Red Sox: Sandy Leon undervalued in preseason rankings

2 of 5

Jul 4, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon (3) follows through on a double against the Texas Rangers during the fourth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /

How is Leon being essentially ignored by these rankings? Did everyone forget what he did last year? As a reminder, here are Leon’s 2016 numbers, alongside his MLB ranking among catchers with a minimum of 275 plate appearances.

Batting Average: .310 (1st)
On-Base Percentage: .369 (2nd)
Slugging: .476 (5th)
OPS: .845 (3rd)
WAR: 2.7 (7th)

Leon had to wait until June to make his season debut, so his counting stats weren’t all that impressive, but give him a full season’s workload at that pace and he’d be in the top 10 in home runs and RBI at his position.

Oh, plus he provides well above-average defense behind the plate, threw out 41 percent of base runners and was the primary catcher for Cy Young award winner Rick Porcello.

Some of the skepticism that Leon can repeat this performance is warranted based on his track record as a replacement-level player, but is he really going to fall off that dramatically? A guy that was arguably one of the five best catchers in the game last year can barely sniff the top 10 entering this season. Why is that?

Home/Red Sox News