Buster Posey … underrated? It’s weird times, but it’s not entirely crazy talk.
Sports Illustrated recently put out their most underrated players on each team. Posey was their Giants selection, and it makes sense. Only because of the decline in production over the last couple of seasons.
The reason why this falls in the category of “weird” is because a six-time All-Star with a batting title isn’t going to be stamped with an underrated tag, at least not 11 seasons into his career, but that’s the case here.
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Posey’s averages across the last two seasons: .270/.340/.375 totaling just 12 home runs.
It was something baseball fans weren’t used to seeing from the 2012 NL MVP.
His down year was talked about numerous times, but he was also coming off major hip surgery at the end of the 2018 season. That’s not an easy battle to fight, but his defensive numbers made up for it which was a great buffer to cover up his decline with his bat.
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He was third among NL catchers last season with 14 Defensive Runs Saved and had just one passed ball in 846 ⅓ innings.
He arrived at spring training feeling great and despite some competition in Rob Brantly and Tyler Heineman, the job was his.
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As SI points out, Posey’s WAR is among some of the top catchers in the game including Gary Sanchez and Yadier Molina. And his .302 career batting average ranks third in Giants history.
He still has it in him that could create something. Perhaps nobody would expect him to. That’s what makes him underrated.