Addison Russell

[Aaron_Kennelly]

I believe fangraphs has him at about a 5 WAR pace

 

Nearly 6 now.

[imb]

hot d*ng

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Good enough to rank fifth among our position players.

 

:lol:

 

And none of the five are Jason Heyward.

[RammyFanny]

.374 OBP

[muntjack]

3 years from now he'll be 25. :lol:

[sneakypower]

I believe fangraphs has him at about a 5 WAR pace

 

Nearly 6 now.

higher than Corey Seager & Carlos Correa

 

is this a good time to point out that there's a 40-run difference between the UZR/150s of Russell and the imminent best player / most valuable player in baseball?

[David]

http://www.bleachernation.com/2016/05/13/addison-russells-transformation-and-maybe-transcendence-is-happening-right-now/

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Rank these guys:

Xander Bogaerts

Addison Russell

Francisco Lindor

Corey Seager

Carlos Correa

[Gilby]

Damn, Correa has -7 DRS already this season and an equally terrible UZR. I knew he wasn't great on D, but I didn't realize he was already headed toward "needs to be moved to third base" territory. I'm tempted to rank Russell first after seeing that.

[David]

Damn, Correa has -7 DRS already this season and an equally terrible UZR. I knew he wasn't great on D, but I didn't realize he was already headed toward "needs to be moved to third base" territory. I'm tempted to rank Russell first after seeing that.

 

yeah but now we have to put manny machado in his place instead

 

edit - but wait, i'm not so sure about russell ahead of bogaerts

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Damn, Correa has -7 DRS already this season and an equally terrible UZR. I knew he wasn't great on D, but I didn't realize he was already headed toward "needs to be moved to third base" territory. I'm tempted to rank Russell first after seeing that.

 

yeah but now we have to put manny machado in his place instead

 

edit - but wait, i'm not so sure about russell ahead of bogaerts

 

Pay no mind to Manny Machado, I'm only interested in guys under the age of 23 years, 10 months, 7 days old.

 

You can throw in Trevor Story instead, if you'd like.

[Cubbie Swagger]

Wow... Addy has really bumped those stats up the past couple weeks.

 

Would be nice if Heyward followed suit.

[Clem Fandango]

Why not just enjoy them rather than turn them into yet another internet list? I'm going to enjoy defending Russell like Yankee fans defended Jeter - "shut the [expletive] up and come back to me when your guy has a handful of rings."

 

Machado is definitely the guy right now.

 

I know Machado came up as a SS, but he only started playing there 12 games ago for the 2nd time in his MLB career (7 games last season) because Hardy got injured. I don't doubt Machado's ability to be a great defensive shortstop, but up until 12 games ago, he was a 3B, and I think he goes back there when Hardy returns and stays there long term even after Hardy leaves.

 

And I do take issue with these lists. A week and a half into the season, the dumb shits at MLB Network ranked the Top 5 greatest young shortstops in baseball. On that list:

 

Xander Bogaerts

Carlos Correa

Francisco Lindor

Corey Seager

and.... Trevor Story

 

No Addison Russell, but they included a guy who had a hot first week to kick off his career, despite only ranking on Top 100 lists for one of his minor league seasons 3 years ago in 2013 (who, P.S., has a -2.7 UZR and -12.5 UZR/150), and they lumped him in there with guys who consistently ranked in the Top 15 best prospects in baseball year in and year out while they were in the minors. It makes me irrationally angry that they ignore Russell, a 3-win player last year, who also ranked up there with those same players, because his slash line as a rookie wasn't up to their standards and he didn't get off to a hotter start than Story did.

 

Even after that segment they showed clips from the Cubs game that day where Russell got a double and one of the analysts said "And here you got a guy who's probably saying 'What about me guys? Why didn't you put me on that list?'" and horsefeathering Harold Reynolds said horsefeathers like "He hasn't shown me enough in his time yet to convince me that he's the real deal right now"

 

REALLY? He has a full season as a 3-win player at the age of 21 but he hasn't shown you enough to prove himself? Instead you think Trevor Story, a guy who joins the incredible ranks of such greats as Kevin Mench and Chris Shelton for having elite weeks hitting home runs, is easily one of the best young SS in baseball and will be for years to come? Ok.

 

I haaaaaate that horsefeathers. It's like the opposite of that Chappelle bit about being accused of something you didn't do, except in this scenario someone is not being given credit for something they're clearly better at than someone else. Give credit where credit is due: Among all SS 23 or younger, Addison Russell is a Top 3 shortstop.

[Tracer Bullet]

harold reynolds lol

[Andy]

Not saying Addison Russell will end up better than Barry Larkin, but Larkin was 24 by the time he had as many career fWAR as Russell already does at 22.

[BigSlick]

I forget my exact prediction, it may even be in this thread, but I still think this guy will be leading off for this franchise sooner rather than later. No rush, but do think it is coming.

Why waste that power in the lead off spot? Lol

[raw]

I know RBIs aren't the greatest stat ever, but Russell is on pace for 125 RBIs hitting exclusively from the 7th and 8th spots in the order (has hit 6th, but 0 RBIs there).

[sneakypower]

Rank these guys:

Xander Bogaerts

Addison Russell

Francisco Lindor

Corey Seager

Carlos Correa

in terms of "i'm stuck playing these guys specifically at SS for the next 5 years":

 

Bogaerts

Lindor

Russell

Correa

Seager

 

edit: there's no right answer; all these guys are godly

[jersey cubs fan]

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[Tim]

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confused why this is here

[jersey cubs fan]

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confused why this is here

wow, so am I.

 

I was scrolling for a rizzo thread somehow mixed up the awesome hitter traded for a pitcher threads

[UMFan83]

*Arbitrary end points alert*

 

Since June 12: 41 Games, .275/.369/.522/.890, 8 HR, 8 2B, 1 3B, 29 RBI, 19.4% K rate, 11.3% BB rate and only a .300 BABIP

[Tim]

*Arbitrary end points alert*

 

Since June 12: 41 Games, .275/.369/.522/.890, 8 HR, 8 2B, 1 3B, 29 RBI, 19.4% K rate, 11.3% BB rate and only a .300 BABIP

Maybe I should update my article...

[hawkeyecub]

He's such a flat line player. He and Javy are so fun to watch while having some totally contrasting traits.

[MarkR]

He's such a flat line player. He and Javy are so fun to watch while having some totally contrasting traits.

 

 

I love him too. Maybe this is a bit nitpicking, but I found myself incredulously agreeing with Hawk on the broadcast today. On Russell's throw in the ninth, it didn't look... normal? Hawk then alluded to he might be having some shoulder discomfort. I hadn't heard anything about that. Btw, I switched over to the Sox broadcast for my own personal enjoyment at all times the cubs did well. He was fawning over how good Baez, Russell, etc are. Pretty shocking.