Every MLB Team's Most Underrated Player Since 2000
"I completely forgot how good he was!"
That's the response we set out to elicit with our rundown of each MLB team's most underrated player of the past 20 years.
It's a mix of forgotten All-Stars, brief peaks, injury-shortened primes and under-the-radar contributors, but all of these players were star-level contributors at one point in the not-so-distant past.
As the lockout rolls on, sit back and enjoy some nostalgia with this walk down memory lane to highlight some underrated players who were once among the best on their respective team's roster.
Off we go!
AL East
1 of 6
Baltimore Orioles: IF/OF Melvin Mora
Acquired from the New York Mets in exchange for Mike Bordick at the 2000 trade deadline, Mora went on to rack up 29.1 WAR in 10 seasons with the Orioles while playing all over the field defensively. He had four straight 4-WAR seasons from 2002 through 2005, peaking in '04 when he hit .340/.419/.562 with 41 doubles, 27 home runs and 104 RBI to win Silver Slugger honors and tally a career-high 5.6 WAR.
Boston Red Sox: RP Koji Uehara
Rarely mentioned among the most dominant relievers in recent history, Uehara had a 2.19 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 11.6 K/9 with 79 saves in 91 chances during his four seasons with the Red Sox. He finished seventh in AL Cy Young voting in 2013 when he posted a 1.09 ERA in 73 appearances, and he nailed down all seven save chances with a 0.66 ERA in 13.2 innings during the team's World Series run that year.
New York Yankees: SP Chien-Ming Wang
A foot injury suffered while running the bases derailed his career, but for a short time, Wang was one of the best starters in the American League. He went 19-6 with a 3.63 ERA in 218 innings to finish runner-up in AL Cy Young voting in 2006, and followed that up with a 19-7 record and 3.60 ERA in 199.1 innings the next year before he was sidelined midway through the 2008 campaign.
Tampa Bay Rays: SS Jason Bartlett
Bartlett came to the Rays along with Matt Garza in the deal that sent former top prospect Delmon Young to the Minnesota Twins. He was the team's everyday shortstop for three seasons, earning MVP votes in 2008 and an All-Star nod in 2009 when he hit .320/.389/.490 for a 132 OPS+ and 6.2 WAR in 137 games. It was an impressive, but largely forgotten peak.
Toronto Blue Jays: 1B Adam Lind
Lind hit .305/.370/.562 for a 141 OPS+ with 46 doubles, 35 home runs and 114 RBI in what looked like a breakout age-25 season in 2009. He failed to replicate that level of production, but settled in as a solid middle-of-the-order producer, averaging 25 home runs and 88 RBI per 162 games during his nine years with the team. His 146 home runs rank eighth all-time in franchise history.
AL Central
2 of 6
Chicago White Sox: OF Carlos Quentin
A top-25 prospect at the start of the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Quentin failed to live up to expectations during his time in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. However, things clicked following a trade to the White Sox, and he posted a 149 OPS+ with 36 home runs and 100 RBI to finish fifth in AL MVP voting in his first year with the team. He slugged 107 home runs and made two All-Star appearances in four years with the South Siders.
Cleveland Guardians: SP Jake Westbrook
The Opening Day starter twice during his time in Cleveland, Westbrook eclipsed 200 innings three years in a row from 2004 to 2006. He tallied 10 complete games and three shutouts during that stretch, and he was an All-Star in '04 when he went 14-9 with a 3.38 ERA in 215.2 innings. His peak gets lost in the shuffle pitching alongside CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee.
Detroit Tigers: SS Carlos Guillen
The deal to acquire Guillen from the Seattle Mariners prior to the 2004 season in exchange for Ramon Santiago and Juan Gonzalez (not that one) is one of the best trades in Tigers history. He racked up 18.6 WAR in nine seasons with the team, earning three All-Star selections and peaking as a 6-WAR player in 2006 when he helped the Tigers reach the World Series.
Kansas City Royals: OF David DeJesus
In the five seasons that followed a respectable sixth-place finish in 2004 AL Rookie of the Year voting, DeJesus hit .286/.357/.427 for a 107 OPS+ while filling up the stat sheet and averaging 30 doubles, eight triples, 10 home runs, 63 RBI, 79 runs and 2.9 WAR. His 18.1 total WAR in a Royals uniform ranks 24th in franchise history.
Minnesota Twins: 3B Corey Koskie
A homegrown star before Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau came along, Koskie made good as a 26th-round pick in the 1994 draft. He had a 26-homer, 27-steal, 6.3-WAR season in 2001, and his 22.4 WAR from 1999 through the 2004 season ranked 40th among all position players and sixth among third basemen during that stretch.
AL West
3 of 6
Houston Astros: SP Wade Miller
It appeared the Astros had found a co-ace to slot alongside Roy Oswalt when Miller went 16-8 with a 3.40 ERA and 183 strikeouts in 212 innings during his age-24 season in 2001. He was terrific once again in 2002 (15-4, 3.28 ERA, 144 K, 164.2 IP) and solid in 2003 (14-13, 4.13 ERA, 161 K, 187.1 IP) before shoulder injuries derailed his career. The right-hander pitched just 215 innings over the next four years before he called it quits at the age of 30.
Los Angeles Angels: 2B Howie Kendrick
Before he was a postseason hero serving as a veteran utility man for the Washington Nationals, Kendrick was a rock solid second baseman for the better part of a decade with the Angels. He hit .292/.332/.424 for a 108 OPS+ with 28.5 WAR in nine seasons with the Halos, earning one All-Star selection and some down-ballot MVP support in 2014 when he logged a career-high 6.1 WAR.
Oakland Athletics: RP Justin Duchscherer
Duchscherer is not often mentioned in the same breath as Dennis Eckersley or John Smoltz, but he pulled off the rare feat of being named an All-Star as both a starter and a reliever. He was a multi-inning bullpen weapon in 2005 (65 G, 5 SV, 2.21 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 85.2 IP) and an excellent starter in 2008 (22 GS, 10-8, 2.54 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 141.2 IP) in what was his only year as a full-time member of the rotation.
Seattle Mariners: OF Raul Ibanez
Ibanez began his MLB career with five forgettable seasons as a part-time player with the Mariners before breaking out in Kansas City. He then returned to Seattle in 2004 after a three-year run with the Royals and put together some of the best years of his career. In his second go-around with the team, he hit .291/.354/.477 for a 120 OPS+ while averaging 23 home runs, 98 RBI and 3.0 WAR over five seasons.
Texas Rangers: SP/RP Alexi Ogando
A reliever as a rookie in 2010 (44 G, 1.30 ERA) and an All-Star as a starter the following year (13-8, 3.51 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 169 IP), Ogando's debut coincided with the Rangers appearing in back-to-back World Series. He continued to shuffle roles effectively the next two years before the wheels fell off, but he was a 9.1-WAR player in his first four seasons in the big leagues for some contending Texas teams.
NL East
4 of 6
Atlanta Braves: SP Jair Jurrjens
Jurrjens made 115 starts in the big leagues before his age-26 season, going 50-33 with a 3.40 ERA in 702.1 innings, and he was an All-Star in 2011 when he went 13-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 152 innings. However, injuries took a toll from there, and he pitched just 65 more innings in the majors. He resurfaced with Team Netherlands in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, posting a 2.38 ERA in 11.1 innings over two starts.
Miami Marlins: SP Josh Johnson
While he was slowed by injuries throughout his career, Johnson was a bona fide ace when healthy. He went 15-5 with a 3.23 ERA in a career-high 209 innings in 2009 and led the NL with a 2.30 ERA in 183.2 innings the following year to check in fifth in NL Cy Young voting, but that proved to be his peak. His big-league career was over before he turned 30.
New York Mets: SP Jon Niese
Niese spent six full seasons in the Mets rotation from 2010 through 2015, posting a 59-59 record with a 3.86 ERA while averaging 171 innings per year. The left-hander was never a star, but he was a rock solid middle-of-the-rotation arm, and he went 13-9 with a 3.40 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 190.1 innings during the best season of his career in 2012.
Philadelphia Phillies: C Carlos Ruiz
One of the clubhouse leaders of some great Phillies teams during the late 2000s and early 2010s, Ruiz had six seasons with at least 2.0 WAR in his 11 years with the team. He generated down-ballot MVP support three different times, and was an All-Star in 2012 when he hit .324/.394/.540 for a 149 OPS+ with 32 doubles, 16 home runs and 68 RBI in a 4.6-WAR season.
Washington Nationals: SP Livan Hernandez
Hernandez made his mark as a rookie during the Florida Marlins 1997 World Series run, but his best work came as a member of the Expos and Nationals. In seven seasons with the team, he won 70 games and posted a 3.98 ERA (106 ERA+) while leading the league in innings pitched three times and tallying 23 complete games. He was a two-time All-Star and also won a Silver Slugger.
NL Central
5 of 6
Chicago Cubs: 1B Derrek Lee
After a 31-homer, 21-steal season for the World Series winning Marlins in 2003, Lee was traded to the Cubs where he was a two-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner in seven seasons. He led the NL in batting average (.336), OPS+ (174), hits (199) and doubles (50) in 2005, adding 46 home runs, 107 RBI and 7.7 WAR. All told, he had a 129 OPS+ with 179 home runs and 22.6 WAR with the North Siders.
Cincinnati Reds: SP Aaron Harang
A burly 6'7", 260-pound right-hander, Harang enjoyed a brief peak alongside Bronson Arroyo at the top of the Cincinnati rotation. He had three straight seasons with at least 200 innings pitched, including a 2007 campaign where he went 16-6 with a 3.73 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 218 strikeouts in 231.2 innings to finish fourth in NL Cy Young voting.
Milwaukee Brewers: OF Corey Hart
A 20-homer, 20-steal player in 2007 and 2008, Hart also had a 31-homer, 102-RBI campaign in 2010 when he earned his second All-Star selection. Sharing a lineup with Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and slugging middle infielders Rickie Weeks and J.J. Hardy, he wasn't always a focal point, but he stands as one of the most underrated outfielders of his era.
Pittsburgh Pirates: 2B Neil Walker
Originally drafted as a catcher, Walker posted a 114 OPS+ while averaging 29 doubles, 16 home runs, 70 RBI and 2.7 WAR in six seasons as the everyday second baseman with the Pirates. He won Silver Slugger honors in 2014, hitting .271/.342/.467 for a 126 OPS+ with 23 home runs and 76 RBI and two years later he was traded to the Mets for left-hander Jon Niese.
St. Louis Cardinals: IF/OF Allen Craig
Craig hit .315/.362/.555 for a 151 OPS+ with 11 home runs and 40 RBI in 75 games as a utility player in 2011, then took over as the Cardinals primary first baseman the following year after Albert Pujols departed in free agency. He was a legitimate star in 2012 (137 OPS+, 22 HR, 92 RBI) and 2013 (129 OPS+, 13 HR, 97 RBI), but was traded to the Red Sox the following year and his production dropped off significantly from there.
NL West
6 of 6
Arizona Diamondbacks: OF Chris Young
Young had a 32-homer, 27-steal season to finish fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2007 when he helped the D-backs reach the NLCS. He struck out a ton, but he also hit .240/.319/.438 while averaging 23 home runs, 20 steals and 2.4 WAR in his five full seasons with the team. Later in his career, he settled in as a platoon standout against left-handed pitching.
Colorado Rockies: RP Brian Fuentes
Fuentes was an All-Star for three straight seasons from 2005 to 2007, converting 84.7 percent of his save chances en route to a franchise record 115 saves. The left-hander signed a two-year, $17.5 million contract with the Angels after the 2008 season, but he stands as the best closer in Rockies franchise history.
Los Angeles Dodgers: SP Chad Billingsley
Before Clayton Kershaw arrived on the scene, it was Billingsley who was on his way to becoming a homegrown ace for the Dodgers after the team selected him 24th in the 2003 draft. He won 80 games and posted a 3.66 ERA in 1,163.1 innings in his first years in the big leagues, but multiple Tommy John surgeries limited him to just 49 innings after his age-27 season.
San Diego Padres: OF Will Venable
Venable had a quietly effective career with the Padres, logging 13.3 WAR in eight seasons. He had a 126 OPS+ with 22 home runs, 22 steals and a career-high 3.5 WAR in 151 games in 2013, earning a two-year, $8.5 million extension. Reliever Mike Adams with his 1.66 ERA in 209 appearances over four seasons was also considered as most underrated for the Padres.
San Francisco Giants: RP Javier Lopez
Closers Brian Wilson, Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo received the bulk of the attention in the Giants bullpen during their impressive run to three World Series titles in five years. However, lefties Jeremy Affeldt and Lopez were also integral members of the relief corps. Lopez had a 2.47 ERA in 446 regular season outings, along with a 1.38 ERA and nine holds in 25 playoff appearances.
All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.
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