be on this list next year.

Uggla probably swings the bat harder than anyone else alive, and he’s taken that grip-it-and-rip-it approach and turned it into the home run lead in the National League. The former Rule 5 pick has established that his power is for real, and since he makes just a bit more than nada, the Marlins are able to build a potent offense around players like him while keeping a shoestring payroll. However, for those who will argue that his ’08 performance means that he should be higher up on this list, Uggla comes with some deficiencies, especially on the defensive end. He’s bad enough with the glove that his real position is probably third base, and the bat is a little less special over there than it is at an up the middle spot. He’s also 28 – not the spring chicken that you might expect for a guy in his third league.

Barring a second half collapse, Volquez is going to run away with the breakthrough performance of 2008. No, he’s not this good, but his stuff has always been there and the performance is built on sustainable skills. He isn’t second in the league in strikeouts by accident – his combination of velocity and movement is good for generating swings and misses, and he’s getting a ton of ground balls even when hitters do make contact. The command is a real problem, and he’s going to have to throw more strikes, but if the Reds put him on the trade market right now, Walt Jocketty’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing.

Granderson busted through a year ago, posting a ridiculously awesome season to raise his status from good player to top notch center fielder. He’s not quite as good as he was last year, but as a good center fielder with legitimate power and speed, he’s a legitimate two way weapon for the Tigers. They were smart enough to lock him up long term for a piddly $30 million through his prime years, and will be reaping the rewards of his goodness through 2012 at least.

Continuing on in the week long series on the 50 most valuable assets in major league baseball. If you missed the introduction, it can be found here.

Ranking, Player, Position, Franchise, 2006-2008 WPA/LI
45. Robinson Cano, 2B, New York Yankees, 0.14 WPA/LI
44. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF, Boston, 1.10 WPA/LI
43. Dustin McGowan, RHP, Toronto, 1.59 WPA/LI
42. Chipper Jones, 3B, Atlanta, 10.59 WPA/LI
41. Jake Peavy, RHP, San Diego, 4.91 WPA/LI

Cano’s disastrous 2008 season has hurt his stock, no doubt, but we can’t place too much emphasis on three months of results. He’s a 25 year old second baseman with established offensive skills who has hit a rough stretch, but this isn’t his true talent level. He’s also signed to a below market contract that makes him a bargain for the next four years. He will rebound from his poor start and again take his place as one of the more valuable second baseman in the game.

Ellsbury was tough to slot because opinions about his abilities are so diverse. Boston is obviously in love with his defensive abilities and his willingness to get on base, but the lack of power is a real concern, and I don’t see the star potential in him that other players on this list have. His realistic best case scenario is a quality contributor but certainly not a franchise player. However, because of his current skill level as a premium defender with a bat that can play in the majors, he’s got enough current value that his contract status makes him a huge bargain. League average up-the-middle players command a fortune, so paying Ellsbury $400,000 to provide that value is enough to make Ellsbury a significant asset.

McGowan is in the absolute upper tier of stuff among major league starters, throwing a 95 MPH fastball and an 88 MPH slider that are both legitimate knockout punches. However, he simply hasn’t reached the level of performance that his talent would indicate is possible, and his decline in strikeout and groundball rates from 2007 without any improvement in command has to be a concern. Because he’s still dirt cheap and a high quality arm, he would be a coveted player in the trade market, but he’s going to have to improve soon to avoid becoming the new Javier Vazquez.

Chipper forced himself onto the list with his absurd performance the last few years, proving that he is still one of the better hitters alive even at age 36. The production is so valuable, however, that the market for Chipper would still be quite robust if the Braves ever lost their minds and decided to trade him. Even with only a few more good years ahead of him, the current value is so high, and his contract more than reasonable, that teams would be lining up to acquire the Hall of Fame third baseman.

On talent, Peavy is much higher than this. However, the new contract extension he signed that keeps him in San Diego will cost $52 million over the 2010-2012 seasons, and Peavy isn’t exactly a low-risk starting pitcher. There aren’t many tea s out there that could afford the risk of having a $17 million pitcher with his history of injury problems on the books, and while he’s a really good pitcher, he wouldn’t be as good anywhere else as he is in Petco and the NL West. Like Johan, the contract pushes him much further down the list than he would otherwise be.

One of the annual pieces I’ve been writing for USSMariner.com the last few years is a baseball takeoff of Bill Simmons’ Trade Value column. Essentially, the concept is to put together a ranking of the most valuable individual assets in the game – this is, pretty much across the board, a different discussion than who the best players in the game are. Age, contract status, and salary all come into play, as they do in real life.

In most cases, our evaluations of value are a lot different than what GMs find when they engage in trade negotiations. Johan Santana is obviously one of the best pitchers on the planet, but as the Twins found out when they put him on the market last winter, the list of inferior players that they couldn’t trade Johan for was very, very long. That was because he was a year away from free agency and a large paycheck, which significantly devalued him on the trade market, even though he’s still a terrific talent.

So, this list is my attempt to figure out what players have the most value in the league. Essentially, the best way to look at a player’s placement on this list is “would you trade him, straight up, for any of the guys listed ahead of him?” I’ve asked that question about every player on this list, and done so from what I would perceive the perspective of both current organizations would be. Over this coming week, I will lay out my view of the 50 most valuable assets in Major League Baseball.

This morning, we start at #50 and work our way up five spots to #46.

Ranking, Player, Position, Franchise, 2006-2008 WPA/LI
50. James Loney, 1B, Los Angeles – 2.55 WPA/LI
49. Carlos Zambrano, RHP, Chicago Cubs – 4.63 WPA/LI
48. Johan Santana, LHP, New York Mets – 8.24 WPA/LI
47. Clay Buchholz, RHP, Boston – 0.51 WPA/LI
46. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, Washington – 1.20 WPA/LI

There’s a nice group of good, young, cheap first baseman with solid all-around games, but Loney is the the one I’m hanging my hat on here, with apologies to Casey Kotchman, Joey Votto, and Conor Jackson. If he grows from gap power to legitimate long ball hitter, he’ll be a perennial all-star.

Zambrano is a horse who has thrown 200 innings a year since 2003 and has never posted an ERA over 4.00. He’s been hugely valuable to the Cubs and is signed to a below market contract for a front line pitcher. However, his strikeout rates and velocity are tumbling, and you have to wonder if decline is on the way. You’d love to have Zambrano on your team, but the risk is real.

Santana is one of the easier players to place on this list because he was just traded in a very public negotiation war between several of the highest payroll clubs in baseball. What we found out is that, while everyone wants Johan, no one is willing to give up even one of their best young players to get him. Boston’s list of untouchables was longer than the Magna Carta, and the Yankees repeatedly put together offers that excluded the pitching prospects that everyone else actually liked. Johan’s great, there’s no doubt, but he’s also expensive and slightly less great than he used to be.

After tossing a no-hitter in his second career major league start, Buchholz is one of the kids that Boston put on their off-limits list. The talent is real, but the polish just isn’t there yet, and he has found himself back in Triple-A refining his game. With some improved command, Buchholz has the potential to be the one thing every team covets – a starting pitcher with knockout stuff that makes the league minimum.

Zimmerman could be a top ten player on this list, honestly, as his all around package of skills project extremely well for the future. An elite defensive player with a real bat, Zimmerman just hasn’t performed as well as we would have hoped given his quick success in the majors. He turns 24 in September, and while the potential is still Hall-of-Fame caliber, the current value just isn’t there for a club to give up an elite talent for Zimmerman right now.