Braves Quote For The Day II... More About The Amazing Prado

by gondeee on Jul 9, 2010 2:57 PM EDT in Braves Quote For The Day

Here is a nice comparison of Martin Prado and Chase Utley from DOB. Utley is held as the gold standard of second baseman, and it's amazing how well Prado matches up against him:

Since June 30, 2009, Prado has played in exactly 162 games and hit .327 with 52 doubles, two triples, 18 homers, 79 RBIs, 110 runs, a .369 OBP and a .490 slugging percentage. That’s an .859 OPS in 678 at-bats.

In that same period, Utley has played 157 games and hit .270 with 25 doubles, five triples, 26 homers, 79 RBIs, 109 runs, a .374 OBP and a .466 slugging percentage. That’s an .840 OPS in 577 at-bats.

Prado and Utley have the exact same number of RBIs. Utley has eight more homers and 21 steals to Prado’s five, while Prado has twice as many doubles, an average that’s 57 points higher, and a slugging percentage 34 points higher.

I don’t put too much stock in errors as any sort of definitive measurement of defense, but for what it’s worth, Prado has nine errors to Utley’s 17.

I’m not saying Prado’s better than Utley, let me make that clear. I was just really surprised at how comparable their stats were, and actually how favorably Prado stacked up against him statistically.

Wow. I know some folks think Prado may be playing over his head, but he's been doing that since last year, so this may not be just a one year fluke. By the way, Jayson Stark puts Prado on his list for mid-season NL MVP runners-up. (And Nate McLouth makes the list for NL LVP.)

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Love me some Prado...

MVP! MVP! MVP!

"Never doubt Derek Lowe's ability to win despite himself."

by EricGreggWasPaidOff on Jul 9, 2010 3:09 PM EDT reply actions

Prado Love

I love him more!:)

by jaleemom on Jul 9, 2010 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions

i love Marteeeeeeeen moar than u do

"Tony Gwynn made sacrifices. Cal Ripken made sacrifices. I'm not sure Derek Jeter made sacrifices given the ungodly deep pockets the Yankees have." - Chipper Jones

by MBL1 on Jul 9, 2010 4:26 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Marteeeen The Dream is all mine. I was wondering what is last 162 game stats looked like. Had no idea they were this good. Thanks gondeee.

by FitzFan on Jul 9, 2010 8:45 PM EDT up reply actions

And since he's become a full time player...

about the only prolonged slump he had coincided with the problems of his mom and a visa and a very dangerous country for people related to those with money.

by Mr. Sanchez on Jul 9, 2010 3:11 PM EDT reply actions

I really wish Martin could get his family to the US.

"Sharks have a week dedicated to Jason Heyward."
METS: My Entire Team Sucks.
Phillies Baseball: Established - 2008

by Scott Coleman on Jul 9, 2010 3:30 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

In fairness,

Utley has not played up to his usual standards during that period of time.

by homerlanding on Jul 9, 2010 3:12 PM EDT reply actions

true

utley’s 162 game average stat line is .294/.380/.518 with 39 doubles, 5 triples, and 29 homers to go with 105 rbi and 110 runs. Granted, he hits lower in the order and plays in a more hitter friendly park. I’d say prado’s stats over the last year are at least worth mentioning alongside utley.

by telemakhos on Jul 9, 2010 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Gosh Prado is awesome. How much are the Braves paying him?

"Tony Gwynn made sacrifices. Cal Ripken made sacrifices. I'm not sure Derek Jeter made sacrifices given the ungodly deep pockets the Yankees have." - Chipper Jones

by MBL1 on Jul 9, 2010 3:42 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/atlanta-braves_15.html

… has him at $440,000 with 2.05 years of service. Don’t know if that gets him to arb or not.

by eglenn on Jul 9, 2010 4:02 PM EDT up reply actions

The URL isn't playing nice, so here's a spreadsheet...

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tujElf32-2d237jk3IzWLsg&output=html

Prado is Year 1 arb in 2011 (and well deserved).

by eglenn on Jul 9, 2010 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks!

"Tony Gwynn made sacrifices. Cal Ripken made sacrifices. I'm not sure Derek Jeter made sacrifices given the ungodly deep pockets the Yankees have." - Chipper Jones

by MBL1 on Jul 9, 2010 4:13 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Great to see those stats.

Maybe fans will realize that Utley is not a God among mortals.

by rcates on Jul 9, 2010 4:11 PM EDT reply actions

except for the fact that he is really really good. He’s clearly their best position player (the only comparable player is Werth). and he’s consistently one of the top 10best players in baseball…Prado has compared very well to Utley, however Utley is still the better defender..

But realistically if Prado is second to Utley its still a very big compliment to Prado…it’s like being second to Pujols (I’m not comparing Utley and Pujols, just saying).

That said Its amazing what Prado has done with such a sketchy track record in the minors, he has really blossomed into a very good player and is definitely deserving of the starting spot on the All-Star team and even has a shot at the MVP if he can keep it up (he wont win the MVP most likely, esp if Votto keeps it up, but he should get some votes which is definitely impressive)

Heyward,Hanson,and Shaffer r ready now!! Why do you think they havent signed the "right handed bat"?

by fatazfoot on Jan 7, 2009 8:59 PM EST

by Swo12bv on Jul 9, 2010 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Better defender, yeah.

By miles and miles and miles and miles…

Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.

Panthers '010: Save the Richardson family coffers! We'll take the winning if we stumble into it.

by MichaelProcton on Jul 9, 2010 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions

How about you actually watch. He is better by 1 million miles anymore. Nice post about Prado & you still try to hate, shocking.

by FitzFan on Jul 9, 2010 8:44 PM EDT up reply actions

prado is an average (at best) defender at 2nd, he is pretty good at 3B, but thats not his position

Utley is the best defensive 2B in baseball

in 2010 Utley’s UZR/150 = 17.1 and his DRS is 15
Prado’s UZR/150 is 2.4 and his DRS =3

he is tied with Utley on plays made outside of his zone, which is pretty interesting…must mean he gets good jumps, bc he doesnt have great speed (which is good that he can read the ball so well) he has clearly gottten much better defensively but CHase is still the class of the position defensively and like Procton said…its not close (ew i just agreed with him)

Heyward,Hanson,and Shaffer r ready now!! Why do you think they havent signed the "right handed bat"?

by fatazfoot on Jan 7, 2009 8:59 PM EST

by Swo12bv on Jul 9, 2010 10:48 PM EDT up reply actions

He's also great at first.

Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.

Panthers '010: Save the Richardson family coffers! We'll take the winning if we stumble into it.

by MichaelProcton on Jul 9, 2010 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions

true, but i barely trust his stats at 2B bc its only 1400 innings (he could be better or worse we need more data), which means i really dont trust his 3B and 1B data…its less than 600 innings for each and he has spent almost double the time at 3B than 1B… i think he is probably good at both corners, but we really dont know unless he plays more there

Heyward,Hanson,and Shaffer r ready now!! Why do you think they havent signed the "right handed bat"?

by fatazfoot on Jan 7, 2009 8:59 PM EST

by Swo12bv on Jul 9, 2010 11:49 PM EDT up reply actions

I've always thought he looked good at first.

Less range is needed, and the throwing and catching is just the sort of routine, steady play that Prads does do well. Before Glaus showed up, I kind of hoped we’d keep KJ at 2B and move Prado to 1B full-time. He may not be a huge power guy, but I think his bat would still play there.

Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.

Panthers '010: Save the Richardson family coffers! We'll take the winning if we stumble into it.

by MichaelProcton on Jul 10, 2010 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions

the routine steady play comment doesnt seem to comport with his abiltiies…when you watch him thats the impression i get, but we both know visual observation means jack shit unless you are a scout or watching everygame. According to fangraphs his OOZ (which my understanding refers to plays outside of zone…) of 28 puts him at tied for first among all 2B…which means he makes the non-routine plays.

Heyward,Hanson,and Shaffer r ready now!! Why do you think they havent signed the "right handed bat"?

by fatazfoot on Jan 7, 2009 8:59 PM EST

by Swo12bv on Jul 10, 2010 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Cool English.

What does that actually even mean?

Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.

Panthers '010: Save the Richardson family coffers! We'll take the winning if we stumble into it.

by MichaelProcton on Jul 9, 2010 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Utley has been one of the top 3-5 position players in baseball

for the last 5 years. The only player who I’d definitely place above him is Pujols. That’s pretty huge.

Which just goes to show how awesome Martin has been, that he’s comparable to Utley.

"Yeah, and I have an enchanted jock strap." -- Karl Karlson

by Jacob Peterson on Jul 9, 2010 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions

If Martin keeps hitting homers like he did in Philly...

he’ll deserve to be in the discussion for MVP. His AVG helps make up for his low BB%, but he needs to up his ISO somewhat to be worthy of comparison with guys like Wright, Votto, and Pujols, who all have huge power. If Martin can somehow get to 20 homers, I think there might be a case for him.

Regardless, the fact that we’re even having a discussion about whether Prado is as good as Utley speaks so much to his dedication and skill. Bravo, Martin!

"Yeah, and I have an enchanted jock strap." -- Karl Karlson

by Jacob Peterson on Jul 9, 2010 4:49 PM EDT reply actions

Hey guys, new member here and I’m very excited about joining the board. Been a Braves fan since I was 2 years old. Yes, that’s true lol.

Anyway, about Martin, he should be a serious MVP candidate. This guy has been dynamite all year for us. He’s been the most consistent player on our team and arguably in the league. I love watching this guy play baseball.

by ZC1 on Jul 9, 2010 5:58 PM EDT reply actions

Welcome! :)

"Tony Gwynn made sacrifices. Cal Ripken made sacrifices. I'm not sure Derek Jeter made sacrifices given the ungodly deep pockets the Yankees have." - Chipper Jones

by MBL1 on Jul 9, 2010 6:05 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Welcome to the team.

by XBEARDX on Jul 10, 2010 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Anybody notice...

That Prado has approximately 100 more AB’s than Utley. This stat alone makes you throw out the comp’s between the two in the “counting” categories. Can’t compare HR’s, RBI, Runs, Doubles, Triples, etc. All you can really compare are the slash lines which are still hard to compare considering how Utley has been injured this season.

I love Prado but can we be realistic. We’d all trade Prado straight up for a healthy Utley. And while Prado might be one of the top 5 second baseman in baseball now, others (Cano, Utley, Weeks, Phillips, Uggla, Zobrist*, Pedroia, a healthy Brian Roberts) can make the same claim. Second base isn’t the offensively challenged position it used to be.

by Scott A on Jul 10, 2010 12:09 AM EDT reply actions

Prado is definaltey better than Weeks…Weeks plays defense like a paraplegic.. and isnt much, if any better offensivley.

the only thing he has over Prado is tools…he has all the tools..

Heyward,Hanson,and Shaffer r ready now!! Why do you think they havent signed the "right handed bat"?

by fatazfoot on Jan 7, 2009 8:59 PM EST

by Swo12bv on Jul 10, 2010 12:28 AM EDT up reply actions

Maybe we get him to play CF or LF...

he plays it pretty damn well for the Pirates.

by Mr. Sanchez on Jul 10, 2010 10:36 AM EDT up reply actions

are you saying that Weeks looks like Lastings Milledge?

Heyward,Hanson,and Shaffer r ready now!! Why do you think they havent signed the "right handed bat"?

by fatazfoot on Jan 7, 2009 8:59 PM EST

by Swo12bv on Jul 10, 2010 10:52 AM EDT up reply actions

Or McCutcheon, ...

I believe that’s been a running gag around here, yeah.

by Mr. Sanchez on Jul 10, 2010 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions

He definitely isn't any better offensively. He's Definitely is significantly worse offensively. (Speaking of Weeks compared to Prado.)

by J-Turn14 on Jul 10, 2010 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Unfortunate apostophe mistake there. You know what i meant.

by J-Turn14 on Jul 10, 2010 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions

You are saying Weeks is significantly worse offensively…I’m assuming…which isnt true at all, but thats ok you can think what you want…this year and for his career Prado is better…but Weeks has an 820 OPS and Praod is at 860…which is higher…and obv Prado is better, but its not significant Weeks has more power and better on base skills, Prado is the superior hitter, for average (he also has good power and decent on base skills which helps him out a lot).

Heyward,Hanson,and Shaffer r ready now!! Why do you think they havent signed the "right handed bat"?

by fatazfoot on Jan 7, 2009 8:59 PM EST

by Swo12bv on Jul 10, 2010 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions