Site icon The Majors Sports Network

Best and Worst Bang For Your Buck Stars in the MLB: Position Players

Every team needs starts to win. Each team pays a different amount of money to retain the services of their star players, however some franchises are getting more bang for their buck than others. For the purpose of this exercise we have used Fangraphs ZIP Projections for the projected amount of Wins Above Replacement that should produce and compared it to their salary to get a rating of how much an extra win costs each team. To meet the definition of a “Star Player”, a projection of 4.0 WAR or more is required to make this list.

Best Value

Angels CF Mike Trout

 

 

Rank Player Team 2015 Projected WAR 2015 Salary

Cost Per Win

1 Manny Machado Orioles 4.5 $550,000* $122,222*
2 Christian Yelich Marlins 4.0 $570,000 $142,500
3 Jonathan Lucroy Brewers 5.3 $3,000,000 $566,038
4 Anthony Rendon Nationals 4.4 $2,500,000 $568,182
5 Mike Trout Angels 9.3 $6,083,000 $654,086
6 Paul Goldschmidt Diamondbacks 4.4 $3,100,000 $704,545
7 Josh Donaldson Blue Jays 5.4 $4,300,000 $796,296
8 Kyle Seager Mariners 4.1 $4,500,000 $1,097,561
9 Anthony Rizzo Cubs 4.2 $5,000,000 $1,190,476
10 Yasiel Puig Dodgers 5.2 $6,214,000 $1,195,000

*Manny Machado is not yet arbitration eligible and the terms of his contract renewal by the Orioles were not made public. Since they were skimpy with the wallet for his 2014 renewal, it is assumed that his renewal will be around $550,000, just over $40,000 over Major League minimum. 

Worst Value

 

Yankees CF Jacoby Ellsbury
Rank Player Team 2015 Projected WAR 2015 Salary Cost Per WAR
10 Dustin Pedroia Red Sox 4.1 $12,500,000 $3,048,780
9 Chase Headley Yankees 4.1 $13,000,000 $3,170,732
8 Adam Jones Orioles 4.2 $13,333,333 $3,174,603
7 Yadier Molina Cardinals 4.6 $15,000,000 $3,260,870
6 Adrian Beltre Rangers 4.5 $16,000,000 $3,555,556
5 Ian Kinsler Tigers 4.2 $16,000,000 $3,809,524
4 Troy Tulowitzki Rockies 5.2 $20,000,000 $3,846,154
3 Miguel Cabrera Tigers 5.5 $22,000,000 $4,000,000
2 Robinson Cano Mariners 5.3 $24,000,000 $4,528,302
1 Jacoby Ellsbury Yankees 4.0 $21,142,857 $5,285,714

 

Exit mobile version