6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: Top 40 Angels, 2008 Edition

Proceeds from the ads below will be donated to the Bob Wuesthoff scholarship fund.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Top 40 Angels, 2008 Edition

Before I go into the annual list (see the 2007 and 2006 editions before for reference), I should note that Dave Studeman has tinkered with his Win Shares formula again, so there will be year-to-year discrepancies; this will mainly affect active players, so guys like Tim Salmon whose careers are done won't change. Or at least, I hope they haven't changed. If you see such a discrepancy, please let me know.

Forthwith, the list:

1.	Tim Salmon	231.0
2.	Brian Downing	225.0
3.	Jim Fregosi	222.8
4.	Garret Anderson	207.9
5.	Chuck Finley	184.0
6.	Bobby Grich	183.8
7.	Nolan Ryan	147.5
8.	Darin Erstad	146.8
9.	Wally Joyner	121.0
10.	Chili Davis	114.6
11.	Frank Tanana	113.9
12.	Vladimir Guerrero	113.0
13.	Mike Witt	110.1
14.	Troy Percival	110.0
15.	Troy Glaus	104.9
16.	Rod Carew	102.8
17.	Jim Edmonds	94.5
18.	Don Baylor	94.0
19.	Adam Kennedy	93.9
20.	Dick Schofield	90.8

21.	Mark Langston	90.7
22.	Chone Figgins	88.6
23.	Dean Chance	87.7
24.	Doug DeCinces	85.2
25.	Albie Pearson	84.7
26.	John Lackey	80.8
27.	Clyde Wright	80.7
28.	Jarrod Washburn	80.1
29.	Bob Boone	78.7
30.	Bobby Knoop	77.9
31.	Andy Messersmith	74.3
32.	Bengie Molina	74.2
33.	Rick Reichardt	70.4
34.	Kirk McCaskill	69.3
35.	Jack Howell	69.1
36.	Buck Rodgers	68.3
37.	Reggie Jackson	67.4
38.	Gary DiSarcina	65.1
39.	Fred Lynn	63.7
40.	Francisco Rodriguez	62.5

Changes from 2007:

New this year: Francisco Rodriguez makes his first appearance at #40, as does John Lackey, the latter leapfrogging over a number of players to open his top 40 bid at #26. As with Vlad (below), he's taking big steps with every season, so I expect him to be in the top 20 all time if not the top 10 before he's done as an Angel.
Falling off: Leon Wagner, Sandy Alomar. With K-Rod's appearance at #40 and Scot Shields close behind at #43, it's entirely conceivable that Reggie Jackson may fall off this list altogether in the next decade. The numbers required to make bottom of the list have increased by about 1.5 win shares a year for the last few years, and Reggie is starting to look a little tenuous, as is Fred Lynn and Gary DiSarcina.
Moving up: Vladimir Guerrero galloped from 24th at 81.4 to 12th at 113.0. If he has another season like his 2007, he'll likely surpass Wally Joyner by the end of the year, and might even squeak past Darin Erstad. It's all but certain he'll join the top five before his career is over.
Staying put: Garret Anderson, as I predicted, didn't have the oomph in his bat to get past Jim Fregosi, but he ended up with a stronger season than I thought. He's only 13 win shares away from lapping the former Angels all-star, and it could happen this year.
Waiting in the wings: Scot Shields (#43, 58.9 WS), Kelvim Escobar (#51, 52 WS). Both these guys are so close that only injury or an extended bout of gross incompetence can keep them out.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda: Orlando Cabrera (#44, 58.7 WS). His first year was rough, but he finally did pull it together and had some very good years in an Angels uniform.

Labels: angels, top 40 angels