Top 10 Most Overrated Players in the MLB

The term "overrated" is thrown around more than a routine ground ball on the Orioles' infield. That was a cheap shot. In all seriousness, every one of these professional players (yes, even you Homer Bailey) are immensely talented and gifted; more talented and gifted than both you and me.

With that being said, these same talented players are given certain contracts, all of which come with expectations and standards. When they sign that pretty little signature and purchase a brand new Ferrari with that new paycheck, they are also subject to criticism and judgement because of the spotlight they agreed to put themselves under. Keep this in mind, my judgements are made under current circumstances. By that, I mean it is unfair to dwell upon under-performing stars who earned their large paychecks for past play, such as Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera. Those handful of future Hall of Famers are certainly being "over-paid," but they have shown their worth over the length of their incredibly successful careers.

So before this roast session starts to heat up, I advise you to take the word "overrated" with a grain of salt. Consider using the term "over-valued" or perhaps "over-hyped."

The following are the criteria for my list:

1. Expectations

2. Contracts

3. xwOBA (the higher the number, the more hits the hitter should be receiving and vice versa)

4. Wins Above Replacement (W.A.R.)

5. Team Success

10. Mike Zunino - Tampa Bay Rays (C)

Baseball fans fell in love with "Big Z" after leading his Florida Gators to three straight trips to Omaha for the College World Series (2010-12). After rising up through the minor league system in less than a year, it didn't take long for these same fans to see how his college dominance would translate to the big leagues; unfortunately, to put it lightly, it hasn't.

Zunino has shown glimpses of all star potential with random, short-lived power surges. However, take away those few hot stretches, and the output has been horrendous as evident by his .208 career batting average. While he's yet to ever sign a regrettable long-term contract (regrettable from the perspective of the team), he has been looked upon to be his team's starting catcher for six straight seasons and has yet to make the playoffs or shown any consistency in any of those years.

9. Rougned Odor - Texas Rangers (2B)

There are two types of hitters in this world: those who hit home runs and those who don't. For those who do hit home runs, they must ask themselves what else they can provide for the team when they aren't at the dish. If the answer is nothing, then they are a one-tool player, a player undeserving of a spot on a Major League Baseball team.

Rougned Odor's biggest moment of his career isn't even a baseball play; rather it's his incredible boxing match with former Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista. After witnessing a dominant season from Odor in 2016, the Rangers' front-office gave him a 6-year/$49.5 million extension. *Tisk *tisk *tisk. Holy onto this little nugget as it will certainly be a motif for this article: before signing anybody to an extension, consistency and length of success must be proven across multiple seasons. Since that season, Odor has hit an abysmal .220 clip, including just 19 hits in 116 at-bats this season, and has not appeared in the postseason. Odor can hit the ball out of the ballpark, sure. Nonetheless, he led all MLB second baseman in errors committed two consecutive seasons from 2016-17.

Odor is a powerful bat, but what else does he provide his team other than a pair of stone hands in the infield?

8. Yasiel Puig - Cincinnati Reds (OF)

There's no denying the dominance of Yasiel Puig in his first two seasons with Los Angeles; an MVP-talent. In fact, he still is an MVP-talent. Nevertheless, he has not made one single adjustment to his swing or playing style. The pitchers and scouts in this league are too talented and smart for a hitter to succeed while using the same tactics; the great ones adjust.

Despite his god-gifted arm strength, he has amassed a combined 1.7 dWAR over the course of his career. This criticism is not so much a critique of Puig's game, as I said I believe he still has as much talent as anybody in the league, rather it is a critique of the icon he has become. The bat-licking, numerous bench-clearing brawl incidents, and his handful of clubhouse issues with his managers, he has turned into a diva wide receiver (i.e Antonio Brown) who's talent is not enough to overcome his personal issues. "Puig Your Friend." Ha! More like "Puig Won't Mend."

7. Jason Heyward - Chicago Cubs (OF)

You may already be seeing the trend of this list: outfielders. Too many outfielders have been overpaid and over-valued for defense when, in retrospect, there is a long list of minor league outfielders who can go out their and play quality defense. Hell, I can pick out a handful of college players who can go play above-average defense; they wouldn't be able to touch the baseball at the plate, but neither can Jason Heyward.

When J-Hey was first working his way up through the minors and eventually took the league by storm with Atlanta, hitting expectations were laced upon an average professional hitter. Heyward is a fantastic outfielder, but has his offensive game is anything but. Heyward has combined for a 1.1 offensive WAR and has never hit more than 11 home runs in a season during his tenure with Chicago. Furthermore, Heyward is a platoon outfielder due to his career .235 batting average against left-handed hurlers, which means he only plays about 120-130 games per year. The Cubs are paying a below-average hitter an average of $23 million for the next five years all because he can track a ball down in the outfield. Chicago has about 5-6 different outfielders in their farm system who can come up to the big leagues and provide similar outputs for a lot less money.

6. Billy Hamilton - Kansas City Royals (OF)

Look, I don't mean to pick on the Royals on this list as I will later detail the travesty of Alex Gordon, but it was Kansas City's own naivety to add yet another overrated outfielder to their roster in Billy Hamilton.

Hamilton is fast. Great. Fantastic. What else does he provide the team? Hamilton has often been relied upon to leadoff for his prior teams, which means getting on base is an absolute necessity. Unfortunately, Billy-boy has a career .298 OBP, which ranks among the league's worst since his debut in 2013. Getting on base is not only essential to being a leadoff hitter, but it is necessary to provide worth to your team if all you have is speed. General managers must stop relying upon a poor baseball player to provide additives he is unable to provide. It's simple, Hamilton is a speedy defender who can be best used in pinch running and fourth outfield roles, nothing more.

5. Zack Cozart - Los Angeles Angels (INF)

It would be acceptable to put the entire Angels team on this list considering the greatest player on the planet, Mike Trout, has seen the postseason just one time in his nine-year career (that factoid makes me sick).

One of my biggest pet-peeves is rewarding one-hit wonders. Can you name one song other than Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice? Me neither. Zack Cozart enjoyed one good season in a very hitter-friendly ballpark in Cincinnati and was rewarded with a 3-year/$38 million contract. While it is unfair to completely take away an All Star season from anybody, if we do just that with Cozart, he has never hit above a .258 batting average or tallied anymore than 16 home runs. Angels GM Billy Eppler somehow still has a job after handing out a mid-level contract to what should be a quality utility player who can fill in off the bench.

4. Alex Gordon - Kansas City Royals (OF)

Oh looky here, another outfielder (*insert upside down smile emoji).

This may go without saying, but the fact that the Royals still to this day stand behind a guy who has hit a combined .225 batting average over the past three seasons is blasphemy. Look, I'm all for letting a player dig himself out of a hole, especially if they helped your team win a World Series, as Gordon did. Nevertheless, how many opportunities are you going to grant this man?

The 35-year-old Gordon has received excess of 500 at-bats in three-straight years, and has just barely hitting above the dreaded Mendoza Line. That is absolutely atrocious. Sure, he's still a great outfielder, but you really think a good defender is worth $20 million per year? While Gordon is no longer overrated nationally, he is over-valued by his own franchise as evident by the amount of opportunities he has received over the past three seasons.

3. Brandon Crawford - San Francisco Giants (SS)

The slick-fielding shortstop from the City by the Bay is guilty of falling under the category that I like to call "a fan favorite overrattion." While beloved by Giants fans for bringing two of their three championships in 2014 and 2016, his performance has simply been declining rapidly ever since.

After hitting a career-high .275 three seasons ago, B-Craw has compiled just a .248/.311/.384/.695 slash line since. You might say, "What about his fielding? He's still a gold glove shortstop." Well, not exactly. Crawford has tallied the third-most errors among National League shortstops since 2017. He's lost a step in the field and the offense-laboring Giants rely upon both he and teammate Buster Posey to produce at a level they are no longer capable of consistently reaching.

2. Joey Votto - Cincinnati Reds (1B)

This is perhaps my toughest criticism because Votto, arguably, is among those handful of legends who have proven their worth across their careers (Pujols, Cabrera). Nevertheless, Votto is still just 35-years-old, one whose team still looks to them to lead their offensive charge. While some of that charge is now dispersed between Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker, the Reds' success is based upon the success of Votto.

The power output is a concern. Votto tallied just 12 long balls and 67 RBIs last season in one of the smallest ballparks in the league, both career-lows. Most importantly, that was across 503 at-bats and 145 games played. As for this season, Votto has tallied just 4 home runs and 8 RBIs (we won't even mention his .212 batting average). All the signs and numbers are trending down for the 6-time All Star. Whether this is as much a player being overrated or us needing to admit that the age of Votto is finally catching up to him, the Reds can no longer rely upon a once-upon-star who has been Cincinnati's rock for so many years.

1. Bryce Harper - Philadelphia Phillies (OF)

It's no coincidence the most overrated player in the league is also one of the highest paid. With great power, comes great responsibility. While Harper's struggles with his new squad in Philly is also alarming, it's not surprising to me due to the reasons I will list below. This argument more so relies on his past outputs as opposed to his performance this season.

Lets look at Bryce Harper's career as a whole, shall we? First and foremost, his 2015 MVP season was undoubtedly deserved; he was not only the best player, but also most improved and most valuable. However, remember that one-hit wonder concept we mentioned earlier? While most are too intimidated to critique the god-like figure that is Bryce Harper, I am not.

Take away his MVP season and Harper is a career .267 hitter with a [-3.5] dWAR. In those other 7 seasons, he has averaged 21.4 home runs and 64.2 RBIs per season. In fact, Bryce has a combined WAR of just 7.5 over the past three seasons. To highlight just how "above-average, but not great" this 7.5 WAR total truly is, take a look at comparable WAR numbers across the same three seasons: Jed Lowrie (8.1), Whit Merrifield (11.0), Yasmani Grandal (8.2), and Marwin Gonzalez (8.1). While I understand it is never acceptable to completely take away an MVP season, I do believe in one-hit-wonders. Harper is a solid ballplayer in this league who will hit above-league-averages every season; with that being said, he is nowhere near worth the $330 million Philadelphia paid him this offseason.

Harper's biggest issue, or perhaps baseball fans' biggest issue, is that he is not the generational talent we all hoped he would be when we first witnessed the 17-year-old phenom out of Las Vegas, and we refuse to admit that fact. Ignorance is bliss.

Honorable Mention: Mitch Moreland, Mike Fiers, Yu Darvish, Gregory Polanco, Dexter Fowler, Ian Desmond