Yankees Sign Marcus Thames, ISO Power

From Buster Olney’s blog regarding Thames going to the Bronx: Marcus Thames signed a minor league deal with the Yankees.

Mark Simon of ESPN Stats & Information dug out this note on Thames: He’s a good fit for Yankee Stadium, given his slugging capabilities. Isolated power, as defined by Bill James, measures extra bases per at-bat (i.e.: how well you can hit doubles, triples, and home runs…eliminating singles from the equation).

Among active players with 1,500-plus plate appearances, Thames ranks 16th-best, but look at who is ahead of him:

Ryan Howard : .307
Albert Pujols : .294
Jim Thome : .280
Manny Ramirez : .278
Adam Dunn : .271
Alex Rodriguez : .271
Ryan Braun : .266
Carlos Delgado : .266
Prince Fielder : .266
David Ortiz : .263
Russell Branyan : .257
Lance Berkman : .256
Ken Griffey Jr. : .256
Carlos Pena : .255
Mark Teixeira : .255
Marcus Thames: .248