Mr. EFL Answer Man — Average For the Defense

Dear Mr. EFL Answer Man:

Could we add to the defensive ratings section of the EFL website the average rating for each position, e.g. 3B 3.0? I forget these.

— I’ve Forgotten More than You Know

Dear I’ve Forgotten:

Below are the replacement and average values for each position.

These are the theoretical averages — I have tuned the defense rating process so the average inning played last year in MLB at each position (listed in parentheses) is pretty close to the theoretical average. I have also added the current highest and lowest rated players for each position in MLB.

But here are some caveats. These ratings can change over the course of the season, so beware. Most of these are not available in this spring’s draft, so don’t even both looking for them. The team that won it all last year had decidedly mediocre defense, so why worry about defense?

Michael Choice and Sean Halton are miraculous human beings, wonderfully and beautifully made by a loving Creator. The Cheese still love their Choice, right? And Halton is worth some EFL owner’s love, too.

I hope this helps.

— Mr. EFL Answer Man.

Catcher:
Average: 7.0 (7.15)
Replacement: 6.0
Current Max: 8.7 (Yadier Molina)
Current Min: 5.4 (Lou Marson ??? How can that be?)

First Base:
Average: 3.0 (2.78)
Replacement: 2.0
Current Max: 4.3 (Steve Pearce)
Current Min: 1.6 (Jon Singleton)

Second Base:
Average: 7.0 (6.96)
Replacement: 6.0
Current Max: 8.8 (Dustin Pedroia — He’s gotten better at Flint Hill.)
Current Min: 4.6 (Ricky Weeks)

Third Base:
Average: 4.0 (4.01)
Replacement: 3.0
Current Max: 6.5 (Manny Machado, if his knees hold up)
Current Min: 0.9 (Sean Halton)

Shortstop:
Average: 8.0 (8.03)
Replacement: 7.0
Current Max: 11.0 (Andrelton Simmons)
Current Min: 5.0 (Tyler Pastornicky — so Atlanta comes out right at about average!)

Outfield:
Average: 2.0 (2.02)
Replacement: 1.0
Current Max: 5.1 (Andy Parrino)
Current Min: -1.0 (Michael Choice)