2012 MLB Free Agents: Who Deserves More Money, Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder?

It’s a question that at first glance has an easy answer.

Who is worth more money? Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder?

Pujols is the easy answer.

He is a three-time MVP and four-time MVP runner-up. He's also a nine-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner. ESPN.com ranked him the best player of the 2000s.

He is the undisputed best player in the game and there is no debate.

Yet when you look at his season stats of the last three years, it’s hard not to notice a significant drop-off in most of the major batting categories.

The 31-year-old held a batting average of .357 after the 2008 season, it dropped to .327 in ’09, .312 in ’10 and a career low .299 this season. Every other category such as OBP, slugging, OPS has seen a significant drop as well.

On the other hand, Prince Fielder is in the absolute prime of his career.

He’ll be in the conversation for MVP after already winning the All-Star game MVP earlier in the season. He is turning into more than just a power hitter, as he hit a career high .299 in the 2011 regular season.

The 27-year-old already has 230 homers in only six full seasons in the league. The first baseman isn’t the greatest fielder in the game, but he certainly isn’t an error machine. He will be looking for a contract that pays him somewhere in the neighborhood of $20-25M a season.

So who would you rather have?

Pujols, who is looking to score a $300M contract, has shown a slight decrease in production in each of the last four seasons and has recently shown that yes, he is human.

Or do you want Fielder, a guy that potentially has yet to hit his ceiling and has at least another 4-5 years of 40 homers and 120 RBI?

I’ll take Fielder.

There is no question that Pujols is one of the most legendary players of the last 30 years, but it looks like the best years are in the rear-view mirror. Will he still be the most feared hitter in 2012?

Yes.

Yet who has the better chance of being the most feared hitter in 2013, 2014 and 2015?

That would be Fielder.

When dealing with mega contracts, you want to get the most value you can. Nobody in their right mind wants to pay an over-the-hill Pujols $30M in 2019 to barely crack the .250 line (just ask the Yankees with A-Rod).

Fielder isn’t the better player right now, but he will ultimately be the better value pick.