Super Stats Pack: Game 25 (Team/Value)

This second Super Stat Pack covers team stats and WAR/surplus value (what Brett dotes on as his “value survey”).

In essence, every five games, there will be a Super Stat Pack out, alternating between White Sox Top 10s (Game 10, 20 ...) and this, the team/WAR report (Game 15, 25 ...).

Value Survey

FanGraphs, our stats partner, generates dollar values for WAR. Yoan Moncada’s 1.3 WAR translates to $10.7 million, thus FanGraphs is valuing a 1.0 WAR at roughly $8.2 million.

The third column prorates Moncada’s salary through 25 games.

The fourth column simply subtracts that salary from Moncada’s dollar war value, to generate Surplus Value. Moncada is the team leader, pushing $11 million in surplus value. The top pitcher value, Reynaldo López, is just the fifth-best value on the team.

I’ve introduced one last additional set of columns, another feature of Brett’s “Value Survey” of the past, the Last Value/Change. Use that column to see whether a player has gained or lost value for the team since the last Stats Pack. Using Moncada again, you’ll see that in the past 10 games, he’s added almost $5 million in surplus value. He is definitely shaping up to be a Chris Sale-style übervalue for the White Sox this season.

Similarly, you’ll see “last week” comparisons for the team batting and pitching totals, too.

Roster-wise, the White Sox are looking good. Now, this is much more a product of having a comically low payroll than it is performance on the field, but hey, you get what you pay for — and in this case, more than you pay for.

Need confirmation? Even after a undeniably awful 10 games of baseball, the White Sox still managed to add almost $4 million in surplus value, mostly on the offensive side. Truthfully, with this payroll, for all practical matters it may be impossible not to provide a healthy amount of surplus value over the course of the season.

Team Stats

The White Sox team stats are given some context, with MLB rankings. Again, there is an additional column added this week that indicates where the White Sox ranked as of the last Stat Pack, to better see whether the team is trending up or down in particular areas.

Offensively, the closest the White Sox are to the top of any category is stolen bases, second in the league, at 24. On the pitching side, they have jumped up to tops in the majors at keeping fly balls in the park. On the pitching side overall, however, the Sox are among the five worst teams in baseball in seven different categories.

If you would like these stats defined, it’s going to be way easier for me to direct you to FanGraphs for either offensive or pitching terms.