Continuing my warmup posts on Established Win Shares Levels, since I have kept you all waiting for the team previews, here’s how the method, with the updated 2010 age adjustments, values the top 10 players (actually twelve, as I’m listing the guys who are essentially tied at 26 EWSL) in the game in terms of established performance level adjusted by age. EWSL is explained here. Chart below the fold.
| Name | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Raw EWSL | Age | Pos | Team | Div | Age% | EWSL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanley Ramirez | 27 | 32 | 34 | 32 | 26 | SS | FLA | NLE | 1.118 | 36 |
| Prince Fielder | 27 | 23 | 36 | 30 | 26 | 1B | MIL | NLC | 1.118 | 34 |
| Ryan Braun | 22 | 23 | 36 | 29 | 26 | OF | MIL | NLC | 1.118 | 33 |
| Albert Pujols | 32 | 34 | 39 | 36 | 30 | 1B | STL | NLC | 0.903 | 33 |
| Joe Mauer | 21 | 30 | 32 | 30 | 27 | C | MIN | ALC | 1.045 | 31 |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 25 | 24 | 34 | 29 | 28 | 1B | SD | NLW | 1.019 | 30 |
| Justin Upton | 1 | 8 | 19 | 12 | 22 | OF | AZ | NLW | 1.992 | 29 |
| Evan Longoria | 19 | 24 | 18 | 24 | 3B | TB | ALE | 1.274 | 28 | |
| Dustin Pedroia | 18 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 2B | BOS | ALE | 1.118 | 26 |
| Matt Kemp | 10 | 19 | 26 | 21 | 25 | OF | LA | NLW | 1.244 | 26 |
| Chase Utley | 28 | 30 | 32 | 31 | 31 | 2B | PHI | NLE | 0.844 | 26 |
| David Wright | 34 | 27 | 20 | 25 | 27 | 3B | NYM | NLE | 1.045 | 26 |
Note that two of these guys, Upton and Longoria, are rated based on two rather than three years’ worth of playing time. Upton in particular is given a heavy dose of high expectations based on historic growth rates for players his age, but of course some of that is due to the fact that guys his age are often transitioning from half-season rookie seasons to full-time jobs.
As usual, bear in mind as well that the age adjustments are blanket; the system treats Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder as typical of their ages, regardless of body type, etc. That said, if this isn’t actually a list of the game’s 12 most valuable players to have entering the 2010 season, it’s probably not that far off.
If you’re wondering, Felix Hernandez and Zack Greinke are the only pitchers rated at 20 EWSL or greater, while the top-rated reliever is Joakim Soria.