The Ten Most Overrated Players in Major League Baseball

There are plenty of baseball players that are not given due. To contrast, there are plenty of players that are given far too much credit, and those players will be mentioned in this article.

The criteria to make this list is simple. Fans and media alike talk about this player far too much for how little they actually produce, and while some of these players are very productive, they are still given too much praise.

A player cannot make the list if he is simply too old, so despite everyone in baseball still loving Ken Griffey Jr., he won't make the list simple due to him being in the twilight of his career.

Some on this list may surprise you on impact, you will see that the numbers do not agree with the love these players get.

Enjoy!

Edwin Jackson has always been known for having some serious talent, and last year many thought he had finally realized it.

Jackson posted a 3.62 ERA along with 13 wins in what many thought was his breakout year. Jackson actually was a bit lucky last year, as his xFIP was at 4.39.

He was subsequently dealt to Arizona in and the Diamondbacks must be frustrated with his slow start, but he is just not the player they thought they were getting.

James Loney came through the Dodgers farm system along side of Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, two of the game's best up-and-coming outfielders. The same cannot be said for James Loney.

Loney plays first base, a position notorious for power, and Loney supplies very little of it. Loney has played two full seasons, and in both of those seasons he has yet to surpass the 15 home run mark he set in 375 plate appearances in 2007.

In both of Loney's full seasons of play, he has posted an OPS+ of 103 and 104 respectively, very low numbers for a first basemen.

Along with Loney's limited potential offensively, he has been less than stellar with the glove as well, posting a negative UZR/150 at first throughout his career.

Loney is simply not a very productive first basemen.

Jay Bruce has all of the talent in the world, but despite hitting more than 20 home runs in both of his first two seasons, he has yet to get on base at a respectable rate in the majors.

Bruce is sporting a .312 on base percentage in 933 plate appearances. His low contact rate coupled only a semi-respectable walk rate does not make him a valuable asset offensively.

Bruce may eventually put it all together and get on base more frequently, but until then, he is vastly overrated.

Placido Polanco has been a plus defender at second base throughout his career, but aside from that he has been less than stellar.

In 2008, Polanco received the 25th most votes for AL MVP with a .285/.331/.396 season and a gold glove. These are poor numbers, and show that he is overrated by many.

Polanco does have a career average over .300, but he has very limited power and he does not possess great plate discipline. He does take some walks, but not at a very good rate.

Polanco is far from a solid second basemen offensively, and the transition to third base makes him even less valuable.

Mark DeRosa has had some pretty solid seasons, but each year he is trade or signed by a new team and the hype around their new offensive acquisition is unwarranted.

DeRosa provides some flexibility with the ability to play each corner position and second base, but his bat has been below average since his major league debut.

In fact, he has only had two seasons of better-than-average production. His 2006 season in Texas he hit .296/.357/.456 with 13 homers, and then two seasons later in Chicago he hit .285/.376/.481 with 21 homers.

DeRosa is a solid clubhouse guy with the potential to help your team, but adding him is simply a complimentary move, and he is far from a big time addition to any lineup.

Each year many are surprised that Orlando Hudson is job hunting for as late as he is. Some truly believe he is a great defensive second basemen, but his career UZR/150 of 0.4 at second base would suggest otherwise.

Hudson, despite his gold glove awards, has been an average defender. Couple that with an OPS+ of exactly 100 and it is evident that he is more or less a completely average player.

Hudson does not do anything particularly well on the baseball field. He is not very good defensively, he does not have great bat control, he does not have much power, and he does not run very well.

Orlando Hudson is a gritty baseball player, but he has been over-appreciated throughout his career.

Ellsbury has been a productive player for the Red Sox since getting his call-up in 2007. Despite him being a solid player, he is made out to be much better than he truly is.

Ellsbury owns a career 97 OPS+, which states that he has been less than average at the plate in his two plus seasons in the majors. Ellsbury does have some great stolen base numbers, but that does not outweigh the fact that his on base percentage is less than .020 points higher than the league average.

Ellsbury is a plus defender as well, but the fact that he hits for so little power (98 extra base hits in 1,457 plate appearances) does not prove that he is worth the praise he gets by the Fenway faithful.

The reason Derek Jeter enters this list is not because he is a bad baseball player. He is great, and he has been the face of the most successful baseball franchise of the past 15 years.

With that said, Jeter gets far too much praise from the media and Yankee fans alike. Jeter posts solid production from shortstop, but he is far being one of the top players in the game both offensively and defensively.

Jeter has never hit more than 24 home runs in a season, and has only topped the 20-homer plateau three times in his 14-year career.

Jeter's career .142 ISO leaves much to be desired. Want a comparison? Over Carlos Guillen's career, he has a .159 ISO. While Guillen is a solid player, he is far from being considered a superstar by any means. Jeter simply does not have much power.

Another reason Jeter is on this list is for his reliance on the ground ball. Getting singles are always a good thing, but far from a great thing. Jeter is consistently in the top five players in ground ball percentage each year.

His career UZR/150 is -5.4, and while UZR/150 is far from a perfect defensive metric, it does point out that Jeter is not exactly a wizard with the glove. He has a strong arm but limited range, and his gold gloves were won due to his name rather than his actual production.

Jeter has had a great career, but he is not nearly as good as some make him out to be.

Cole Hamels made a name for himself in 2008 as he had the lowest WHIP in the NL and won the World Series MVP award.

Since then, Hamels has yet to live up to the high expectations that he set for himself. He pitched much better than many think in 2009, posting a 3.69 xFIP as compared to his 4.32 ERA.

He got a bit unlucky last year, but the luck was simply balanced as he received some good luck in his breakout 2008 season.

Hamels posted a 3.09 ERA but actually had a similar year in terms of xFIP as he did the following year. His xFIP in 2008 was 3.63, which points to him being rather lucky that year.

Hamels is not a great pitcher, and he is not a terrible pitcher. He is pretty good, and he should not be considered the staff ace type pitcher that many claim he is.

Josh Hamilton is one of the most talented players currently playing the game, as evident by his 2008 Home Run Derby numbers. He has battled personal problems throughout his career, but his biggest problem as of late has been staying on the field.

Hamilton has really only put up one great half of baseball since being in the majors. His first half of 2008 in which he hit 21 homers with 95 RBI was extremely impressive and showed what he could do if he were to be healthy.

Since then, he has just 25 home runs in 743 plate appearances. He was injured for most of 2009, and did not produce nearly as well in the second half of 2008 as he did before the All-Star break.

Hamilton can be a monster of a player, but he needs to remain healthy before being put amongst baseball's elite.

(This article is from the Bleacher Report and doesn't represent the thoughts from the person publishing this blog, but is reprinted here for the simple fact that I do not agree with it.)