The Most Underrated Player In Baseball

I know, this is something of a cliche subject. There’s always a good player who never seems to get a lot of national press, and then everyone starts writing about how good he is, and pretty soon, everyone agrees that Mr. Underrated is so awesome that he becomes overrated. Bobby Abreu has to be the poster boy for this syndrome. But, that doesn’t change the fact that there are some valuable players who just don’t get any notice at all. More than anyone else, though, there’s one guy who is quietly having a terrific start to 2008 after a sensational 2007 and I can’t remember reading five words about him.

So, Jeff Keppinger, here are your five words (and then some). Did you realize that last year, Keppinger hit .332/.400/.477 while spending most of his time at shortstop (but also playing every other position on the diamond besides C and CF). The only SS with a higher OPS in 2007 was Hanley Ramirez. NL MVP Jimmy Rollins was just a tick behind Keppinger at .875. Yes, it was only 276 plate appearances, but he’s followed it up with a .325/.368/.488 line in his first 88 PA of 2008, and the sample is getting bigger every day. Pretty soon, people are going to have to conclude that Jeff Keppinger is a pretty good little hitter. In fact, using the awesomely addictive comparison charts available here on fangraphs, here’s Keppinger’s basic skill set matched up against someone with a slightly better reputation.

I fully expect to get tarred and feathered for comparing Jeff Keppinger to Tony Gwynn, and please don’t read this as an endorsement of Keppinger as a future hall of famer. I’m just showing you a guy who had a very similar set of skills – extreme contact hitter, gap power, not fast, but sustained value through repeatedly hitting the ball on the ground and having it find holes. Keppinger’s one of the hardest guys on the planet to strike out, and since he makes such a large volume of contact without sacrificing his power, he’s able to get a lot of singles and keep his batting average north of .300. Kinda like Tony Gwynn. Toss in the occasional extra base hit and some walks, and Keppinger becomes one of the better offensive middle infielders in baseball.

With Alex Gonzalez still injured and Juan Castro released, it looks like Keppinger is going to be given a chance to handle shortstop full time for the Reds. That’s a stretch for him defensively, and he’s probably better off at second base, but his combination of offense and defense up the middle makes him a real asset at either spot. If he can maintain even 90% of his current performance level, he’s a borderline all-star. Not bad for a guy who has been traded three times and been thought of as a utility player at best.